The latest releases reviewed

RADIOHEAD
Best Of
EMI
****
Call them pretentious, anti- industry, Warp-influenced noodling art thieves if you like, but there's no denying that when it comes to videos there are few bands around that can beat Radiohead. The truth is, the band's visual sensibilities are just as finely and highly attuned as their musical kind. Unlike their recently released Best Of CD (of which this 90-minute disc is an essential companion piece), the videos run chronologically, from Creep to a live version (at Belfort Festival) of 2+2=5.In between, you have sterling music ( My Iron Lung, High and Dry, Fake Plastic Trees, Karma Police, No Surprises, There There) complemented by incredible visual concepts from the likes of Michel Gondry, Sophie Muller, Paul Cunningham and Jonathan Glazer. Weird, fascinating, utterly innovative. No extras, no surprises, just the visual equivalent of intelligence at work, rest and play.
TONY CLAYTON-LEA

NEW ORDER
Live in Glasgow
Warners
***
Culled mainly from a recent Glasgow show, the most interesting thing here is not the gig itself (though it's a belter) but the band interviews that break up the action. You get a real sense of all the different dynamics that go into making up New Order, and there are clues aplenty as to why the members are currently suffering from "communication problems". The second disc is a well put-together career retrospective, including some real gems, notably footage from the band's 1981 Glastonbury appearance. It ably demonstrates how unsure New Order felt about themselves in the immediate post-Joy Division days, and how they went about fusing their indie-dance sound. The production values could have been higher all around, but, all in all, a good release. BRIAN BOYD