The Bends is Radiohead's second album coming after Pablo Honey and before OK Computer. Although it often seems that as far as Radiohead are concerned, and Thom Yorke in particular, this is their first true album. This is where Radiohead truly become Radiohead for the first time, when they find and develop their own unique direction.

As albums go, this album goes like thunder-fire. The developing style of the band is captured in pure glory. There isn't a single dull or uninspired second, so let's allow the music to talk.

~~The Music~~

1- Planet Telex

The album begins with a rather electronic sounding wind blowing. There is a heavy drum and keyboard sound achieved and then an exceptionally muddy bass line kicks in and the song is underway. It has a nice juddery and shaky feeling throughout and there is an excellent piece of guitar work in there. Great song, and Thom's vocals are really excellent they have a strained tenderness about them. The story goes that this song was written in the studio and then recorded when they were drunk, in fact Thom is said to have delivered the vocals lying down because he was too drunk. Excellent story!

2- The Bends

I love it. The song has a really heavy guitar-led tune and really soars away. Thom delivers the vocals in a wonderful warm tone. The dynamics of this song are amazing, it welds together several sections of excellent music into a grander picture; the coherence is remarkable. The bass is heavy and muddy again and provides excellent foundations whereas the drums go far beyond basic rhythm section duties. This song is about knowing who your friends are, says Thom.

3- High and Dry

Though they're pretty much all classics this is a well-played and respected work of excellence. The acoustic guitar is at the forefront of the action at the start, which is a pretty good touch; it adds a whole new dimension to the music even if it isn't deemed very Radiohead. The tune is surprisingly tight, surprising because the band weren't in the studio at the same time when they recorded it. They recorded this as a demo for their first album but decided it didn't work so shelved it. Here the same version is used and it fits in with the album perfectly. The song is about people who risk everything for a little bit of fame, even their lives.

4- Fake Plastic Trees

What a truly great song this is. It has timeless and classic written all over it. This is a commentary on the virtues or lack of them of the mass consumerism and marketing of modern life. There are fewer more perfect subjects for a contemporary progressive group like Radiohead to deal with, and they do a brilliant job of it. Again there is an Acoustic start, but the real beauty in this song comes from Thom's sublime vocal performance. The bass is filling without being too visible, there is an acidic organ noise filling too somewhere in the distance. The drums really make the song take off when they fully enter, and the guitar is roughly whining in the background. The texture of the song is fully realised, the concept is and the performance is. This is one of the best things ever laid down on tape.

5- Bones

The start of this always gets me; it's exactly the same as the earlier 'Man In The Long Black Coat' by none other than Bob Dylan. The juddery guitar is very much like the one used on Bob's Oh Mercy album in fact. But that surprise (well, for me it is) is overshadowed by a pretty dense upbeat tune taking off over the top of it. It's full and ultra-textured songs like this that make you realise the benefits of having a five-piece band. There's little breathing space, but just about every other band makes up for that.

6- (nice dream)

This starts with another prominent acoustic strum but with a more relaxed tempo. This is the tale of a nice dream, a nice story that can only ever be a nice dream. It's another really very solid track, and it holds a couple of surprises. First we get a fairly straight up harmonic singing of a few lines and then out of the steady beat comes a fantastic guitar solo. Great tone.

7- Just

Just starts with a heavy acoustic strumming guitar and rapidly takes off like a rocket to Mars. Just is of course a very famous Radiohead song, the video with the man just lying on the floor is still massively popular and constantly being played. This is a modern masterpiece. The music actually moves you; you can feel this song through your insides (something I think they lost with Kid A and Amnesiac though they are both great albums). The rhythm section is incredibly tight and forceful. Thom's vocals are excellent and crystal clear; you can probably make out every word first listen, which is a novel idea. The soaring guitar work is the greatest part of the song though, shivers all over!

8- My Iron Lung

Oh rock my dog and call him Bruce, this is one hell of an addictive tune. It's quite inconspicuous to begin with. There's a steady rhythm, the beat isn't particularly outrageous and the guitar work is cautious. Thom is singing with not too much conviction. This is a very clever lull, and the song explodes into a head banging, jumping up and down rocker with soaring guitar. The explosions are intensified so much by the bits of music in-between the rock out as you know it's going to explode again and the tension builds. Then wham, and the tension releases and the sun in the sky cataclysmically scorches you.

9- Bullet Proof.. I wish I was

This is a delicate and gentle song. The Ed and Jonny show is in full flow with a sublime combination of guitars. Thom's vocals are soft and tender and quite moving. The bass is as ever very filling and full. It's an excellent rest, a nice tranquil interlude in the album that makes it a better album all round.

10- Black Star

Black Star is quite a dark song looking at -it seems- the destruction of a relationship. It gradually fades in with a heavy guitar led intro before the true song kicks in. Thom Yorke's vocals are particularly tantalising and breakable here. They have an approachability and sweetness that's really quite rare. The band's performance is as ever excellent. It is a very solid track.

11- Sulk

Sulk begins with an interesting array of noises and the ever-present steadying influence of Phil Selway's drumming. This is one of Thom's earliest songs, written in 1987 inspired by the Hungerford killings apparently. It's another steady and solid performance, with some pretty good guitar work. It isn't my favourite song on the album, probably my least favourite but by no means is it a weak link.

12- Street Spirit (fade out)

Street Spirit is in my opinion on the same level of accomplishment as just about any piece of classical music ever made by any Composer. This is the most memorising piece of music I've ever heard. It enchants and it haunts. Ed plays the most wonderful rolling, falling guitar, Thom sings in utter perfection with the sweetest rounded tones and the rest provide the required addition and backing service to make this an epic timeless piece of music. It's about feeling small in an intimidating world, but even without thinking about the words and going on sound alone this song is perfection.

There was a joke on Father Ted once when the depressed Priest had just been cheered up by Ted playing happy music and he's going home again. On the way home on the bus this song comes on the radio and he rapidly slips back into depression. It is a sad sounding and meaning song. It does have a suicidal, desperate edge to it. But that's what makes this so very special in many respects. This is a black tunnel and there is no light at the end, it's the truest representation of hopelessness ever recorded.

On playing Street Spirit Thom had this to say:
"It drains me, and it shakes me, and hurts like hell everytime I play it, looking out at thousands of people cheering and smiling, oblivious to the tragedy of it's meaning, like when you're going to have your dog put down and it's wagging it's tail on the way there. That's what they all look like, and it breaks my heart."

He maintains that the song wrote itself, that it wasn't him. The band didn't make the song; it just chose them as its catalysts. The true despair of human nature is represented so vividly within the music that it is beyond the realms of thought, this has come straight from a soul.

~~Conclusions~~

This is my favourite Radiohead album. I'm not one of those who sits moaning about them leaving the guitars, I'm sure they'll return anyway. But this is such a pure and crisp collection of songs, and they all fit together startlingly well. There are highs and the most unbelievable lows in the mood of the album, it is a true epic of modern times.

Street Spirit alone makes this one of the most significant albums not just of the 90s but also of musical history. Add to that eleven other outstanding and brilliantly crafted songs and you really have a special album here.