List of unreleased songs by Radiohead

The English alternative rock band Radiohead have performed and/or recorded numerous songs that have not been officially released. Live performances of many of the songs circulate as bootlegs. Asked in 2013 about the status of unreleased songs, Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich said: "Everything will surface one day... it all exists... and so [they] will eventually get there, I’m sure."[1] He cited the song "Nude", released on Radiohead's 2007 album In Rainbows but written 12 years prior, as an example of a song that took several years to complete.[1]

This is a list of known unreleased songs in chronological order.

"Big Boots" / "Man O'War"

Radiohead performed "Big Boots", also known as "Man O'War", in 1995 and again on their 2002 tour. In March 1998, they entered Abbey Road Studios to record the song for the 1998 film The Avengers, but were unsatisfied with the results. Footage of the recording session appears in the 1998 documentary Meeting People Is Easy.[2]

"True Love Waits"

"True Love Waits" dates to at least 1995, and has been performed occasionally since. A live version was released on the live album I Might Be Wrong (2001).[3] Rolling Stone described the song as a "haunting, heartbreaking exploration of dependence and desperation" and "in many ways, Radiohead's greatest unreleased song".[3] Pitchfork Media described it as having "signature unexpected chord changes and a melody that both aches and soothes".[4] Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich said of the song in 2012: "We tried to record it countless times, but it never worked ... To [songwriter Thom Yorke's] credit, he needs to feel a song has validation, that it has a reason to exist as a recording. We could do 'True Love Waits' and make it sound like John Mayer. Nobody wants to do that."[5]

"Lift"

Radiohead performed "Lift" regularly during the 1996 leg of the Bends tour. Rolling Stone described it as "one of the last vestiges of that album's anthemic, Britpop hooks before the band embarked on a darker path with OK Computer". The band performed a slower, "more restrained" arrangement of the song during their 2002 tour. In 2015, guitarist Jonny Greenwood stated that Radiohead had worked on "Lift" again for possible inclusion on their next album, saying: "It's a management favourite. What people don’t know is that there’s a very old song on each album, like 'Nude' on In Rainbows. We never found the right arrangement for that, until then. 'Lift' is just like that. When the idea is right, it stays right. It doesn't really matter in which form."[3]

"Follow Me Around"

"Follow Me Around" made its first appearance in the 1998 documentary Meeting People Is Easy. According to Rolling Stone, it is one of Yorke's "darkest songs, if only because he's admitting he knows what's coming, but has no other choice than to carry on," with lyrics about "shadowy figures lurking in corners".[3]

"Skirting on the Surface"

Yorke debuted "Skirting on the Surface" in 2009 in a solo piano rendition while on tour with Atoms for Peace, though lyrical connections date back to the OK Computer sessions.[6] It was performed by Radiohead for the first time in 2012, in an arrangement which Pitchfork described as a "bleak slow-groover". Variations on the title phrase have appeared on Radiohead's website since the OK Computer era.[2]

"I Froze Up"

Yorke debuted "I Froze Up" on Rhodes piano during a webcast performance in 2002. In 2010, he performed the song again at a solo concert in Cambridge, England, and two months later in Chicago while touring with his other band Atoms for Peace. Rolling Stone described it as "sparse" and "haunting".[3]

"Come To Your Senses"

"Come To Your Senses" was played in June 2006 at a soundcheck, but has not made an appearance since.[6]

"Open the Floodgates" / "Porous"

"Open the Floodgates", also referred to by bassist Colin Greenwood as "Porous", dates to at least 2006. Yorke debuted it on piano alongside "I Froze Up" in 2010.[2]

"I Lie Awake"

"I Lie Awake" was played in soundchecks in 2006.[6]

"Wake Me"

"Wake Me" was played in soundchecks during the In Rainbows tour.[6]

"Riding a Bullet"

"Riding a Bullet" was played in several soundchecks in 2008.[6]

"The Present Tense"

Radiohead songwriter Thom Yorke debuted "The Present Tense" in a solo performance at the UK Latitude Festival in 2008.

Yorke first performed "The Present Tense" in a solo set at the UK Latitude Festival in 2008. He later performed it during shows with Atoms for Peace and at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in December 2015. Pitchfork described the song as a "sparse, haunting acoustic ballad" with "flickering" arpeggios and falsetto vocals.[2][7]

"Dawn Chorus"

Yorke mentioned "Dawn Chorus" in a 2009 interview, saying it was his current favourite Radiohead song.[2]

"Identikit"

Radiohead debuted "Identikit" on the King of Limbs tour in 2012 and performed it over 30 times.[2] Pitchfork described it as "twisty", "hypnotic" and "funky", with "fidgety percussion" that "gives way to guitar-swept sections", along with "knotty verses", a "chaotic chorus", and overlapping vocals from Yorke and guitarist Ed O'Brien.[2] WhatCulture.com likened it to elements of Radiohead's earlier songs "15 Step" (from their 2007 album In Rainbows) and "Idioteque" (from their 2000 album Kid A), which have similar "frantic, energised beats".[8] The band recorded a version of the song at Jack White's Third Man Records studio in 2012.[2][8][9]

"Cut a Hole"

Radiohead debuted "Cut a Hole" on the King of Limbs tour in 2012.[2] The song builds gradually to a climax, with lyrics about a "long-distance connection" with a "whiff of menace".[2] The NME described it as "an atmospheric, shifting gloomathon" with "a proper, head-flung-back vocal from Thom, climaxing with some of his highest notes since OK Computer."[10]

"Full Stop"

"Full Stop", sometimes written "Ful Stop",[11] was first performed on the King of Limbs tour in 2012.[2] Pitchfork described it as a "rhythm section workout" with "crystalline keys" and lyrics including "You really messed up this time" and "The truth will mess you up".[2] Rolling Stone wrote that the song "pushes the dark and densely rhythmic sound of the King material in a more aggressive direction ... This number is particularly menacing, with beats that tumble out violently."[11]

"Silent Spring"

Yorke debuted "Silent Spring" on acoustic guitar at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in December 2015.[2][12] The song shares its name with the 1962 environmental science book Silent Spring by Rachel Carson.[2] According to WhatCulture, the song is reminiscent of songwriter Neil Young, an influence on Yorke. With lyrics such as "And we are of the earth / to her we do return", the song has been interpreted as a protest song channeling Yorke's environmentalist concerns.[2][8]

"Desert Island Disk"

Yorke debuted "Desert Island Disk" on acoustic guitar at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in December 2015.[2][12] With "serpentine" guitar figures, the lyrics include the lines "the wind rushing round my open heart" and "different types of love are possible".[2]

References

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