Amazing (The Bends - Radiohead)

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Product:	The Bends - Radiohead
Date:	28/05/01 (115 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Outstanding artistic work

Disadvantages: It has to end, even if you don't want it to

There's a deep irony here that I don't think anyone else has picked up on. Radiohead's first album, Pablo Honey, had the single Creep on it. This song catapulted the band to unexpected stardom. They rose too fast and it hurt them. The bends is something that effects divers, they rise to the surface to fast and nitrogen bubbles become stuck in their brain causing severe pain and even death. That's only half the irony though. The Bends took a year and a half to get into the Billboard Top 20 chart. It rose slowly and avoided causing pain. It's a good thing for us, because if Radiohead had fallen apart we would lose one of the most important bands around.

First of all, I've gotta say some stuff about the way this album looks. Radiohead was really disappointed with the visual style of their first album. They didn't like the pictures, the font, the way it was put together, anything. While many bands would've ignored this, they took control of it. They chose Stanley Donwood to be their resident artist and trusted in him to convey the themes they explored. And Donwood is a perfect match, he highlights everything that Radiohead is.

Now I've got to tell you what I thought of Radiohead when I got this album. After listen to Creep, I pegged them as a one hit wonder. It seemed natural and they really did fit the mold. What I didn't know was that they just happened to fit into the sound that MTV was looking for at that time, but that they were not happy about it. They wanted to grow and be something more. It is this instinct that makes all great artists prevail, they change. So when I heard that this was a good album, I decided I'd check it out just in case it was true. I had absolutely no idea that Radiohead was going to make such an amazing artistic leap.

The first track on the album is Planet Telex. This is a very interesting song, the drumbeat stutters in a slow techno way, the bass leaps around nimbly,
the guitar jabs and frames the vocals, and a piano accentuates the beautiful melody. It's got wonderful lyrics and a beautiful atmosphere that sucks you in. This song completely buries you, it's a wonderful way to start off an album. And the song feels like it's out of time, stuck in the near future rather than the present.

The next song is the title track, The Bends. It opens with a thick wall of guitars and then drops to a single clean guitar delicately supporting the soft vocals. "Where do we go from here?" "Where are you now, when I need you?" Yorke asks softly. The song goes into the chorus and then becomes a free form vocal rap, totally unlike anything I'd heard at that time. The guitar continues to fuel the song's fire and rises up to a wonderful soaring instrumental part, with Yorke exasperatedly singing "I wanna live, breathe, be part of the human race".

The next song is High and Dry, a pop masterpiece. The acoustic guitar follows the beautiful drumbeat and somehow they manipulate an electric guitar to sound like a violin. Yorke sings a beautiful melody with lines like "You broke another mirror, you're turning into something you are not" and "They're the ones who'll hate you when you think you've got the world all shushed out, they're the ones who'll spit at you, you'll be the one screaming out" while a guitar mirrors the melody with single-note picking. The lyrics are touching, seeming to focus on the fear of abandonment and Yorke's vocal work is outstanding. The guitar solo is a joyous triumph of good feeling mixed with bitterness. This was the first song on the album that grabbed my attention, I listened to it four or five times before I moved on.

The next track is Fake Plastic Trees. This song is so soft and gentle and simple, it's an instant classic. It starts with a single acoustic guitar and Yorke singing softly, th
en the drums enter with a very simple beat. An organ brings forth a rich emotional feel and the bass anchors the sound. The song builds very simply and deliberately. Lyrics are outstanding, dealing with materialism in abstract form. "He used to do surgery for girls in the eighties, but gravity always wins" is a simple and poignant lyric. It's very abstract and open to interpretation, mine being the bitterness someone feels about wasting his life. The simple refrain of "It wears me out" sums up life in a few short words. The song proceeds, gently gaining momentum before blowing wide open. The lyrics are outstanding, probably the strongest lyrical portrait I've heard since the Beatles (Eleanor Rigby, She's Leaving Home, etc.). The song gently winds down and Yorke plaintively sums everything up with the line "If I could be who you wanted, all the time". An outstanding and timeless song, yet utterly contemporary.

The next song is Bones. The lyrics are typically charming and the rhythm is okay, but the song doesn't really stand out. It gives the album a bit of a rock jab, but it seems like filler material. Aside from the outstanding line "I used to fly like Peter Pan, all the children flew when I touched their hands", the song just isn't up to par with the rest of the album.

The next song is the lovely Nice Dreams. It starts with a beautiful acoustic riff that descends and then is joined by a wonderful single note melody. The vocal melody is stunning and perfectly complements the gentle acoustic framework, while the lyrics describe a beautiful dream ("They loved me like I was a brother, protect me, listened to me. They dug me my very own garden, gave me sunshine, made me happy.") but the chorus sadly brings us back to reality, stating that it's only a dream and impossible to actually attain. Then the song switches gears, like the wonderful dream turning to a nightmare, while the
lyrics state "If you think that you're strong enough/If you think you belong enough".
The next track is the brilliant Just (You Do It to Yourself). The music swells and flows, circles and entrances you. It's a rich and brilliant musical tapestry, a painting in sound. The lyrics are outstanding ("Can't get the stink off/He's been hanging 'round for days/Comes like a comet/Suckered you but not your friends" "Don't get much sympathy/Hanging out the fifteenth floor/Changed the locks three times/He still comes reeling through the door"). They seem to be about one of those friends that sucks everything out of you, your friends see through them but you can't turn them down. It's really good. And when Yorke says "You do it to yourself/That's what really hurts", it's a lovely condemnation of this behavior. The music is refreshingly original and instantly hummable. This song showcases the outstanding talent that every single member of Radiohead brings to the band.

The next song is the wonderfully unpredictable My Iron Lung. This song has a lovely guitar riff and the bass and drums accentuate it well. The lyrics are good ("Faith/You're driving me away/You do it everyday/You don't mean it but it hurts like hell" "My brain/says I'm recieveing pain/A lack of oxygen from my life support/My iron lung") and the song flows wonderfully before erupting into a hyper, spastic attack. The unexpectedness of this musical progression shocks you, but it fits perfectly into the song.

The next song is the often overlooked "Bulletproof (Wish I Was). It's a gentle acoustic masterpiece with brilliant lyrics ("Limb by limb/And tooth by tooth/Stirring up inside of you/Everyday/Every hour/Wish that I/Was bulletproof" "Wax me/Mould me/Heat the pins and stab them in/You have turned me into this/Just wish that it was bulletproof."), a beau
tiful and touching vocal performance by Yorke, and an outstanding solo. This is a gentle masterpiece hidden near the end.

The next song is Black Star, a terrific song that seems at once instantly recognizable and utterly timeless. The rhythm dips and swirls around you, then stops to allow the vocals to come forward. The bass slides gently under the melody and Yorke really shines. The lyrics are great pieces of abstract observation ("I get home from work and you're still standing in your dressing gown/Well, what am I to do?"), and the verse flows smoothly. Then the guitar comes back to the forefront, adding depth to Yorke's melancholy vocal. It's a really great song, moving deftly between straight out pop and beautifully sad lament.

The next song is Sulk, a less than impressive song that kind of clutters up the brilliance of the album. The lyrics are okay and Yorke utilizes his vocal ability well, but the song isn't up to par. It sounds really good, but that's a result of the band's musical adeptness rather than the actual quality of the songwriting.

The last song is the majestic Street Spirit (Fade Out). A deceptively simple melody allows the band to deliver a very powerful song. The lyrics are pretty good, though a bit broad. It's the band's use of texture and layering that makes the song a classic. The song descends and rises, with the bass providing an anchor to the lows and highs. The vocal is matter-of-fact and disinterested during the verses, but on the chorus ("Fade out again) it is a soaring and beautiful instrument. Yorke has one of the most captivating voices in rock and this is a prime example of his ability. If you think it's easy, try holding a note as long as he does. It's nearly impossible, but it's so effortless for him that it seems simple. A lovely organ accompaniment provides the perfect bittersweet extra that makes the song one of the best of the nineties (an
d I daresay EVER), and it is definitely one of Radiohead's shining moments. The restrain of the guitar is perfect and the verse and chorus rises to a beautiful crescendo. I listened to this song so much when I got the album that no other music seemed to measure up to it. I passed up the other tracks on the record and rushed here everytime, so when I reexamined the album I was delighted to find that it was filled to the brim with outstanding numbers. But no song ever soars as gracefully as this one. Street Spirit is the song that clearly marks Radiohead as a brilliant band. Their use of arrangement, textures, and restraint present a soulful masterpiece that I haven't seen equalled in the years since it's release.

So, in summary, this is an amazing album. The beauty of it can bring tears to your eyes, the rawness of Just and My Iron Lung make you want to accomplish things, and the grandeur of Street Spirit (Fade Out) makes you feel lucky to own this album so cheap. Radiohead are a brilliant band that examines every range of human emotion and will look head on into the social crises that confront us. They didn't explore the effects of living in society on The Bends (they saved that for OK Computer), but they explored the feelings that everyone has inside. This album will inspire you and renew your faith in the future of rock music.

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