Nice dream (The Bends - Radiohead)

Member Name: mo79

Product:	The Bends - Radiohead
Date:	30/06/00 (20 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Guaranteed longevity, infinitely beautiful and haunting songs

Disadvantages: Half the songs are 'alright'

Forget Oasis; forget Blur - the only band not concerned with recycling rock or patronising the social classes of the 90's were, and most possibly still are Radiohead.
After releasing a bollocky debut ('Pablo Honey'; although there was a proper lost debut before this...) with the socially inept classic 'Creep', you knew that either Radiohead were going to be the biggest thing in British music since The Smiths, or just a one-hit wonder.
Thankfully then, the band opted for the former route and produced to great critical acclaim; 'The Bends' (titled after the slang for compression sickness which affects divers who rise to the surface too quickly).
Although not dubbed as a cohesive classic as it's mammoth selling 'OK Computer' follow-up album (regarded as their greatest effort to date), I find that 'The Bends' has more longevity than 'OK...', and all the really brilliant songs on 'The Bends' totally spit all over 'OK Computer', and most of the fey indie tripe out at the time; and at the moment.
Half of the songs on 'The Bends' are corkers; tunes that really get to the heart, and remain touching and memorable, while the other half are 'alright'; I guess that's why people forgot about 'The Bends' a bit.
'Planet Telex', 'High & Dry', 'Fake Plastic Trees', '(Nice Dream)', 'Just', 'Sulk' and 'Street Spirit (Fade Out)' are just 6 of the best songs written by a Brit (and non-Brit!) band in the 90's, and the 6 best songs on this album of 12; that's all I can describe them as - you *have* to hear them. You must buy this album, so long as you have good taste in music (a debatable topic), this is an album that you must have, you will enjoy it, you'll feel it; so long as you're human. Some of their most touching, beautiful, haunting and somewhat humorous tracks are on here. The shimmery produc
tion of John Leckie (who worked with the late John Lennon) beautifully complements Thom Yorke's ill and bruised vocals and guitarist Johnny Greenwood's non-wanky guitar work...And it's infinetly the current benchmark for Brit music, more than Oasis; and infinintely better than anything Travis and Muse will or have ever done.

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