Baby's Got The Bends (The Bends - Radiohead)

Name: sjen5en

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Product:	The Bends - Radiohead
Date:	06.11.01 (55 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The Bends, Street Spirit, Just

Disadvantages: Nowt

Quite simply the one of the best albums in the world…ever. There you go, you can avoid reading the rest of this op if you want because that’s all you need to know.

The album opens with ‘Planet Telex’, a brooding, dark tension builder framed within a void of featureless distortion and noise. ‘The Bends’ lightens things up and reminds us that Radiohead can write great rock songs that ache to be played at full volume. The outro is a perfect set-up for ‘High and Dry’, a mellow acoustic track that gradually builds up into a fantastic finale. However, this proves to be slightly overshadowed by the awesome ‘Fake Plastic Trees’, another slow-tempo track that develops into an even more tender and emotion-filled climax.

‘Bones’ is reminiscent of their Pablo Honey days, with chugging bass-line and raw exploding chorus. It is here that the album begins to become even more distinct from other rock albums - instead of going over the top, the powerful chorus soon disperses and filters away again, leaving a sense of restraint.

‘[Nice Dream]’ does exactly what it says on the tin – simmering dreamy guitar strumming gradually builds into a wave-like dark, overpowering climax that once again quickly disperses. Just as we become comfortable with the mellowness, ‘Just’ storms in in epic style. The beginning of the track is entirely different to the end and features a plethora of guitar sounds and riffs, all crammed into less that four minutes.

‘My Iron Lung’ once again switches the album to a darker tone and, similar to ‘Bones’, starts off gently enough before erupting into the powerful chorus. ‘Bullet proof…’ is probably my least favourite track and when compared to the rest of the album seems a little too featureless although it does provide another side of Radiohead’s range, and a breathing space b
efore the climax to the album.

The glorious ‘Black Star’ gently fades in with a breezey verse and rapturous chorus and ‘Sulk’ proves to be more of the same, but with a darker overtone and more powerful finish. The album rounds off with the amazing ‘Street Spirit’ which showcases that superb riff and Thom Yorke’s astounding voice before launching into a truly moving and mesmerising anthem.

As an album, the lyrics are sublime, unpredictable and faultlessly written, offering both honesty and intrigue. Yorke’s vocals are beautifully laced with angst and passion, both effortlessly moving and convincing. The guitarists, Ed O’Brien and Jon Greenwood, bask in their ability to throw out a diverse range of sounds and styles from power chords, dark screeching solos and complex riffs, to mellow acoustics, and subtle textures. Although there is a strong sense of despair and angst running through the album via lyrics, tone and artwork, it never bogs the album down. Emotions are controlled perfectly and are blissfully restrained – they never once threaten to border on the self-indulgent. Choruses explode in a flurry of guitar but are never brash and over the top - texture and subtly being the key rather than volume and noise.

A harsh lesson for all those lame wannabes that think they rock, and an even harsher one for those you think they’re talented or important. If you care about music, this is absolutely essential.
Details for those that are interested…

Thom Yorke: Vocals, Guitar, Piano
Jon Greenwood: Guitar, Organ, Recorder, Synthesizer, Piano
Ed O’Brien: Guitar, Vocals
Colin Greenwood: Bass
Phil Selway: Drums

Additional musicians: Caroline Lavelle (Cello) and John Matthias (Viola and Violin)

Written by Radiohead
Produced by John Leckie except where stated below

Planet Telex (4.19)
The Bends (4.03)

High and Dry (4.17) produced by Radiohead with Jim Warren
Fake Plastic Trees (4.50)
Bones (3.07)
[Nice Dream] (3.52)
Just (3.52)
My Iron Lung (4.35)
Bullet Proof…I wish I was (3.27)
Black Star (4.04) produced by Radiohead with Nigel Godrich and John Leckie
Sulk (3.42)
Street Spirit [fade out] (4.12)

Summary: