Radiohead’s wonderfully bizarre cover of ‘Rhinestone Cowboy’
If it has been said once, it’s been said a million times: Radiohead have a unique sound imbued with the moody glance of their frontman Thom Yorke. The sonic landscape that Yorke, Johnny Greenwood, Colin Greenwood, Ed O’Brien and Philip Selway have carved out of rock is unlike any other. It set them apart in the 1990s as the intelligent alternative to the Britpop furore – and it continues to attract fans to their solo careers, too. It has made them wholly inimitable.
The fact that very few impressive covers of Radiohead exist in the world hasn’t deterred the Oxford band from pulling out a few of their own across their decades on the stage and in the spotlight. From The Smiths to James Bond theme tunes, the group have presided over some serious homages to the past, but perhaps their most curious cover can be found on dusty landscapes.
Picture the scene: It is a blisteringly hot day. A dry breeze blows remnants of sand and dust across a desolate landscape. A small thunder of hooves can be heard thumping closer and closer. You slowly pan to the left, and the silhouette of a horseman gallops into view before stopping, somewhat menacingly, a short distance away.
There’s a pause. A long pause. The sort of pause that has you frozen, waiting for the person standing ahead of you to make the first move… and he does, adjusting his drooping cowboy hat and leaning to one side, allowing the bright sunshine to momentarily blind you and a bead of sweat to drip from your brow. Hopping off his beast in one slick swoop, planting both feet on the ground and revealing his all-white boots with silver pointed spurs on the heel, the horseman has you quivering.
The figure, spitting out a strain of straw that he has nibbled down to threads, wipes his razor-sharp stubbled chin, adjusts his belt, straightens out his shirt, and pauses once more. After a period of seconds that feels like a lifetime, the moment has arrived. The horseman has decided to reveal his intentions. Walking to the rear end of his beast, disappearing out of view for a moment, the animal follows its instructions and begins to creep slowly towards you with the man still out of view. Then, out of nowhere, he reappears, armed with what you think is a weapon until you realise… It’s Thom Yorke, the infamous Rhinestone Cowboy himself.
While it’s fun to imagine Yorke in a shimmering glow of rhinestones, he provides it on this cover through his marvellous vocals. The Glen Campbell classic may well be one of the more curious songs Radiohead have ever covered, but it certainly is one of their finest, too, if only for the sheer lunacy of it all.
Listen to Radiohead’s cover of ‘Rhinestone Cowboy’ below.
