Radiodread (Double LP)

Radiodread is a full-on reggae treatment of Radiohead's OK Computer. An ambitious project two years in the making, Radiodread features an impressive array of reggae stars supplying vocals to the Easy Star All- Stars' backing tracks. Reggae pioneers Toots and the Maytals make their Easy Star debut, singing a driving version of "Let Down," while Citizen Cope's distinctive voice fuels the haunting "Karma Police." Horace Andy ("Airbag"), Morgan Heritage ("Electioneering"), The Meditations ("No Surprises"), Israel Vibration ("The Tourist"), Sugar Minott ("Exit (Music for a Film)"), Frankie Paul ("Lucky") also join The Easy Star All-Stars for Radiodread. In selecting the landmark 1997 Radiohead album for a reggae re-invention, Radiodread producers saw a convergence of themes. Executive producer and Easy Star Records CEO Eric Smith said: "Reggae has always tackled dark subject matter, but manages to do it in a way that still conveys hope at the bleakest moments. Radiohead's approach is similar." Smith calls the album "a musical treatise on the collision of cultures, on surviving in this day and age, and thriving amidst everyday insanity."