The Bends

There hasn't been one song on this album that I haven't enjoyed! Radiohead has such a unique sound and this CD is proof of that. This is seriously one of my favorite things to listen to.

While the first Radiohead album, Pablo Honey, was a decent go at the prevailing grunge sound of the time, The Bends was where Thom Yorke and company went from imitation to originality. Yorke's infatuation with modern alienation was focused and Jon Greenwood had fine tuned his guitar attacks into a voice that became unique to him and the band. More than any of their other albums, "The Bends" rocked hard and loud.

While the follow-up would find Yorke pushing his view more into the technology of alienation (and produce a masterwork in OK Computer), "The Bends" was still a human album. As "High and Dry" made it clear:

"Drying up in conversation,
You'll be the one that cannot talk.
All your insides fall to pieces,
you just sit there
wishing you could still make love."

That may be the most aching lyric to come off Yorke's pen, and it's followed by yet another bit of brilliance, "Fake Plastic Trees." I always though the line "that she bought from a rubber man in a town full of rubber plans" was a nod to The Beatles in Radiohead's own twisted world. Then there's the band looking at the flukish success of "Creep" on "My Iron Lung," where the sudden recognition of that one song becomes the twin blessing and curse of rock hit and novelty...and insecurity of creative doubt takes root.

While Yorke was already pushing Radiohead up and away from the typical rock forms of the day, "The Bends" remains the band's most rocking and accessible CD. The seeds of artistic explosion had already reached a fertile stage and would jump the tracks on the next two albums, yet to my ears, "The Bends" was Radiohead's first perfect record.

This and Pablo honey stand as Radiohead's only real conventional alternative rock albums, and they are two of the best alternative rock albums in exsistence, though The Bends is waaay better than Pablo Honey. Some of the standouts from the ablum include Planet Telex (which Thom Yorke recorded while lying on the ground drunk), Fake Plastic Trees, and Street Spirit (Fade Out). An absolute essential album for any Radiohead fan, or music lover in general.

This is a strong album with enduring musical riffs. I only lament that Amazon's sale pricing today is for the "explicit" version. I'm not a prude, nor do I wish to censor artist license (I don't think Radiohead takes it "too far"), but for the family iPod, I'm going to have to abstain this time. Bummer!

Like someone else said in a review, this would be the album to give someone who had never listened to Radiohead. It is a good introduction, and it gets the listener ready to hear OK Computer.

OK Computer is a better album than this one from a technical and artistic standpoint, but this one has stronger melodies for those listeners who want a more "accessible" album.

I disagree strongly with people who say that Radiohead got too "weird" after this album, but I think that thinking is to be expected when one considers that this album is so well made, with perfectly processed guitar sounds, pretty vocals, keyboards kept neatly tucked in the background, and classic song structures throughout. What people who take the time will hear though, is that the same strong melodies, lyrics, and interesting harmonies that make this a classic are present on every Radiohead album, and sometimes even more so on the "weird" ones. The difference now is that Radiohead has decided to widen its pallette with keyboards, strings, effects, etc. The guitars, bass, and drums are still there, though, and so are the strong melodies and emotions behind them, so I don't see what all of the fuss is about. Radiohead is one of the few modern bands who has talent even somewhat comparable to the bands of the 60s and 70s, so why not grant them the same freedom to explore new territory?

One thing that does bother me about this album is that the band should play more songs from it live.