Released:
June 2001
Found on: Amnesiac and Pyramid Song CD1 & CD2
This
song debuted at the Tibetan Freedom Concert in 1999 with Thom solo
on the piano. The running name for it at the time was "Nothing to
Fear." It has since been called "Egyptian Song" and finally "Pyramid
Song."
From Jam!: It begins with simple piano and singer Thom Yorke intoning
non-verbal, falsetto noise, against what sounds like the buzz of conversation.
An assortment of sounds plays out in the background as jazzy drumming
joins the mix and the track builds to a more conventional, full arrangement.
"There was nothing left to fear/Nothing dark," Yorke (apparently)
sings.
Review from SXSW by Allstar: "Pyramid Song" creeped up next, as a
piano-laden intro quickly gave way to a minor howl from Yorke. A lush
and stormy backing track persevered throughout, giving off the impression
that the band is symbolically lost at sea. When the drums kicked in,
the song almost became a big band-era jam (more on that later). As
the crowd at Plush became lost in the track (many folks were seen
with their eyes shut, as if in some sort of trance), a large, overpowering
orchestral crescendo rose and fell, bolting those lost in the music
back to reality that this is Austin, Texas, not a Pentecostal sermon.
|
|