OK Computer - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

Upon its release, OK Computer received almost unanimously positive reviews. Critics in the British and American press generally agreed that the album was a landmark of its time and would have far-reaching impact and importance, and that the band's willingness to experiment made it a challenging listen. According to Footman, "Not since 1967, with the release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, had so many major critics agreed immediately, not only on an album's merits, but on its long-term significance, and its ability to encapsulate a particular point in history." In the English press, the album garnered favourable reviews in NME, Melody Maker, The Guardian, and Q. Nick Kent wrote in Mojo that "Others may end up selling more, but in 20 years time I'm betting OK Computer will be seen as the key record of 1997, the one to take rock forward instead of artfully revamping images and song-structures from an earlier era."

The album was also well received by critics in North America. Rolling Stone, Spin, and Pitchfork Media published positive reviews. In an article for The New Yorker, Alex Ross praised OK Computer for its progressiveness, and contrasted Radiohead's risk-taking with the musically conservative "dadrock" of their contemporaries Oasis. Ross wrote that "Throughout the album, contrasts of mood and style are extreme ... This band has pulled off one of the great art-pop balancing acts in the history of rock."

Reviewers for Entertainment Weekly, the Chicago Tribune, and Time were mixed or contained qualified praise. In an otherwise positive review, Andy Gill wrote for The Independent, "For all its ambition, OK Computer is not, finally, as impressive as The Bends, which covered much the same sort of emotional knots, but with better tunes. It is easy to be impressed by, but ultimately hard to love, an album that so luxuriates in its despondency." Robert Christgau of The Village Voice gave OK Computer a B− rating and ranked it as the "Dud of the Month" in his consumer guide. Christgau commented that the album lacked "soul", calling it "arid" and "ridiculous", and compared it unfavourably to Pink Floyd.

The album appeared in many 1997 critics' lists and listener polls for best album of the year. It topped the year-end polls of Mojo, Vox, Entertainment Weekly, Hot Press, Muziekkrant OOR, HUMO, Eye Weekly and Inpress, and tied for first place with Daft Punk's Homework in The Face. The album came second in NME, Melody Maker, Rolling Stone, Village Voice, Spin and Uncut. Q and Les Inrockuptibles both listed the album in their unranked year-end polls. It was a nominee for the 1997 Mercury Prize, a prestigious award recognising the best British or Irish album of the year. The album was nominated in the Album of the Year and Best Alternative Music Performance categories at the 1998 Grammy Awards, ultimately winning the latter.

The nearly universally positive reception to the album overwhelmed the band, and some members thought the press was excessively congratulatory. Particularly irksome to the band were links to progressive rock and art rock, with direct comparisons to Pink Floyd's 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon cropping up frequently. Yorke responded to these claims: "We write pop songs ... there was no intention of it being 'art'. It's a reflection of all the disparate things we were listening to when we recorded it." Yorke was nevertheless pleasantly surprised that many listeners identified some of the album's musical influences, saying "What really blew my head off was the fact that people got all the things, all the textures and the sounds and the atmospheres we were trying to create." Jonny Greenwood responded to the album's reception by saying "In England, I think a lot of the reviews have been slightly over-the-top, because the last album was somewhat under-reviewed possibly and under-received."