Morning Bell vs. Morning Bell/Amnesiac

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This is the only song which is both on Kid A and Amnesiac. The two versions are extremely different. Up till Christmas I only knew the Amnesiac version which I must have listened to at least thirty times. It is the more painful version of the two. The tune is more in the foreground, I don't hear any drums and the guitars and keyboards and glockenspiel(?) dominate the song. The song is pretty conventional. There is a strong melodramatic kitsch element to it and I have played this version to death.

Yesterday I listened to the version on Kid A attentively for the first time. It was a positive surprise. As it was a different song. Starting with the drum (machine?) doing this kind of accelerated drumming like in a drum roll. The tune evolves slowly. There are many electronic sounds in the backgrounds: I hear braking cars. There is lots of improvisation. This version is much lighter than the other one. Yorke is singing unintelligible syllables in the second half with the improvisation in full blossom. I love the extremely deep bass at the end. This version is light years better than the one on Amnesiac

A question I ask myself. Why did Radiohead put that boring version on Amnesiac and why did they do two versions in the first place? And what do you think of this song and those two versions?

P.S. The line "Cut the kids in half" always makes me think of the King Salomo from the old testament. You know the one who had to decide who of two women the mother of a baby was. He was about to cut the baby in half with his sword and the mother cried up whereas the other woman did not react. In the Radiohead song though the sentence has to be taken literally I guess. The song is about divorce and in a perfect divorce in our materialistic society everything has to be shared. Even the kids.

― alex in mainhattan (alex63), Monday, 24 March 2003 21:17 (twenty-three years ago)

I think both versions are equally brilliant. Couldnt live without either

― matthewomalley, Monday, 24 March 2003 21:40 (twenty-three years ago)

The Kid A version is in 5/4 while the Amnesiac version is in 4/4.

The Kid A version is more exciting, but the Amnesiac version is flat-out better: the plodding is deadly and drags the song along, unwillingly but unrelentingly.

― Chris P (Chris P), Monday, 24 March 2003 21:46 (twenty-three years ago)

I definitely prefer the Kid A/live version to the Amnesiac version. The Amnesiac version is pretty, but I definitely prefer the hypnotic drive of the Kid A recording. I very much doubt that is a drum machine on the Kid A version - if you've seen the band live, you'd know that Phil Selway is most definitely playing that beat all the way through.

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Monday, 24 March 2003 21:48 (twenty-three years ago)

the amnesiac version is agonizing (this is not a criticism)

― jess (dubplatestyle), Monday, 24 March 2003 22:11 (twenty-three years ago)

The Live version defenetly beats both by far. the Kid A version is the closest thing to the Live one so it wins.

― rex jr., Monday, 24 March 2003 22:29 (twenty-three years ago)

5/4 > 4/4

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 24 March 2003 22:33 (twenty-three years ago)

I heard the Kid A version first and thought it was one of the few good things on that album. The Amnesiac version is far better - after hearing that, the Kid A version sounds as if the lyrics and the music don't fit - esp the "release me" bits.

― edward o (edwardo), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 00:49 (twenty-three years ago)

5/4 > 4/4

Perhaps I am daft but it took me many, many listens to realize that these versions weren't even in the same time signature. (I got Kid A and Amnesiac at roughly the same time, well after Amnesiac had come out). That I think is the classickest of all.

― Chris P (Chris P), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 00:58 (twenty-three years ago)

This song is so key to Amnesiac and its mistreatment at the hands of Kid A is just one more example of what makes the former such a superior album

― J0hn Darn1elle (J0hn Darn1elle), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 01:36 (twenty-three years ago)

mistreatment at the hands of Kid A
Why, John? Having heard the Amnesiac version first, the Kid A version is such a relief. I agree that the Amnesiac version is heavier and that Yorke is conveying the pain in a more authentic way but that does not make it the better version.

former such a superior album
I absolutely agree but definitely not for Morning Bell which probably is the best song on Kid A but definitely one of the most annoying on Amnesiac.

Does anyone know which was the first version? I suppose Kid A's. Not because it was released before Amnesiac but because according to you people it seems to be closer to the live version (which I don't know). The song's first release was live in summer 2001 wasn't it?

― alex in mainhattan (alex63), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 04:36 (twenty-three years ago)

Summer 2000. In Arles, France. The Kid A version was the first played, though it's unclear which version was recorded first. Apparently they "discovered" the Amnesiac version among all their other tapes (actually, this is not hard to believe, they had miles and miles of tape for the Kid A/Amnesiac sessions). There are all sorts of stories about Morning Bell. Thom says it was written about a ghost in the plaster of the walls of his cottage, and that he had to get the plaster replaced. Also, supposedly he wrote the song, and lost the minidisc demo of it and forgot the whole thing for a long time, and it all came flooding back to him later (hence, Amnesiac).

― Melissa W (Melissa W), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 04:45 (twenty-three years ago)

yeah I seriously think pretty much everything Radiohead's said to the press from the middle of the OK Computer blitz to the present is disinformation

― J0hn Darn1elle (J0hn Darn1elle), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 04:50 (twenty-three years ago)

Haha, most people take everything Thom says with a bucket of salt.

― Melissa W (Melissa W), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 04:54 (twenty-three years ago)

kid a is a vastly superior album unless you like your pahtos and bathos spoonfed to you

― jess (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 05:06 (twenty-three years ago)

i must be the only person who still listens to 'drill'

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 05:09 (twenty-three years ago)

(however, i will concede that the "knives out"/"morning bell" double A side at the heart of the latter album is rending)

― jess (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 05:10 (twenty-three years ago)

I think Amnesiac is a very good record, but I'd agree with Jess - Kid A is heads and shoulders a much better album. It's very difficult for me to listen to Amnesiac without thinking about how it is essentially all of the songs that didn't fit into the cohesive whole of Kid A, it is more or less a very high quality outtakes record. Amnesiac sounds more like a compilation than an album, though I can see why some people may find that more appealing than something like Kid A which is most definitely a very deliberate set of songs.

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 05:38 (twenty-three years ago)

yes, the unity of kid a is what appeals. nothing feels out of place. amnesiac is like a really cohesive b-sides record.

― jess (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 05:43 (twenty-three years ago)

i agree. amnesiac is more odds and sods. plus i prefer kid a's colder sound. as for morning bell, i think overall i prefer the amnesiac version. although it doesn't have the great bit where thom is whispering menacingly (and incomprehensibly)

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 09:02 (twenty-three years ago)

a really cohesive b-sides record.
no way. the songs on amnesiac are much stronger. knives out, pyramid song, i might be wrong are killer songs not matched by anything on kid a. kid a might be more cohesive but the variety is exactly the strength of amnesiac.

― alex in mainhattan (alex63), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 09:05 (twenty-three years ago)

Jess - what, even Optimistic?!

The Kid A version wins hands down, simply for those sublime 4 bars about half way through when all the guitars come in and then disappear never to be seen again. It's one of four or five little touches on Kid A that keep me coming back to it in a way I don't really with Amnesiac (Pyramid Song and the last two excepted).

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 09:17 (twenty-three years ago)

there is definitely more of a unifying mood on kid a, even if the some songs differ sound-wise. agreed, this need not necessarily be a bad thing. just that i prefer the colder touch. and maybe there's one or two songs on amnesiac i could live without.

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 09:21 (twenty-three years ago)

why is nobody mentioning the
'i might be wrong' version ?
it's real ace !

― piscesboy, Tuesday, 25 March 2003 12:58 (twenty-three years ago)

kid a is a vastly superior album unless you like your pahtos and bathos spoonfed to you

I disagree

― J0hn Darn1elle (J0hn Darn1elle), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 13:29 (twenty-three years ago)

Hey, I never said that the songs on Amnesiac weren't good. I still highly rate that record, I just don't think it's the band's best album.

I love "Like Spinning Plates" and "You And Whose Army?" very deeply.

I could live without connecting-thread filler like "Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors" and "Hunting Bears".

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 14:30 (twenty-three years ago)

in retrospect, kid a has a bit of a saggy middle. between how to disappear (sorta hollow and overlong), treefingers (v. nice in a 'look what we're doing now' sort of way but ultimately wasted by the fact that it bridges to the kinda plodding optimistic), in limbo (k-moody but certainly not among their ten best songs from that era, all things told) and motion picture soundtrack (too ineffectual), its got v. tangible faults

in terms of sheerly fantastic songs, amnesiac easily matches it: pyramid song, knives out, dollars and cents, like spinning plates and life in a glass house are all exceptional, and even some of that album's stranger moments have proven more rewarding with time (pulkpull, hunting bears)

i agree that it has the feel of an odds and sods comp but i wonder how much of that patchwork feel is aided by the fact that radiohead TOLD you that what it was

i flip-flop on which album i prefer (its k-hard to touch eiirp, kid a and national anthem as an opening triad), but i can't help to think that there was an exceptional album to be fashioned from all this material whereby they could've flown the "classic songs" flag (hi geir!) as well as their beardy avant-gardist one

― mark p (Mark P), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 14:46 (twenty-three years ago)

My perspective:

"In Limbo" is the best song on _Kid A_. "Everything In Its Right Place", "Idioteque" and "Morning Bell" come very close to being better, but don't quite make it.

The "Pyramid Song"/"Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors" transition is the best part of _Amnesiac_ by miles and miles and miles.

The main reason _Kid A_ is better than _Amnesiac_ is because the version of "Morning Bell" on _Kid A_ is so ridiculously great it isn't even funny. The _Amnesiac_ version is actually really, really terrible and embarrassing and reflects very negatively on the entire album, which is a shame because I think the overall quality of songs is better on _Amnesiac_.

If I was to combine the two into one album, it would look something like this:

Everything In Its Right Place
Pyramid Song
Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors
I Might Be Wrong
Optimistic
In Limbo
Knives Out
Idioteque
Morning Bell
Life In A Glass House

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 15:19 (twenty-three years ago)

the Kid A version of Morning Bell is probably my favorite Radiohead song. the other one doesn't touch it.

― Al (sitcom), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 15:50 (twenty-three years ago)

I Might Be Wrong bugs me because the first time I heard it, at a gig just after Kid A came out, it sounded like this really beefy, otherworldly baggy song and subsequent versions (especially the one on Amnesiac) have just been limp and plodding in comparison.

My other "moment" on Kid A is the chord change at the end of How To Disappear..., which completely justifies nothing much happening for the previous four minutes imo.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 16:02 (twenty-three years ago)

Man. Sometimes I really do think that I'm the only person on the planet earth who thinks the song "Kid A" is one of Radiohead's finest moments. It's like an early U2 anthem being devoured by a laptop.

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 23:58 (twenty-three years ago)

Dan, you skipped Like Spinning Plates! THE BEST RADIOHEAD SONG OF ALL-TIME!

― Melissa W (Melissa W), Wednesday, 26 March 2003 00:17 (twenty-three years ago)

"How To Disappear Completely" is probably my favorite song off Kid A! I can't believe it's only been mentioned as mixed at best. I adore the spaciousness of it and how everything floats. It also has a great match of lyrics and song.

I prefer the Kid A version over the Amnesiac, but I like both. As edward noted, the "release me" bit works better in the Amnesiac, but in both songs it marks the transition to a "resolved" chord (someone more musical help me out here).

― Vinnie (vprabhu), Wednesday, 26 March 2003 00:18 (twenty-three years ago)

I like the tension of the Kid A version, though I prefer the vocal performance of the Amnesiac version. There's a certain desperate quality to it, which probably comes from being in a higher key. The insistence of the drums on the Kid A version really make it for me, though.

― Prude (Prude), Wednesday, 26 March 2003 01:03 (twenty-three years ago)

An interesting find concerning "Sleepy Jack the Firedrill" from here (the lyrics are in that as well). "Sleepy Jack" = Frère Jacques from the French children song and "Morning Bell" refers to "sonnes les matines" (morning bells are ringing).

Concerning this connection to a song you sing in school I suppose my connection to King Solomon (Salomo in German) is pretty obvious as well. The story with the baby Solomon tries to cut in half is a story you read in school or in confirmation classes. There seems to be a strong element of children stuff in Radiohead's lyrics.

― alex in mainhattan (alex63), Wednesday, 26 March 2003 04:56 (twenty-three years ago)

two months pass...

The KID A Version is far better musically, and emotionally. The overly arranged, almost synthetic feelings of pathos created by the Amnesiac version contribute to the overall dimming of the original feelings invoked by the hypnotic 5/4 pulse of the song, continually pushed forward by selway's semiquavers on the 5th beat.

I will agree that the Amnesiac verison of MB is at first glance much more painful and angst-ridden. Still using surface comparisons, yorke's vocal in the KidA version is quite pale an unemotional in every way. Fair point. But - Keep listening. The beauty of Radiohead for me is their ability to use dynamics in both aoverall arangement and general performance. The Kid A Version has so many intersperesed textures, all sown around the central figure of the arragement - The drum beat.

For me the amnesiac version is beautiful aand I wouldn't have the album without it, however, the arragement is too much too soon. Given the subtitle of the sing (MORNING BELL/AMNESIAC] Has noone thought this could be a reference to the alleged losing of the demo on minidisc during a lightning storm, or a refernce to amnesia. To me RH have 'forgetten' all the emotional textures and dynamics put into the origianl version, and this newer version serves only as an over saturated figment of the former - overly trying to better the simplicity and beauty of the kid a recording, and while not exacltl failing, as it were, achieveing a very different ambience.

John Kearns--

PS - It's late, andI can spell, I just can't type too well...

PPS - a few notes...

Like spinning plates is one of the most beautiful RH melodies I have ever come across. Also, Pull/pulk revolving doors has the most beautiful lyrics, which bring a tear to my eye - I draw particular to these 2 songs, as these were the last two songs I accepted from the album

I'd love to debate RH with any other musicians... Please get in touch.

― John Kearns, Friday, 30 May 2003 00:02 (twenty-three years ago)

four years pass...

it's time i went back and listened to amnesiac with some fresh ears. i have a feeling that the songs that are going to appeal to me this time round are the less conventional ones like 'pull/pulk...' and 'like spinning plates' which had me a little perturbed back in the day. should be good

― Charlie Howard, Tuesday, 14 August 2007 15:40 (eighteen years ago)

i haven't listened to amnesiac in about a year.
can't wait for my new headphones to come in the mail.

― funny farm, Tuesday, 14 August 2007 16:13 (eighteen years ago)

"Pull/Pulk Revolving Doors" is one of Radiohead's best songs.

― HI DERE, Tuesday, 14 August 2007 17:18 (eighteen years ago)

No it's not.

― the next grozart, Tuesday, 14 August 2007 17:28 (eighteen years ago)

"Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors" ties in beautifully with Pyramid Song, as Dan says above. When those eerie recorders come back in, WAU

Like Spinning Plates is clearly the best song, tho. Dan omits that from his Kid Amnesiac compilation, which makes me a sad panda.

― Just got offed, Tuesday, 14 August 2007 17:34 (eighteen years ago)

Funny, I played these two albums to death from 2001-2005. Really haven't played 'em much since, but goddamn are they so good. These two albums were really a gateway for me in discovering all sorts of good music. I think I'll give them a play this evening.

Amnesiac I think is the better album, or at least it has pretty much all of my favorite Radiohead songs, but I prefer the Kid A version of "Morning Bell." I can't see them ever really topping these two albums (if a new album is even going to arrive...what the hell??!?!?!?)

― Mark Clemente, Tuesday, 14 August 2007 17:51 (eighteen years ago)

amnesiac is gr8

― Jordan, Tuesday, 14 August 2007 17:53 (eighteen years ago)

dammit how many times must i stick up for HTTT as the best one

― Just got offed, Tuesday, 14 August 2007 17:55 (eighteen years ago)

ha your "favorite" maybe....but best?

― Mark Clemente, Tuesday, 14 August 2007 17:57 (eighteen years ago)

i think it's the best! strongest tunes, most variation, best experiments, smoothest transitions. a lot of people took it for granted.

― Just got offed, Tuesday, 14 August 2007 18:02 (eighteen years ago)

Yea I probably do take it for granted. But the boring bits of it kind of spoil it for me (and what one might call the "boring bits" of Kid A/Amnesiac make for such interesting transitions, I think), and I always thought it ran a little too long. For years I've wanted to make my own HTTT taking out all the stuff I don't like. It would obviously be incredibly easy to do so but I've never gotten around to it.

― Mark Clemente, Tuesday, 14 August 2007 18:09 (eighteen years ago)

Only 'The Gloaming' is anything short of brilliance, and I know that song's got a lot of fans. The rest is Radiohead at their most reaching and most challenging. 'Sit Down Stand Up' and 'A Punchup At A Wedding' especially. Those two songs are practically a 'How To' guide on incorporating electronic beats and dance elements into indie rock songs.

― Just got offed, Tuesday, 14 August 2007 18:20 (eighteen years ago)

Radiohead hasn't released an album that was anything short of brilliant starting with The Bends.

― HI DERE, Tuesday, 14 August 2007 19:35 (eighteen years ago)

I don't remember Punchup having electronic beats.

― Jordan, Tuesday, 14 August 2007 19:55 (eighteen years ago)

Maybe it does though.

― Jordan, Tuesday, 14 August 2007 20:00 (eighteen years ago)

How to use electronic beats part one: Use sparingly, perhaps only in the last forty seconds of the song. Thus, your use will have a greater impact than if you liberally spangled your entire song with the buggers.

― Just got offed, Tuesday, 14 August 2007 20:06 (eighteen years ago)

only in the last forty seconds of the song

(and for a bit in the second verse)

my point is, they do it very subtly. and very well!

― Just got offed, Tuesday, 14 August 2007 20:08 (eighteen years ago)

How to use electronic beats part two: Do not listen to or accept checks from this man:

http://photos-b.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sctm/v65/28/120/36909752/n36909752_32887061_1889.jpg

― Curt1s Stephens, Tuesday, 14 August 2007 20:09 (eighteen years ago)

that transcends mere zing

― Just got offed, Tuesday, 14 August 2007 20:11 (eighteen years ago)

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