4 Must-Hear Productions by Nigel Godrich Outside of Radiohead

Since 1994, Radiohead’s restless ambition led the band to abandon the alt-rock sound that made them famous. A key architect of this transformation was producer Nigel Godrich.

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Godrich helped deconstruct Radiohead, who were determined to outrun their biggest hit “Creep”. He engineered The Bends. And when producer John Leckie left him alone with the band, they recorded “Black Star”. It was part of an emerging post-rock Big Bang, sending Radiohead on a groundbreaking trajectory toward reimagining then discarding rock music on masterpieces like OK Computer and Kid A.

Though Godrich is widely regarded for his work with Radiohead, he’s also guided other artists on career-defining albums. Here are four must-hear Godrich productions outside of Radiohead.

Travis: ‘The Man Who’ (1999)

After Britpop faded, this Scottish group represented the next wave of British guitar music. Like Coldplay and many others with one-word band names, Travis borrowed from Oasis and The Bends-era Radiohead to create its left-of-center soft rock. Nigel Godrich (and co-producer Mike Hedges) kept the tracks sparse and raw to counterbalance the tenderness of Fran Healy’s excellent songwriting.

Check out “The Fear”, which begins with a gurgling synth. When the track kicks in, Godrich places the drums in one speaker and the electric guitar on the opposite side. It sounds like you are standing in the middle of the band’s rehearsal space. But it also captures the mounting anxieties that led Healy to turn his diary entries into anthems.

Beck: ‘Sea Change’ (2002)

In 1998, Beck followed his blockbuster Odelay with a psychedelic folk album called Mutations. Though it wasn’t as commercially successful as Odelay, it laid the groundwork for Beck’s heartbreaking LP Sea Change. Beck’s lonely songs are punctuated by Nigel Godrich’s studio wizardry. To hear the lasting influence of this great album, listen to Kacey Musgraves’s stunning track “Slow Burn” from her 2018 album Golden Hour. There’s no way Musgraves gets to “Slow Burn” without studying Sea Change.

Paul McCartney: ‘Chaos And Creation In The Backyard’ (2005)

When Macca began work with Nigel Godrich, the producer challenged him. He did away with McCartney’s live band, dug out the old instruments he used with The Beatles, and refused to record songs he didn’t like. Telling the 20^th century’s greatest songwriter that a tune isn’t good enough to cut takes some stones, but you cannot argue with the results. Chaos And Creation In The Backyard proved to be McCartney’s best work in years. Add “Jenny Wren” to your post-Beatles playlist.   

Charlotte Gainsbourg: ‘5:55’ (2006)

On Charlotte Gainsbourg’s second album, you can hear the seductive echoes of her parents Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin. Meanwhile, Nigel Godrich teamed with the French electronic duo Air, whose compositions recall the dark noir of their soundtrack to The Virgin Suicides. The album’s highlight is “The Songs That We Sing”, written by Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker and The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon.

Godrich yanks this restless track from its 1960s roots and turns it into a modern dream pop classic. It would have been tempting to give in to pastiche. However, part of Godrich’s genius is how he finds novel ways to produce the familiar.

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