I’m really sad that I didn’t start listening to Radiodread, the Easy Star All-Stars reggae re-vision of Radiohead’s OK Computer, until the end of summer because it would have been the perfect accompaniment for beachy days and warm nights. Ah well, I still likes it and I’m not all that crazy about reggae to begin with! So that’s saying a lot.

When OK Computer first came out in 1997, I couldn’t get enough of it and played that beautiful CD into the ground. Although the Thom Yorke-approved reggae dub doesn’t have quite the same hold on me, it’s still an interesting and compelling interpretation, and props should be given to Easy Star All-Stars for even taking on what I think is the best album of the 20th century. But I guess if they could do an homage to Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon, they can pull off anything.

The reggae songs aren’t mere covers set to a kettle drum beat but, rather, so successfully interpreted from vocal stylings to instruments that they could be mistaken for originals. They still stay pretty close to the original album which is fine by me but other people cite that as a flaw. My absolute favorite reggae revisions on Radiodread are “Let Down” by Toots and the Maytals, Morgan Heritage’s “Electioneering” and “No Surprises” featuring the Meditations.

So I was really excited when I saw that the Easy Star All-Stars are doing a show for their Radiodread tour at the Malibu Inn this Friday the 20th. Perfect location for beachy tunes. It may be a season too late but it’ll be a fun show nonetheless.

EVENT: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20 at 8PM

Malibu Inn
22969 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, California 90265
(310) 456-6060
Tickets: $15