Radiohead's Sophomore Effort: Good, Bad or Mediocre? [The British Invasion W/O]
Jul 01 '02 (Updated Jul 01 '02)
Pros Some great songs, some good songs, Yorke's vocals
Cons Some forgettable songs, a bit depressing
The Bottom Line I'm not generally known for going against the grain. The Radiohead album has forced me to disagree with critics and most other reviewers.
Full Review
There is only one time in which the 70th review on an album is appropriate. That time is The British Invasion W/O .
I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve never quite caught the Radiohead bug. I do in fact remember when Pablo Honey hit shelves and Creep was played on every modern rock station imaginable. But, back in the early and mid 1990’s I was much too busy headbanging to be introspective. I also vividly recall the 1995 release of The Bends and the video for High and Dry. That song was the one that for a long time defined the album and for that matter Radiohead as a band to me.
The Bends made its official appearance in my music collection about five years ago. It got little attention in comparison to heavier albums. I just couldn’t bring myself to pop it in my stereo and rock out…the album was too sensitive and too mushy for me. For three or so years it collected dust and was completely ignored by both my college roommates and myself. And then I got “old” and became more and more adventurous in my listening. One of the very few albums from a British artist (aside from those usually classified as Classic Rock) in my possession was Radiohead’s The Bends.
The Bends was the second album from Radiohead. The first, 1993’s Pablo Honey, was moderately successful and managed to at least momentarily land the British band a spot toward the top of the charts even stateside. When Thom Yorke (vocals), Ed O’Brien (guitar), Phil Selway (drums), Johnny Greenwood (keys), and Colin Greenwood (bass) regrouped and released their sophomore effort things began to come together both critically and commercially.
Radiohead make anything but happy and lively music. Instead, their formula involves unabashedly mixing dark, experimental pop/rock with somber, brooding Britpop. The Bends is overall a pretty darned spiffy attempt at capturing an audience. But, at times I find myself wondering how one band can possibly be this sad and whether or not the emotions and lyrics are indeed sincere. The act does begin to get old as the album’s twelve tracks wear on, but on the whole I still find myself rather entertained by Yorke’s lyrics and the band’s tortured gloom.
The album was in fact hailed by critics as a more mature album. Despite the band’s videos, MTV found little use for them. Radiohead was a bit too strange and a bit too dark for the predominantly teenage audience. Despite going gold in the U.S., The Bends had very little impact stateside. On the British front, critics lauded Radiohead as genius and named the band’s second album as one of the best of the year.
As sacrilegious as it may be, I can’t bring myself to 100% agree with British press about the innate greatness of this album. There. I said it. Shoot me now.
The Bends, released on Capitol in 1995, contains twelve songs. Some of the tracks are truly memorable while others come across as nothing more than anticlimactic and wholly forgettable. I wish I could be more positive, but when you expect the best and get something that at times is mediocre handed to you it is a bit discouraging.
As much as I would like to rip apart this album, it is most certainly a 4/5 star attempt. Both Sulk and Bones are difficult to stomach while despite remembering High and Dry from the album’s initial release I can’t in fact appreciate it. All thee songs are rather dry and mundane and in the end a bit too easy to hit the skip button on.
With the negatives out of the way, I’d like to focus on a few more positive points. The most perfect song on this album is Fake Plastic Trees. As a single, it was awarded quite a bit of British support. The critics and fans were right in supporting the song and would have been correct in supporting the album had The Bends had been a further extension. Delicate, depressing, and emotional Fake Plastic Trees showcases the talent of Radiohead. The band’s use of strings, an acoustic guitar, and Yorke’s vocals is lovely to say the very least. The emotional instrumental base of the song also is purposefully apathetic and goes nicely with the overall lyrical theme of a fake and uncaring world.
Radiohead also shines on Just. The track is a bit more energetic and a bit more rock and roll than most of the other songs from the band. If I had to choose a sound that I most appreciate from Yorke and company, I would say that this rock and roll groove is most universally appealing. Despite the heavier guitars and drums, Yorke sounds more rounded and more real than he does on songs where he’s forced to hold back.
My Iron Lung is one of the most notable songs for good reason. Understated electric guitars, controlled drums, and Yorke’s lightly whirling vocals help to make this one of the better tracks. The one thing that makes me less than totally impressed by the song is the repetition. I do at times become tired of the identical guitar line repeated throughout.
The final song I’d like to give any individual attention is the haunting ballad Bullet Proof…I Wish I Was. Yorke’s vocals are seamlessly combined with atmospherically layered instruments and synthesizers. It’s easy to appreciate Radiohead on this diverse, swirling song even if it drives me to Prozac.
Anyway, other songs of note include the album-opener Planet Telex, the lightly emotional Black Star, and the surprisingly folk-rock Street Spirit. The few other songs I haven’t mentioned just don’t strike me as good or bad. They are in fact filler. Filler relying on formulas more successfully exploited on earlier songs. Nothing more.
The Bends is overrated in my opinion. It’s not even the best album of Radiohead’s relatively short though critically acclaimed music career. The album is better than Pablo Honey although I highly suggest picking up 1997’s OK Computer before turning your attention to The Bends. It’s a good album, but not great.
Rating: 4/5 stars
Track Listing:
1. Planet Telex
2. The Bends
3. High and Dry
4. Fake Plastic Trees
5. Bones
6. Nice Dream
7. Just
8. My Iron Lung
9. Bullet Proof…I Wish I Was
10. Black Star
11. Sulk
12. Street Spirit
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Thanks to native Brit paulyoungotti for organizing The British Invasion W/O. To be further enlightened about British music you might want to just check out the entries from these other writers:
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