Customer Reviews
No comparisons.......Please!! - By: D. M. Clarkson, 22 Jun 2008 
Many Radiohead reviews are pre occupied with comparing the band's albums. Personally I think this is meaningless. It's like trying to compare a bowl of semolina with a garden ornament. This is a different pre occupation to declaring a favourite. My favourite Radiohead album is 'Kid A' however, comparing it to 'The Bends'...Well I just wouldn't know where to start. 'The bends' is Radiohead's radio friendly era, 12 songs, 12 singles if they'd have wanted, & as with all radio friendly music the listener doesn't have to work too hard to enjoy it, the fix is instant.
' The Bends' is also about 5 equally talented musicians working together to make what is fundimentally a guitar,drums & bass masterpiece & it definately isn't about the 'Thom & Jonny show' which followed with OKC & continued with Kid A & Amnesiac. 'The Bends' is a one off. No pointin ever repeating itin my opinion & Radiohead won't repeat it, that's why I love all their music. Nothing wrong with making the same album time after time if that's what you prefer. Oasis have done it 6 times & their fans seem quite happy. Keane & Snow Patrol will probably follow suit. Radiohead have left us with a ' never to be repeated' unique masterpiece & thankfully the only time we will ever hear anything like it again is when it's re releasedin remastered, SACD format to celebtate its 20th anniversary..........Can't wait.
Simply Brilliant - By: Mr. W. J. Vallance, 18 Jun 2008 I would like to dispute the term 'overrated'. When an album sells millions of copies does it become overrated? When an album sets the musical standards that define the decade it was made in, does it become overrated? When it is clear that every song on this album is as exceptional & brilliant as the last, does it become overrated? No.
I beleive that this CD is a masterpiecein music which should be embraced & appriciated by everyone for its contribution to the musical community, whether one likes it or not, but I don't beleive that someone should simply dismiss this album due to musical differences. Arguably I believe that 'The Bends' is the best Radiohead album, but that is open to interpretation of course.
It would appear that an album of this callibre is rather like a good bottle of wine; it appreciates over time. After digging this CD up after many years of not listening to any Radiohead at all, I discovered once again the true spirit & drive that I hadn't picked up onin more recent music; the intuative use of various sounds coupled with articulate rhythms make this a must have for any collector!
You haven't heard this? - By: Stuart L. Mason, 09 May 2008 What an album.
I, after all these years, still come back to this so frequently.
In the same way as the Beatles wrote everlasting timeless tunes - this album will be with me to my deathbed.
I have trouble even imagining that anyone doesn't have this album.
Like Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd, this album has some secret ingredient that allows it to stay current, & beautiful.
Buy this album. The cost of it should be ten times the price paid, if your looking at length of enjoyment.
Just buy it. No questions.
Overated - By: Disc, 26 Mar 2008 
Fake Plastic Trees & Street Spirit are all time great songs. The rest...average. I rate all subsequent radiohead albums much higher than this mediocre & heavily overated affair.
Where do we go from here, the words are coming out all weird... - By: BD, 20 Mar 2008 The Bends is a landmark album releasein British music history. The presentation is grand without pomposity, powerful without being a cliché & more relevant today over a decade from its original release.
It was clear from the outset that the band was intent on leaving behind the Alt rock\grunge tinged debut Pablo honey, & this album provides the transition from their debut to the much heralded follow up `OK Computer'. Tracks such as High & Dry (lets not mention the Jamie Cullum cover 'version' here), Dark Star & the title track point towards their previous sound where as tracks like Sulk, Bullet Proof (I wish I was) & Fake Plastic trees (surely the warm up to Karma Police) nod towards the future. There are some interesting stories surrounding the recording of this album too. Album opener Planet Telex was recorded after the band returned from a night outin a restaurant with a drunken Thom Yorke slumped on the floor with the microphonein front of him mumbling & slurring his lyrics. It is also reported that the vocal for `Fake plastic Trees' was recorded immediately after the band saw Jeff Buckley perform at a concertin London, & having completed the vocals, Thom Yorke broke downin tears, which is a staggering account of the influence of Jeff Buckley on him & the band. The song High & Dry was originally a song performed by Thom Yorke's pre Radiohead University band, but was resurrected when the drummer was testing his new bass drum during demo recordings & the record company intervened.
Swept up initially within the popularity of the `Brit Pop' movement as a familiar sight on record shops shelves (remember those?) nestled between Morning Glory, Different Class & Parklife, Radiohead's `The Bends' was assumed by many to be a part of this `movement' butin many ways was a perfect juxtapose to the sex pistols\Beatles influenced lads rock of Oasis & Ray Davies\Ian Dury inspired whit of Blur. Unlike other `Brit Pop' bands, Radiohead were not afraid to break their own mould with subsequent releases,in fact they set about this intentionally as Radiohead were reported as feeling little affinity to those bands that followed them that were 'influenced' by their style (i.e. Coldplay, Keane)
There are not many albums when one can say there is hardly a weak track on it, with only the track `Dark Star' sounding like something the Stone Roses lost down the back of the sofa. For many fans this remains their favourite Radiohead album & with some justification. Recorded before a strong self consciousness to be different crept in, the clean crisp production engineered by the legendary ex Abbey Road John Leckie ( who has worked with The Stone Roses, The Fall & Pink Floyd amongst others ) for the first time allowed Radiohead a degree of musical freedomin the studio. Many recent bands such as The kooks & The Killers could learn from this album. There can be attitude & volume on a record without false distortion of everything.
The Bends is without question one the most influential British albums of all time, & rarely has `The Bends' been subsequently equaled or bettered by anyone (even by the band themselves) so if that doesn't make this a modern classic, I don't know what does.
For fans of this genre, along with Jeff Buckley's `Grace', `The Bends' is an essential inclusionin your collection
