Radiohead: The Albums (90s)

Pablo Honey

I heard this album late on in the system of things as the first records I ever picked up from Radiohead was Amnesiac and Kid A, but when I finally found a copy of Pablo Honey it answered a lot of questions I had about the band. For me the album was full of anger, rage and youth. The combination that any teenager has when they write music at the very start I think. Just that place to release everything you’ve ever hated or loved into one beautiful crafted piece of music. Pablo Honey is nowhere near just an ordinary album, but yet something that edges the beginnings of one of the greatest bands in the world’s history. It’s a timeless album that flashes by quickly at the start, and slows down in suspense only to hit you hard again on the next track. Its anthemic at times, and catapulted by the hit single Creep to an album that is outstanding. But you must look at the other tracks past the main single, such as You and Blowout, to really understand what Radiohead is all about. For me this is an album that was a fantastic beginning to what Radiohead would develop into towards the end of the 90s.

The Bends

Complete, confident and full of a variety of different songs. Ranging from the powerful Planet Telex to the ballad of Street Spirit, The Bends catapults the band to a place where not many others could reach at the time. It’s brilliance, I think, was only witnessed much later on the 2000s where many looked back on the bands history. The 90s was amazing for British music, and this album continued that tide it seemed. I find it very hard to review Radiohead’s 90’s era of music because of the fact that I wasn’t really around listening to music in that much detail (I was 2 when this album came out). But from my perspective now, I think The Bends is probably the most complete album of Radiohead out of their 8 released now, and has several hit tracks. The album has no filler tracks either, its full of execellently written songs that are ballad like and also anthemic.

OK Computer

This album deserves a lot more success than what it has already achieved. It is ground-breaking. Thom Yorke’s falsetto and Jonny Greenwood’s guitar work create the basis of one of the greatest records ever to be created for mankind to listen to. Paranoid Android is so very hard to describe, but is still the most unique track I have ever listened to. Contained within is such a variety of different genres of music all masterfully put together and composed by the band. I listen to this song every morning, it’s an anthem. A very brilliant song, words cannot describe how amazing it is. But the album continues and once again no filler tracks at all, every single song hits you hard from every angle alerting you to how incredible Radiohead have become in the scheme of music. Even the twisted Electioneering creates a well deserved but interesting turn on the album, twisting it away from what we expect to hear from the band. Full of guitar work, fantastically played instruments and composition of the songs. It is simply astonishing and life changing. From Pablo Honey to OK Computer is one complex journey that just seemed inevitable, but still so complex and unexpected.