Hold Me to This: Christopher O'Riley Plays Radiohead

Radiohead

Tribute albums are always suspect; classical interpretations of rock even more so--and follow-ups to the same are fraught with mediocrity. Just witness the inexplicable glut of String Quartet Tribute discs to Tool, Bruce Springsteen, and many other top-selling and cult artists. On Hold Me to This, his second run at the music of art-rock group Radiohead, classical pianist Christopher O'Riley avoids all these pitfalls. These aren't easy-listening piano renditions of Radiohead tunes, but deeply inspired, often challenging and dissonant re-imaginings. O'Riley succeeds by taking the music on its own terms. He doesn't try to make it "classical" but lets the classical nature of the music ring out. From the storming chordal overtone clusters of "There There" to the Chopinesque refrain of "The Spinning Plates," O'Riley makes you forget these songs were originally played by a raging rock band. Instead, they seem born on the keys of his piano. His "Paranoid Android" is like Conlon Nancarrow going boogie-woogie one moment and painfully, sweetly rhapsodic the next. I'm not sure how Radiohead fans will respond to this, but piano and classical listeners should rejoice. --John Diliberto

Hold Me to This: Christopher O'Riley Plays Radiohead Album: