Disco de Radiohead: “The Bends (Collector's Edition)”

A correction to start: The Amazon listing shows 18 tracks on Disc 2 when, in fact, there are 21 tracks. Amazon forgot to list these three from the "Fake Plastic Trees" single. These three songs are found at tracks 11,12 and 13 on Disc 2 of the "Bends" reissue:

Fake Plastic Trees (Live Acoustic)

Bulletproof....I Wish I Was (Live Acoustic)

Street Spirit (Live Acoustic)

"The Bends" was the disc that caused anyone paying attention in 1995 to realize that Radiohead was going to be a contender. Their mostly-by-the-numbers-alt-rock-format debut disc from 1993 called "Pablo Honey" was, well...somewhat promising, but not really earth-shattering. They had hit the charts fairly big with the late-breaking "Creep" single (which flopped in the UK the first time around), but the title of this one is a clear reference to the discomfort they were feeling from the increasing numbers of so-called fans coming to their shows--many just for that one "I'm a Weirdo" song. The condition known as the bends is a painful onset of wide-ranging physical problems facing those who transition too quickly from high to low pressure, usually associated with surfacing fast after diving in the depths of a body of water---i.e. Radiohead was experiencing the pain of "rising" quickly. In fact, the single that preceded the album release, "My Iron Lung", is directly about this very issue of "Creep" becoming a both a "life-support" as well as a giant millstone around the band's collective neck.

Not much on "Pablo Honey" prepared the listener for the excellence of their second outing, a time at which many bands have been known to display the notorious "sophomore slump". Instead, Radiohead demonstrated exponential development from that debut disc to this one. "The Bends" relied much less on the "needles in the red" three guitar assault that was trotted out time and again on "Pablo Honey". The "Bends" opener, "Planet Telex", with its fast-tremolo guitar sounds, repeated/delayed keyboard signals, and distorted off-kilter beat and vocals, sends the strong message right off the bat that this band is not afraid to experiment and test the boundaries (something they would do in abundance by the end of the decade with "Kid A"). Nearly half of the disc never rises above a mellow, acoustic vibe--much of this quieter territory is explored this time out compared to the very short stretch of "Pablo Honey" that visited a more mellow zone. A share of the harder songs still had the soft versus /loud choruses dynamics of the textbook early 90's alternative rock song going ("Bones", "Just", "My Iron Lung", "Black Star"), but it is clear from the overall collection of 12 songs on Disc 1 that Radiohead are pulling away from the expectations of their little niche in the Rock world. Seen in hindsight, this disc is a natural mid-point between the raw guitar-driven debut of "Pablo Honey" and the more experimental and distinctive "OK Computer" that would follow this disc by two years.

This period was extremely prolific for Radiohead; they had a hard time selecting the 12 songs to go on the album and were left with essentially more than an entire CD worth of unreleased recordings, usually of very high quality, for their B-sides. Disc 2 contains four BBC session recordings that are rarities as well as all of the "regular" mixes of the 14 studio B-sides released on the "Bends"-era singles (and the three live acoustic songs I mentioned at the beginning). This lengthy second disc is far from comprehensive, however; many of the songs released during the year and a half or so around the album release are not to be found here. By my count, there are another 14 songs released mostly as B-sides or promos in this period (they are all alternate mixes/re-mixes of "Bends" era songs or live tracks) that did not make it to the reissue. This release could easily have added a third CD (instead of the DVD as the third disc on the "deluxe" version) to round up all of these missing items. Here's a list of what did not make it on the reissue bonus disc:

Planet Telex (hexadecimal mix) High and Dry single (CD2)

Planet Telex (l.f.o. jd mix) High and Dry single (CD1)

Planet Telex (Karma Sunra mix) Just single (CD1)

Killer Cars (Mogadon version) Just single (CD1)

Talk Show Host (Romeo + Juliet Soundtrack Remix Version)

Bones (Live At The Forum) Just single (CD2)

Planet Telex (Live At The Forum) Just single (CD2)

Just (Live At The Forum) US High and Dry single

Anyone Can Play Guitar (Live At The Forum) Just single (CD2)

(Plus all five songs on the Dutch "Pinkpop Edition"/Belgian "Live" promo EP):

Fake Plastic Trees (Live)

Blow Out (Live)

Bones (Live)

You (Live)

High And Dry (Live)

The other two 2009 2-disc reissues, "Pablo Honey" and "OK Computer", are much more comprehensive than this one in terms of containing virtually all released material from the same timeframe as the main album. This one certainly included the cream of the crop, but it fell short of serving the very customer base a release like this is aimed at--rabid Radiohead fans that want everything. It's a shame that this misses the remixes of the album's lead-off and most experimental tune, as these demonstrate the dawning signs of the band's open-mindedness regarding dance/electronic/hip hop music. They were surely the only guitar-oriented band commissioning such radical remixes in 1995, and they were telegraphing an affinity and willingness to color outside the lines that would certainly crop up later on their regular releases like "Kid A/Amnesiac".

You will have to do some further digging to get the full picture of the "Bends" era Radiohead, but this collection is the equivalent of a portrait that cuts off the top of one's head. Most of the important features are there, but there's something integral to the overall image that is missing.

This double CD package is an excellent value with a staggering 21 B-sides + bonus/live songs on the 2nd disc. Many of the songs on disc 2 are absolutely essential if you like Radiohead and want to hear more of their material from the mid 90's. These are not mere leftovers either. Disc two stands up well on it's own and in some ways is more interesting to listen to now than the original album.

This is an excellent opportunity to get most of the songs available on various single and releases from this era, some of which might be hard to find now. I would rate the Bends itself as a solid 4 star CD. Perhaps with all these extras this would have been a 5 star worthy purchase. I feel obliged to only give 4 stars because the original album could have been remastered for this release, and was not.

if you don't have this, buy it now.

Legendary is the only word to describe this album.

The b-sides are better than most band's regular songs, and jesus, the bends is a classic, you cannot go wrong here.

A+++

Radiohead

The Bends Collector's Edition Disc 2; 2009

Capitol Records

My Rating: 65/100

This is a pretty solid compilation. It collects most of the relevant non-LP tracks from THE BENDS, with a few notable exceptions, and clearly demonstrates just what a great band Radiohead were becoming. The first six tracks comprised the excellent, dark MY IRON LUNG EP released between PABLO HONEY and THE BENDS, and give a far clearer indication of where the band would head after THE BENDS than anything contained on that album. "Permanent Daylight" and "The Trickster" see the band shifting away from British mope-rock and incorporating post-punk and paranoia. "Maquiladora," released as a b-side after the album's release, is one of the best tracks the band has ever recorded, and "How Can You Be Sure" sounds like something that just missed the cut as well. My only major gripes are that the remixed versions of "Planet Telex" were not included, and, more significantly, the superior Nellee Hooper remix of "Talk Show Host" is no where to be found. Not that it REALLY matters, since you can still pick it up on the ROMEO & JULIET soundtrack, but I'm just sayin. As a last criticism, it would have been nice to really dig deep on this one and show forth some ancient demos or something. All in all, a decent compilation, and worth purchasing for Radiohead fans that haven't jumped headlong into their b-sides yet.

TRACKS:

1. The Trickster (5/5)

2. Punchdrunk Lovesick Singalong (5/5)

3. Lozenge of Love (5/5)

4. Lewis (Mistreated) (5/5)

5. Permanent Daylight (5/5)

6. You Never Wash Up After Yourself (4/5)

7. Maquiladora (5/5)

8. Killer Cars (4/5)

9. India Rubber (5/5)

10. How Can You Be Sure? (5/5)

11. Fake Plastic Trees [acoustic - live] (4/5)

12. Bulletproof [acoustic - live] (5/5)

13. Street Spirit [acoustic -live] (4/5)

14. Talk Show Host (5/5)

15. Bishop's Robes (3/5)

16. Banana Co (5/5)

17. Molasses (2/5)

18. Just [BBC Radio 1] (3/5)

19. Maquiladora [BBC Radio 1] (4/5)

20. Street Spriit [BBC Radio 1] (4/5)

21. Bones [BBC Radio 1] (4/5)

This is really a scoop re-release of Radiohead's classic "The Bends". Besides the classic album, with great songs as "Fake Plastic Trees", "High and Dry", "Nice Dream", "Black Star" . . ( in fact you could name them all ) , you get another CD with most tracks actually equally strong.

The second CD contains the single-tracks that came with the singles "My Iron Lung", "High and Dry", "Fake Plastic Trees" and "Street Spirit" as well as four songs from a BBC radio session.

There are several pearls among these single-tracks. The melodic "How Can You Be Sure" always was one of my favourites, and songs like "Banana Co.", "Bishop's Robes" and "Lewis" are as good as most of the actual album-tracks.

Great acoustic versions of "Fake Plastic Trees", "Street Spirit" and "Bullet Proof", too. I can't help regretting that the band chose that radical musical change after "OK Computer".