"Reckoner" is a song by the English rock band

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

, released on their seventh album, '' In Rainbows'' (2007). It was produced by Nigel Godrich and developed while Radiohead were working on another song, " Feeling Pulled Apart by Horses". "Reckoner" was named one of the best songs of the decade by ''Pitchfork'' and '' NME''.

Remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

es were released by James Holden, Flying Lotus and

Diplo Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is the co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer, a member of the supergroup LSD with ...

. Radiohead released the separate stems for fans to remix, as they had done with their 2008 single "

Nude Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to h ...

". "Reckoner" reached number 74 on the UK Singles Chart.

Recording

On tour in 2001, Radiohead performed a different song with the title "Reckoner". '' Pitchfork'' described it as "droning rocker", and '' Rolling Stone'' wrote that it featured "one of the loudest and most sinister riffs in Radiohead's catalog". Working on this song for their 2007 album '' In Rainbows'', Radiohead wrote a

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that developed into a different song, but kept the "Reckoner" title. Radiohead's producer, Nigel Godrich, recalled of the recording sessions: "People ereall over the house, shaking things and getting this groove going, then chopping it up into little pieces and putting it back together. It was a lot of fun." In 2009, the singer, Thom Yorke, released the original "Reckoner" song as a solo single, " Feeling Pulled Apart by Horses".

Composition

"Reckoner" features Yorke's

falsetto ''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous ed ...

, "frosty, clanging" percussion, a "meandering" guitar line, piano, and a string arrangement by the guitarist

Jonny Greenwood Jonathan Richard Guy Greenwood (born 5 November 1971) is an English musician and composer. He is the lead guitarist and keyboardist of the alternative rock band Radiohead, and has written numerous film scores. Along with his elder brother, th ...

. Yorke said the guitar riff was a homage to the Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante, "in my sort of clunky 'can't-really-pick' kind of way". He described the song as "kind of a love song ... Sort of."

Release

"Reckoner" was released on Radiohead's 2007 album ''In Rainbows''. As they had done for their single "

", on September 28, 2008, Radiohead released the separate "Reckoner" stems for fans to purchase and

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

. Fans could upload their remixes to the Radiohead website and vote for their favourites. Radiohead also had the electronic musicians James Holden, Flying Lotus and

create remixes. After the stems were released for sale, "Reckoner" reached number 74 on the UK Singles Chart. It did not enter the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, but peaked at number 21 on the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart, a 25-song extension of the Hot 100. A performance of "Reckoner" was included on the 2008 live video ''

In Rainbows – From the Basement ''In Rainbows – From the Basement'' is a 2008 live video by the English rock band Radiohead. It features performances of ten songs from Radiohead's seventh album, ''In Rainbows'' (2007), plus four older songs. Production ''In Rainbows – From ...

''.

Music video

The "Reckoner" music video was created by Clement Picon, who won a competition held by Radiohead and Aniboom to create an animation for a song from ''In Rainbows''. Yorke described it as "one of my favourite video things that has ever happened".

Reception

Reviewing ''In Rainbows'', ''Pitchfork'' wrote that "Reckoner" was not the "most immediate track", but that after several listens "it reveals itself to be among the most woozily beautiful things the band has ever recorded". In October 2011, ''Rolling Stone'' readers voted it the ninth-best Radiohead song, and '' NME'' ranked it the 93rd-best track of the previous 15 years. ''Pitchfork'' named it the 254th-greatest song of the decade. In 2020, the ''Guardian'' named "Reckoner" the third-best Radiohead song, writing: "At first innocuous, 'Reckoner' unspools a full house of virtuoso performances engulfed by Godrich’s winter-blanket production. It soothes then soars."

Personnel

Adapted from the ''In Rainbows'' liner notes. Radiohead * Colin Greenwood *

Ed O'Brien Edward John O'Brien (born 15 April 1968) is an English guitarist, songwriter and member of the rock band Radiohead. He releases solo music under the name EOB. O'Brien attended Abingdon School in Oxfordshire, England, where he met the other mem ...

* Philip Selway * Thom Yorke Production * Nigel Godrich – production, mixing, engineering * Richard Woodcraft – engineering *

Hugo Nicolson Hugo Nicolson is an English record producer and engineer, who has worked on records for artists including Primal Scream, Embrace, David Holmes, Shack, Julian Cope, and his sister, Claire Nicolson (musician) who also performs under the pseudonym ...

– engineering *

Dan Grech-Marguerat Daniel James Grech-Marguerat, also known as Dan Grech, (born 11 July 1981 in Bedford), is an English / Maltese recording engineer, record producer and mixer. His production style pulls together a blend of alternative and pop genres. He is recog ...

– engineering * Graeme Stewart – preproduction *

Bob Ludwig Robert C. Ludwig (born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Qu ...

– mastering Artwork *

Stanley Donwood Dan Rickwood (born 29 October 1968), known professionally as Stanley Donwood, is an English artist and writer. Since 1994, he has created all the artwork for the rock band Radiohead with their singer Thom Yorke, plus Yorke's other projects. He ...

* Dr Tchock

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2007 songs Radiohead songs Rock ballads XL Recordings singles Song recordings produced by Nigel Godrich Songs written by Thom Yorke Songs written by Colin Greenwood Songs written by Jonny Greenwood Songs written by Philip Selway Songs written by Ed O'Brien