The Bends

by

Radiohead

Edit

The Bends. Radiohead's most accessible album. Radiohead's most underappreciated album at the time of its release. Dare I say Radiohead's BEST album?

I dare.

Yes, OK Computer purists may find my statement inaccurate, but let me just ask you this, Radiohead fanatics... If you were to loan any Radiohead cd to someone who never heard their music before, which would it be?

Personally, The Bends was my introduction to the band in 1999... and I'm glad it was. Maybe 4 years too late, but hey - it's never too late right?

Anyway, this album is classic. Yorke is at his most comprehensible and his lyrics are more human than on future releases. This is the singer/songwriter at his most passionate. Deep, elegant songs like Fake Plastic Trees and High & Dry soar like the best U2 songs (One, With or Without You, etc).

Jonny Greenwood's uses of spacy guitar and keyboard effects adds mood to the pieces while the rest of the band gels together so well, you don't even notice it.

If you're looking for a rock album that you can really fall in love with, rock out with, sing a long with... you get the idea. You can't go wrong with the Bends.

First of all, I'd like to start my review on this album by saying that I am not a Radiohead fan. For this reason, I am really sure that I will be completely objective.

This band is without any doubt one of the most important in the last 15 years, it is a strange case in rock music, because they dare to explore new directions without having

fear to fail or to succeed.

Nevertheless, not all of their albums are masterpieces.

The bends is really a good album, but is just the beginning of an evolution. The most important thing is that Thom York found his vocalization's style in songs such as Fake Plastic Trees and High and Dry.

The rest of the songs, including My Iron Lung, are good efforts, but nothing extraordinary. You can notice that their composition and guitar riffs are just average, nothing new or unheard, even closer to Nirvana's sound.

Radiohead's fans really love it, and that's because many of them were born with this album. Here is where the real story of Radiohead began, and the love these people have for this album is immense, and I understand them.

Is something similar for fans of Depeche Mode who love Black Celebration. This is not Depeche's best album, but their dark and romantic sound was born there. The same time many of their fans were born.

I personally think this is just a good album, whenever I listen to High and Dry, I remember the year 1995, and feel kind of nostalgia. But I prefer "OK Computer"; I think there is where Radiohead reached their perfection musically and literally.