Radiohead: Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano); Ed O'Brien (vocals, guitar);
Jon Greenwood (guitar, recorder, piano, organ, synthesizer); Colin Greenwood
(bass); Phil Selway (drums).
Additional personnel: John Matthias (violin, viola); Caroline Lavelle
(cello).
Producers: John Leckie, Radiohead, Jim Warren, Nigel Godrich.
Engineers include: John Leckie, Nigel Godrich, Chris Brown.
Recorded at Rak, The Manor and Abbey Road, London, England.
On only their second outing Oxford's Radiohead fulfilled their huge potential,
fashioning an album whose relentlessly downbeat tone was offset by an ability to
formulate consistently winning melodies. The title track and “Just” throw
some customary rock poses, but for the most part the band displayed a far more
expansive approach. Thom Yorke emerged from the woodwork with a new-found vocal
confidence, revealing a striking falsetto on two of the album's strongest
tracks, “Fake Plastic Trees” and “High & Dry.” The last three songs
build inexorably to the stunning emotional climax of “Street Spirit (Fade
Out)” with a control and poise that showcased the band's new maturity.
What the critics say…
Rolling Stone (12/11/03, p.120) – Ranked #110 in Rolling Stone's “500
Greatest Albums Of All Time” – “[O]peratic, marrying a majestic and
somber guitar sound to the virtuosic urgency of Thom Yorke's vocals…”
Rolling Stone (5/13/99, pp.58–59) – Included in Rolling Stone's
“Essential Recordings of the 90's.”
Rolling Stone (5/18/95, p.88) – 3.5 Stars – Very Good – “…THE
BENDS [is] a sonically ambitious album that offers no easy hits. It's a guitar
field day, blending acoustic strumming with twitches of fuzzy tremolo and
eruptions of amplified paranoia…”
Entertainment Weekly (4/7/95, p.92) – “…Sometimes folky, sometimes rocky,
the sophomore album from this English band offers a smorgasbord of guitar
flavors, most of them tasty, The stylistic leaps make for schizoid
listening…but give these boys credit for not standing still…” – Rating:
B+
Q (6/00, p.75) – Ranked #35 in Q's “100 Greatest British Albums”
Q (10/01, p.106) – Ranked #4 in Q's “Best 50 Albums of
Q's Lifetime”
Q (12/99, p.84) – Included in Q Magazine's “90 Best Albums Of The
1990s.”
Q (2/96, p.63) – Included in Q's 50 Best Albums of 1995 – “…THE
BENDS' lasting mightiness is confirmed–as is the scary impression that they'll
only get better…”
Alternative Press (4/95, p.71) – “…THE BENDS' greatest asset is its
approximation of London Suede, all the parody and none of the pomp…THE BENDS
proves that Radiohead didn't shoot their bolt with `Creep.' That there's a lot
more stirring down there than their recent past might admit…”
Melody Maker (12/23–30/95, pp.66–67) – Ranked #6 on Melody Maker's list
of 1995's `Albums Of The Year' – “Rock as
self-evisceration…consistently, savagely brilliant…”
Mojo (Publisher) (p.65) – Ranked #16 in Mojo's “100 Modern Classics” –
“[With] songs of such unpredictable elegance they would touch the heart in any
setting.”
NME (Magazine) (8/12/00, p.29) – Ranked #30 in The NME “Top 30 Heartbreak
Albums” – “…Suburban bleakness…More personal than OK COMPUTER and all
the more chilling for it.”
NME (Magazine) (12/23–30/95, pp.22–23) – Ranked #4 in NME's `Top
50 Albums Of The Year' for 1995.
