Released: 1995
Tracks: Planet Telex; The Bends; High and Dry; Fake Plastic Trees; Bones; (Nice Dream); Just; My Iron Lung; Bullet Proof…I Wish I Was; Black Star; Sulk; Street Spirit (Fade Out)
Best track: My Iron Lung or Just
Track to skip: none
I was never really that impressed with Creep off Pablo Honey so I kind of ignored Radiohead for a few years. I actually ended up getting this, their 2nd album, after owning OK Computer for a few months. At first I was thrown for a loop with this album. I mean, it’s obviously the same band, but the sound is pretty different between these two. On first listen, The Bends just sounded like standard Brit-Pop with ‘heavy’ guitar and whiny vocals and all that. It actually took me a lot of listens, maybe 8 or 9 months worth, of listening to this album and hearing it for what it is, and not comparing it to OK Computer. Because truthfully, nothing they’ve done so far compares to that album. It did take me a while though before I accepted these songs on their own merit and not just as simple Brit-Pop things. Yes, Thom Yorke is pretty whiny on this album (he always is, but getting less so) but it’s easy to get past that. Radiohead is clearly miles ahead of all the other Brit-Pop groups that came out in the 90’s. The difference is the same as it always is: musicianship and songs. As witnessed in the little bits they do here, and what they did over the next few albums, Radiohead is a phenomenally creative band.
From the get-go the good songs start off and they happily don’t let up. I know that the first three specifically are all pretty popular, and High and Dry was a huge hit in the UK, but for me that’s all just the beginning. This album really gets good at Nice Dream and that chunk in the middle (Nice Dream through Bullet Proof) is excellent. I also love how Street Spirit ends the album; another great song and a perfect way to end this. Once I started appreciating this album, I began to notice small things that actually pointed to what the band would do on OK Computer, specifically Just and My Iron Lung. It’s no wonder those are the two best songs on the album. Overall I really like this album and it’s a lot more accessible than some of the more recent albums. It’s mostly straightforward, but I still think it’s pretty great.
Rating: 92
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