Exit Music - 'Songs With Radio-Heads' (BBE/Rapster) Released 03/04/06

Those of you that listen to Zane Lowe's show on Radio1 will already be acquainted with Mark Ronsons re-interpretation of Just by Radiohead. It's an excellent cover, like the Futureheads doing Kate Bush or The Slits doing Marvin Gaye it translates a well loved track into another genre. Trumpets blast out over bass lines as funky as Studio 54 in the seventies, all the time with the guy that sings The OC theme tune doing his best Thom Yorke impression over the top. 

This is just one of a number of Radiohead covers doing the rounds on the hip hop and dance circuit, so helpfully the best have all been collected together on one album. Radiohead themselves, when not demonstrating against the war or hanging out with Harry Potter, are big fans of both hip hop and dance. They are famous for their experimentation and a remix album seems like the natural step for them.

The thing is Radiohead mean an awful lot to an awful lot of people. From those at Glastonbury in 1997 to those who simply love beautiful songs, they are a massive influence. If you are one of those people avoid this at all costs. It's a self indulgent mix of people ruining your favourite songs. The Bad Plus version of 'Karma Police' is hideous whilst 'High and Dry' by Pete Kuzma has a saxophone on it, enough said we think. Hopefully Thom Yorke and co. regret allowing their songs into the hands of these people.

Overall this isn't a bad album, its just a bit different, and not different in a good way. All of these songs stay on the correct side of the covers law. That is they re interpret not reproduce the song, all putting their own distinct style onto it . However all the songs are very long and seem to go on forever (Morning Bell by Randy Watson is nearly 9 minutes long). Radiohead fans are used to experimentation, different sounds and musical ingenuity but it seems that the only people that would be interested in 'Exit Music' are Radiohead fans, the people that will probably hate it.