This is my favorite RH album. Like most other people (I think), I got into them around the time
OK Computer came out, which kind of took everybody by surprise.
Kid A, on the other hand, was more controversial, but for me it was such a big deal at the time of its release because there was so little popular music that had successfully incorporated the more advanced styles of electronic music - and here I'm referring specifically to the UK duo Autechre, of whom Thom Yorke is a confessed fan. There are actually parts of certain songs on
Kid A that are practically lifted right out of a late 90s Autechre ep. But I don't hold it against Yorke, he just has great taste!
Anyway, for months prior to the release of
Kid A I'd been listening to live recordings in which RH played early versions of songs that would end up on
Kid A. I was obsessed with a live version of "How To Disappear Completely and Never Be Found," and although the album version is good, I felt like it lost a lot of the intensity of the stripped down live version.
I felt the same way about the song "Nude" on
In Rainbows when it came out a couple years ago (or whenever that was). The album version is ok, but IMO doesn't hold a candle to the gut-wrenching live versions they'd been playing for many, many years before that album was released. To be more specific, earlier live versions of "Nude" featured an intense climax, whereas the album version just sort of withers up and ends quietly.