The import EP
My Iron Lung is as close to a forgotten, long-lost
Radiohead album as you can get. Although marketed and priced as an EP, it contains eight tracks, seven of which are unavailable anywhere else, and is half an hour long (which more than meets the criteria for a full-length). But besides its length, what makes
My Iron Lung such a find is the quality of the tracks, all of them being great outtakes from the sessions for their classic 1995 full-length release
The Bends. And because of the tracks' consistency and sequencing, it plays like a real album rather than a collection of B-sides and outtakes thrown together haphazardly. Starting off with the title track, which is the only song available elsewhere (on
The Bends), the band hits you with one strong track after another, such as
"The Trickster," "Lewis (Mistreated)," "Punchdrunk Lovesick Singalong," and others. The only weak spot on
My Iron Lung is a closing acoustic version of their breakthrough hit
"Creep." Performed solo by singer
Thom Yorke, it contains a surprisingly harsh and off-key middle section, but his sincerity helps overcome the version's shortcomings. No
Radiohead fan's collection is complete without the
My Iron Lung EP. [Note: The
My Iron Lung EP is available in a few different formats, some including less tracks than others. Be sure to get the Australian import, which contains the full eight tracks.] ~ Greg Prato
