In Praise of the Early Radiohead
The received view of Radiohead's career is that their early works, notably Pablo Honey and The Bends (although the latter to a lesser extent) represent immature efforts that do not reflect Radiohead's real talent. They sound too much like the typical mid-90s alt-rock albums to be distinguished in any way from them. I think this view is drastically mistaken. While I don't believe that these records represent the best work Radiohead has done, I think they're roughly comparable - they are very good records. It seems to me that Radiohead records break down into roughly three camps.
1. OK Computer (I think this is unquestionably their best work).
2. Amnesiac, Hail to the Thief
3. Kid A, Pablo Honey, The Bends
While PH and TB are in group three, they are not sharply distinguished, in fact, these groups are very very close in terms of quality. This view requires a word of defense.
Start with 'You', the first song on PH. By my counting scheme, this song alternates between bars of 12/8 and 11/8 for most of the song. This in itself represents a real departure from the other alt-rock crap that was going on at the time, but I think the differences go deeper: listen to the opening, almost wimpy guitar line, that reappears toward the end of the song during the vocal harmony on "You, me and everything, caught in the fire"; there's such an interesting contrast between that weak line and the muscular guitar riffage going on at this point. It's very compelling. Thoughts like this one reappear in almost every song on the record. There are, of course, a few duds: 'Stop Whispering' among them. But even the poster-child song for PH-dissing, 'Creep', tends to focus much more on the somewhat clichedly sad lyrics, rather than the very interesting guitar work, especially coming from Johnny Greenwood's guitar. "Lurgee", "Blow Out", etc., are all fantastic songs.
Similar things crop up on TB. "Planet Telex", "Bones", and "My Iron Lung" all showcase JG's guitar talent (most clearly displayed on OK Computer, and then somewhat abandoned...too bad).
I think that if people were to take serious, sympathetic listens (to the music, as well as the lyrics) of these early records, they'll find that they are not merely indicative of future talent, they are genuinely great records in their own right.
1. OK Computer (I think this is unquestionably their best work).
2. Amnesiac, Hail to the Thief
3. Kid A, Pablo Honey, The Bends
While PH and TB are in group three, they are not sharply distinguished, in fact, these groups are very very close in terms of quality. This view requires a word of defense.
Start with 'You', the first song on PH. By my counting scheme, this song alternates between bars of 12/8 and 11/8 for most of the song. This in itself represents a real departure from the other alt-rock crap that was going on at the time, but I think the differences go deeper: listen to the opening, almost wimpy guitar line, that reappears toward the end of the song during the vocal harmony on "You, me and everything, caught in the fire"; there's such an interesting contrast between that weak line and the muscular guitar riffage going on at this point. It's very compelling. Thoughts like this one reappear in almost every song on the record. There are, of course, a few duds: 'Stop Whispering' among them. But even the poster-child song for PH-dissing, 'Creep', tends to focus much more on the somewhat clichedly sad lyrics, rather than the very interesting guitar work, especially coming from Johnny Greenwood's guitar. "Lurgee", "Blow Out", etc., are all fantastic songs.
Similar things crop up on TB. "Planet Telex", "Bones", and "My Iron Lung" all showcase JG's guitar talent (most clearly displayed on OK Computer, and then somewhat abandoned...too bad).
I think that if people were to take serious, sympathetic listens (to the music, as well as the lyrics) of these early records, they'll find that they are not merely indicative of future talent, they are genuinely great records in their own right.
posted by dd0031 at 11:14 AM
5 Comments:
Is anyone else's formatting scewy on the Castrato page?
On picture 2 of the studio set what you DON'T see is the 40oz of Micky's by Dan.
i agree that the bends is a great album, and i think a lot of radiohead fans would too. that albums ballads sparked a lot of imitation bands, like coldplay. i dont about pablo honey. i agree its underrated, but at the same time its still easily their weakest and worst album - a young band trying to find who they are, yet still show an 'alternative' edge to appease the record co and radio.
Just to let you know, the 6 new tracks I sent last night were from the "rehearsal." The same 6 tracks I'd like to see on the Castrato Trax page.
dude, like, Pablo Honey sucks.
And Kid A is my favorite of theirs, followed closely by Amnesiac, then OK, then the bends, the hail, then PH. I really can't see how you deign to rate Hail to the Thief ABOVE Kid A...I mean, really. That album has about 5 great songs, the rest are either so-so or lame-o.
--Shelby
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