I've been friends with (and from time to time worked with) them since school, so I got to visit Rak and The Manor during the process, but here's a particular memory I have of the making of The Bends. Mixing had started at Abbey Road, so Jonny had decided to head to Israel to see his girlfriend, asking me for a lift from Oxford to Heathrow. That morning he woke up ill, and to a phone call from John Leckie saying he thought the guitar solo in Sulk was lacking something, and that he should come in and give it another try. Jonny asked if we could leave a bit early and swing by Abbey Road before going to the airport. He's a normally placid chap, but he was in a terrible mood on the way down, angry at being ill and having to mess up his travel plans to see Sharona in order to record something he thought was fine. Plank had set up all his gear before we arrived (I don't think Jonny used a Twin for dirty sounds, it was some small solid state Fender amp that he'd had since the early days). We walked in, and Jonny barely spoke to anyone. He picked up his guitar and played a ridiculously angry and incendiary solo (the one that runs to the end of the song) once and once only, dumped his guitar and walked out, and that was what ended up on the record. It was my first visit to Abbey Road and I was there for about 15 minutes! As a postscript, I dropped him at the airport, and when I got home my phone was ringing with Jonny feeling too ill to fly, so I turned around, went back and got him, and then took him again the next day when he was feeling better. Thanks for the series, interesting stuff!
@@unbelievable_truth_band @Grant Walker Yes I believe he uses the Fender Eighty Five Red Knob or a Deluxe Eighty Five Red Knob to this day for his dirty sound. I also heard he had a Marshall Shred Master distortion (not a Blues Breaker, or as well as a BB as they are both from the same line of pedals) on the 1st three records. Also a Boss SD-1, EHX Small Stone V2 Phaser, and the Digi Whammy WH1. We are from Boston and Sean Slade once told me that was the Pablo Honey rig and he thought also The Bends rig and possibly even the OK Computer dirty rig with the Demeter The Tremulator tremolo & Boss RV-3 added. It certainly sounds like that gear on those first 2 records for sure. The Reverb is tight like a SS amp, no sag and the gain on his leads are ferocious like a SS amp into Shred Master...I Always wondered if he pushed the Shred Master with the Boss SD-1 via the Fender 85..?
The Bends is my favourite Radiohead album. It's the one I gravitate to first and continue to play over and over again. The phenomenal opening track Planet Telex, was that major shift for them into what they were to become!
I feel that The Bends doesnt get enough love like other Radiohead albums nowadays, its such an interesting and fun album. My favorite track is Nice Dream
When this album came out I couldn't stop listening to it. Filled with great songs from beginning to end. This album has a "vibe" to it that you can't get anywhere else.
Learning that the choruses in My Iron Lung are spliced in from a live recording has blown my tiny mind ...Ka-Boom... You can hear the tonal differences once you are made aware of it. Never noticed it before. Amazing!
I know!! When John told me I immediately went back and listened and it made perfect sense! That section always sounded so raw and powerful and now it makes sense
It's funny. Whenever I listened to that song, I was always struck by how much better the production sounded in the verses than the chorus. But I never knew why.
It reminds me of how Bauhaus used a BBC radio recording of the song "Double Dare" on their album (remixed, I assume), because they just couldn't replicate the sound and excitement in studio.
Great pairing this up with the John Leckie interview from a couple days ago. Hearing the stories behind The Bends really makes me appreciate how groundbraking this album was!
That’s so true. I remember almost all of the musicians I played with at the time, as well as myself, were in awe of Jeff Buckley, but we all wished we had made “The Bends” record ourselves. We went from being skeptics to whole hearted Radiohead fans from one record to the next… Great video Warren & Company.
@@Producelikeapro In fact, I was living in Italy when I was turned on to Jeff Buckley in 1996, I was shocked I hadn’t heard of him or his “Grace” album yet. I’m pretty sure several Italian guitarist friends had bought vintage Telecasters because of that record, hoping they would magically acquire some of what Jeff had, but it didn’t work. Go figure…
@@Producelikeapro I have to admit I’ve done it plenty of times as well. BTW, the Jeff Buckley Wikipedia page says that Matt Bellamy from Muse owns and uses Jeff Buckley’s yellow Telecaster. I suppose you may be able to find out if that’s true…
It was the first Radiohead record I bought. I own all of their records as a result of that first experience with their music. First class, all the way.
Random fact about that "iconic MTV performance". I remember watching it live on air. It was a "Summer Special" that MTV did every year and they were playing in front of a pool. Them Yorke jumped in the pool at the end of the performance in true rockstar fashion. Except he was wearing Doc Martin's when he jumped in and they were pulling him to the bottom and he was actually drowning on live television and barely made it out of the pool alive.
Warren, I think I was similarly blown away, I was handed the bends and ok computer whilst I was babysitting an empty house with a stereo in Benedict st Glastonbury early 1999, I was rehearsing a new band I'd cobbled together, Altered Native, and these two albums were the soundtrack and inspiration to my life, memorable beyond words, Fantastic episode, kudos to your guitar player, thanks matey.
@@Producelikeapro Appreciate you being such a well researched resource, akin to that other master musicologist, Rick Beato and his series 'what makes this song great?'
I remember "Pablo Honey" and how "Creep" was IMMENSE. In America, the song was so out of left field that Radiohead were called "British Nirvana. Kid you Not! "Pablo Honey" was solid, but "Creep" far outshined any other song on the rest of the album. Blur and Britpop were emerging on Alternative American stations. So Radiohead got lumped into that. Oasis exploded on to America about a year or so after Radiohead and "Creep" floored everybody. So the first listen of "The Bends?" Wow. Not Britpop at all. Totally different to "Pablo Honey." I bet it shocked many who wanted "Creep" Part 2. Swirling guitars, psychedelic touches. Vulnerability. "The Bends" was a grower. "High and Dry" and "Fake Plastic Trees" are among the finest songs Radiohead has ever done. But if they wanted to scare off "Creep" fans, it worked. But making "The Bends" like Radiohead did saved their careers and allowed them to still keep going almost 30 years later. I feel a sudden itch to listen to "The Bends" again. Thanks Warren.
i love how thom yorke loathes the song and always snarls to the audience about "doing some karaoke" when they play it live. people really must have wrecked his nerves by confusing him with the lyrical i from that very moment of songwriting. whenever one band has 1000 albums but only THAT ONE SONG, i feel compelled to listen to the rest just to do them some justice.
Still one of my fav albums!! 🤘 Sadly, I didn’t know who they were when they opened for R.E.M. in Stockholm, Sweden ‘95. Some had probably heard Creep, but that’s it. He even thanked a guy in the audience for rocking out!! 😂 After the show, Thom just walked right past me, disappeared in the crowd, to enjoy R.E.M. 😄 Little did he know, that wouldn’t be so easy in the near future…
This album changed my life forever. I was 14, in Scotland and football mad. I’d really badly injured my ankle and couldn’t play at all. I started taking music lessons at school instead of sport and during that time I heard High & Dry on the radio. I never kicked a ball again and have been obsessed with guitar and making music ever since!
I wasn’t a fan of their first album, but when I heard “Fake Plastic Trees” I knew these guys were something different. Always in my top 5 bands ever since
i was waiting for the Pixies influence all the way through, it never came. Thom mentioned more than once how they were influenced/inspired at the beginning by R.E.M and The Pixies.
The Bends is to Radiohead what Modern Life Is Rubbish is to Blur. In both cases, the sophomore effort wasn't a disappointment but rather a huge statement that they reject staying in their original lane and they're just getting started. Watch out!
It never ceases to amaze me how you keep turning me on to the most musically nutritious albums that I would have never otherwise known about. This series has has without a doubt enriched my understanding of the significance of particular artists and their influence on music as whole and for that I am grateful. Thank you.
Got into Radiohead with OK Computer .. so was thrilled to drill right into The Bends afterwards.. As a homestay guitarist, there are so many powerful riffs and hooks to keep me endlessly returning to these songs and noodling away. In Rainbows is my favourite but the songs from Planet Telex through to Black Star are my guitar heaven.
Well done Warren a superb in-depth look at one of the most influential albums ever.. a real masterpiece! I was mesmerized by this doco... I recorded in Chipping Norton ( is it still going?) where they did Pablo Honey I believe, I thought there were parts of the Bends recorded there too, but apparently not. I loved Pablo honey too, but I remember when the bends came out and how it went Stella and took the band to the next level. Thanks again, I now have an urge to play the album again!
Thank you for making this. I was just listing to the Bends with my son on a drive to our cottage enjoying the music and production so much. I wasn’t able to figure out who the producer was but really wanted to know. I’ll be checking out his catalog soon enough. Thx
Just an incredible 50 mins. Radiohead are by far my favourite band and this deep dive into The Bends was a joy to watch. So many details I didn’t know. Warren is there some way we can pay you for this? A Patreon? Ko-Fi? I feel like I should be paying to subscribe like Netflix because I get as much enjoyment from this RUclips Channel as I do from it.
@@Producelikeapro I don’t. Just a big music fan. I make guitars though! I’m sure there’s a lot of us watching that would like to help support the channel. A Patreon or Ko-Fi where we can subscribe would be great.
What a great video! The guitar demonstrations were such a difference maker for me. Also, the interviews and stories from the studio were so cool. My fav Radiohead album! Thanks!
Loved this video. Showing the guitar part with the E-bow reminded me of the great work done by Big Country, particularly on their debut album The Crossing. Still one of my favourites to this day. If you ever felt like doing a video on that album or just the title track, it would be much appreciated. I feel it has a sound on its own. And the whole album is a great story. Keep it up. Thanks.
The Bends is, for me, the greatest album of my lifetime. Nothing before or since has taken me to that zen spiritual place in the way that this album still does. Where they went after Ok computer is a different band. Good... but less somehow.
@limelight81 Watch the Live at the Astoria gig... then watch any gig after... the fans STILL scream loudest for those early songs. Ok is ok, but there's so much filler.. the likes of climbing up the walls , the tourist and Let Down just can't compete with Street Spirit, Just, My Iron Lung, Fake Plastic Trees, etc, those songs soar and never age.
I always tell people when they get into Radiohead for the first time that it's best to just start from the beginning and listen to their discography in order of release. Mainly because when you go from Pablo Honey to The Bends you'll notice a significant jump in quality immediately. And it gets better from there somehow. 95% of all musicians would be glad to pull off an album as good as The Bends, and yet in the case for Radiohead, depending on who you ask, it's probably not in most people's top three or four favorite Radiohead albums. that's just how great Radiohead is
It's number one on my list. Probably partly an artifact of when it came out, during my first year at university, and it's indelibly linked with that time in my mind. The first band I saw at university, just a couple of weeks after I arrived in September 1994, was Radiohead playing in the small student union venue, the Foundry, and playing a lot of the songs off The Bends. I went out and bought the 2 CD single set of My Iron Lung the next day!
Love this album a lot. As with all of their releases. Glad you're giving it the attention it deserves next to a lot of their other big ones. I must say, I really enjoy the equipment breakdowns you do, with the pictures of the equipment in question. Really enjoyable.
From the moment I heard my first Radiohead tune, I was a HUGE fan. I cover Creep in some of my solo shows. I love all that I just learned here. Thank you again, Warren.
The Bends + Kid A + In Rainbows + Tom Yorke's solo work are some of the most accessible, while artistically adventurous albums I've heard. People that just know them as "the band that plays Creep" are really missing out.
I think I have watched this about 15 times....amazingly insightful, also the breaking down of the guitar work is much appreciated! Well done once again sir! I thoroughly enjoy these videos!
Great video! I massively enjoyed it and it inspired me to play some Radiohead again! As for albums that changed music, mandylion by the gathering was one of the first gothic metal with a female singer albums that really worked. Though I’d be much more interested to see an analysis of their album “how to measure a planet”. It grew into this progressive electro space age rock that shouldn’t work but somehow does.
I love The Bends from Radiohead. It actually made me pick up the electric guitar and continue with music (I used to play piano when I was younger). And it got me interested in the heavier music (Metallica, Korn, System of a Down etc....).
My intro into Radiohead...My friend sat me down at the end of his bed and said "This is a grower...You wont get it the first, second, third time"...Eventually I shared a house with a friend and she had it on tape...It got to the point that if she wanted to play it, she knew if she wanted to find it, it would be in my stereo because I kept "stealing it" from her room when she wasn't home. Thanks for the vid...really interesting seeing/hearing the break downs...
More of your usual brilliance - thank you! The only criticism I can think is that it would be good to have had more guitar analysis (more songs analysed I mean)
Really enjoyed this. As a big radiohead fan for years thought I knew everything about them but some really great gems of info here that I didn't know. Would love to see you do one of these on talk talk. Especially spirit of eden?
I'm still not much of a Radiohead fan, but now at least I have a greater appreciation for their musicianship & impact on modern rock. As always, Mr. Huart, you've created an interesting & thoughtful piece. Cheers ✌
This was an excellent choice. It could also be argued that Kid A was similarly a game changer as so many bands started incorporating electronic elements to their sound more earnestly after its release. Either way, this was hugely educational as always. I love hearing about what go on behind the scenes in the making of these albums. It makes you appreciate them in a whole new way. :)
@@inphanta yeah, it introduced it to a different audience. Oddly, aside from adding vocals to an often instrumental style of music, they kept the electronic and the rock quite separate on Kid A. It is maybe less of a mash up than we think when taking each song in isolation. What they did do was bring a songwriters structure and mentality to the electronic elements.
Fantastic review! This record was a massive influence on me. Tucked away in a lesser known city in Canada I was obsessed with it. Later in life I did Street Spirit at a singing recital - my teacher also turned out to be a huge fan of Radiohead. Strangely, my wife was extremely critical of Thom Yorke’s voice. We’ve been divorced for quite some time now. She didn’t like my voice either and I take that as a massive compliment.
I've just discovered this. Where have you been all my life? Intelligent music commentary and how it is played on guitar. This is tooooo much! I've subbed.
Not a big fan of Radiohead but they're one of the bands that influenced in how I listen or (try to) create music. Their eccentric approach to music is what draws me to them. This video made me respect RH more because of the dissection of just and my iron lung. And this truly makes me lucky and blessed that I was able to see them live in Japan last 2016. Surely one of the best live performance I watched. Thank you Warren, Jamie and the Produce Like a Pro team for this superb video!
Awwww record labels getting overwhelmed by amazing musicians...lmao they should just let em create... what a band & what an album! Great documentary Warren! Thank you!
Another amazing job here! The Bends is such a mind-blowing phenomenon in Rock History. It is one of my most favourite Radiohead albums. I appreciate the editing here and the guitar insights. I just wished you turned up the volume of John Leckie's interview bits that would have been perfect. I would like to suggest Disintegration by The Cure for you to tackle next. Great job as always!
Dude I watched the the videos you made on The Colour and The Shape and Superunknown over and over and over again and now I have watched this about five times this stuff is so cool. I really hope you do OK Computer some day and dig some awesome info on how thy recorded it. Best RUclips channel ever
It's curious that Leckie does not mention the technique that he used to record the layers of acoustic guitars in Nice Dream, which was recording the five members of the group playing the song with one guitar each One at the same time.
Great vid as usual Warren. I first heard this masterpiece sitting in my friend’s bedroom in ‘95 at the ripe old age of 15 whilst smoking a special cigarette or two…Blown away. Please, please do an episode on Greenday’s Dookie. Or Blink’s Enema of the State. I’ll love you forever!
This is a great video - very informative, detailed and accessible. Through this, I have discovered Radiohead and I’m very old! Did you ever do a review of Who’s Next (or similar) - I’ve always been fascinated by Glyn Johns’ approach to music production.
got to hang out with these guys in mid 90's they were at a party next door to my house in Athens GA getting ready to open for REM...nice quiet guys back then...and a fun party
The Bends, Grace, and later OK Computer made a huge impression on 'my first proper London band'™ - influential to the point of borderline plagiarism! At the time of playing the Camden Circuit there were 3 bands the major labels were looking at to cash in on the Radiohead wave: mine, Coldplay and Muse. Despite getting lots of down time to record demos in the Matrix studios, and doing showcases for Island, EMI, etc we didn't quite cut it, and probably a blessing in disguise, but I look back fondly on those years, the comradery, and tension of trying to make a dream come true. Thanks for the marvelous video, Warren!
What great find ! I am trying to get my head around mixing in Cubase (home recording - nothing professional) and found this channel as a recommendation - subscribed. Finally youtube's crappy algorithm is doing something useful for a change. 👍
Great great great great great great great great video. I've always exactly wondered what it was that famously caused the band to begin approaching the recording process so abruptly and differently during this period, and this video helps to explain why. Jonny commented in an interview once that "recording used to be a chore, up until half way through The Bends." But the fact that they took a break and used the live performances in between as an opportunity to hone the unrecorded material makes a lot of sense. As a Greenwood obsessive for decades, spending hours scrutinising each detail of his guitar playing and recreating it in covers bands, I can say that the analysis segment, breaking down his parts and the effects used was also perfectly legit. There are some truly groundbreaking moments on that record and the guitar sounds were just off the charts. It's also a very well aged document of a rock band at the peak of its game in terms of developing its own style and executing the songs with absolute confidence. It's more than 25 years old and still sounds fresh. The b-sides during the period remain the strongest of their career. I agree with the person who said that The Bends is probably the album that comes closest to pleasing everyone. It might not be my "favourite" Radiohead album (although, then again, maybe it is), but it would definitely be my go-to in most situations. It's the one that serves as the perfect introduction to those who are wondering if they should give this band a chance, since they've heard so much hype. Even my friends who don't like Radiohead still concede that The Bends is the one they'll make an exception for.
i can't remember the geezers name doin the run through of the chords and notes but i met him several times whilst i was a stagehand and assistant to backline techs in london 2003 to 2012 n believe me he's the man, a gent and a pro amongst pros, i was lucky to come across such strong characters, thanks man i bought a 73 rhodes and kaoss pad the day after talking to you at the shepherds bush load out in 2003, Life changing
When I heard OK Computer I thought it reminded me of DSOTM maybe because it was so well thought out but 'The Bends' was a gem that started them on a inspired journey. Radiohead were only the band MUSE could have been!... a little Partridge!
Yes, in the US in particular The Bends didn’t do well as Grunge still dominated Radio, a couple of years later when Ok Computer Radio had moved on and that album got a lot of Radio play. Plus the video for Paranoid Android was very successful on MTV
it'd be cool if you talked about flying lotus...thom yorke has said he was his favorite producer and in my opinion one of the most creative and innovative. love the show, great video!
What other albums do you think changed music? Comment below!
Faith No More. 'The real thing'. I have heard a lot of artists reference that. Or anything by Talking Heads.
Ok computer.
Deceit by This Heat
Jeff Buckley - Grace
"Ladies and Gentlemen, We are Floating in Space" by Spiritualized. "Songs For The Jilted Generation." The Prodigy.
I've been friends with (and from time to time worked with) them since school, so I got to visit Rak and The Manor during the process, but here's a particular memory I have of the making of The Bends.
Mixing had started at Abbey Road, so Jonny had decided to head to Israel to see his girlfriend, asking me for a lift from Oxford to Heathrow. That morning he woke up ill, and to a phone call from John Leckie saying he thought the guitar solo in Sulk was lacking something, and that he should come in and give it another try. Jonny asked if we could leave a bit early and swing by Abbey Road before going to the airport.
He's a normally placid chap, but he was in a terrible mood on the way down, angry at being ill and having to mess up his travel plans to see Sharona in order to record something he thought was fine. Plank had set up all his gear before we arrived (I don't think Jonny used a Twin for dirty sounds, it was some small solid state Fender amp that he'd had since the early days). We walked in, and Jonny barely spoke to anyone. He picked up his guitar and played a ridiculously angry and incendiary solo (the one that runs to the end of the song) once and once only, dumped his guitar and walked out, and that was what ended up on the record. It was my first visit to Abbey Road and I was there for about 15 minutes!
As a postscript, I dropped him at the airport, and when I got home my phone was ringing with Jonny feeling too ill to fly, so I turned around, went back and got him, and then took him again the next day when he was feeling better. Thanks for the series, interesting stuff!
Thanks ever so much for sharing that! I really appreciate it. I’m going to listen to the track now!
@@Producelikeapro Epic solo that's influenced my own playing even. The anger & frustration translates.
Thanks for sharing... The solid state amp you're referring to is a Fender Eighty Five by the way.
@@grantwalkersound ah yes. Little fella, you could pick it up with one hand.
@@unbelievable_truth_band @Grant Walker
Yes I believe he uses the Fender Eighty Five Red Knob or a Deluxe Eighty Five Red Knob to this day for his dirty sound. I also heard he had a Marshall Shred Master distortion (not a Blues Breaker, or as well as a BB as they are both from the same line of pedals) on the 1st three records. Also a Boss SD-1, EHX Small Stone V2 Phaser, and the Digi Whammy WH1. We are from Boston and Sean Slade once told me that was the Pablo Honey rig and he thought also The Bends rig and possibly even the OK Computer dirty rig with the Demeter The Tremulator tremolo & Boss RV-3 added. It certainly sounds like that gear on those first 2 records for sure. The Reverb is tight like a SS amp, no sag and the gain on his leads are ferocious like a SS amp into Shred Master...I Always wondered if he pushed the Shred Master with the Boss SD-1 via the Fender 85..?
Only radiohead can you do a "how this album changed music" 3 albums in a row
Indeed!
Yeah the beatles barely changed music
Miles Davis, but a point well made 👍
Beatles. But any band compared to Beatles says all you need to know
@@pearsyyyyy1014 ??
Disintegration by The Cure is a seminal album that I would love to see a deep dive into. Keep up the good work, this series is great.
I feel like The Cure definitely needs some love here but so many albums to choose from, I don't care which one Warren chooses :-)
I’m on board just about any Cure album will do.
@MrPixels - Great idea! 😀👍
This please
Thanks ever so much MrPixels! Yes, Disintegration is an amazing album!
The Bends is my favourite Radiohead album. It's the one I gravitate to first and continue to play over and over again. The phenomenal opening track Planet Telex, was that major shift for them into what they were to become!
I feel that The Bends doesnt get enough love like other Radiohead albums nowadays, its such an interesting and fun album. My favorite track is Nice Dream
It’s a masterpiece
@Alex Mit yeah I understand why ok computer is so highly regarded but as for which album I enjoy listening to more it’s The Bends
‘Interesting and fun’??? It’s raw and deep and beautiful
Street spirit
It doesn't get said enough how great the guitar demonstration/lessons are in these videos
So kind of you Allison, thank you 🎸🎸
@@SixStringAlliance you did an amazing job!!
Very glad these things have gotten longer in length. Also, another fine choice of subject.
Thanks ever so much!!
When this album came out I couldn't stop listening to it. Filled with great songs from beginning to end. This album has a "vibe" to it that you can't get anywhere else.
Learning that the choruses in My Iron Lung are spliced in from a live recording has blown my tiny mind ...Ka-Boom... You can hear the tonal differences once you are made aware of it. Never noticed it before. Amazing!
I know!! When John told me I immediately went back and listened and it made perfect sense! That section always sounded so raw and powerful and now it makes sense
@limelight81 masterpiece
It's funny. Whenever I listened to that song, I was always struck by how much better the production sounded in the verses than the chorus. But I never knew why.
It reminds me of how Bauhaus used a BBC radio recording of the song "Double Dare" on their album (remixed, I assume), because they just couldn't replicate the sound and excitement in studio.
Great pairing this up with the John Leckie interview from a couple days ago. Hearing the stories behind The Bends really makes me appreciate how groundbraking this album was!
Thanks ever so much Bill! Yes, John is a wonder!
That’s so true. I remember almost all of the musicians I played with at the time, as well as myself, were in awe of Jeff Buckley, but we all wished we had made “The Bends” record ourselves. We went from being skeptics to whole hearted Radiohead fans from one record to the next… Great video Warren & Company.
Jeff was hugely influential! I agree, Grace was such a important album in the UK and Europe
@@Producelikeapro In fact, I was living in Italy when I was turned on to Jeff Buckley in 1996, I was shocked I hadn’t heard of him or his “Grace” album yet. I’m pretty sure several Italian guitarist friends had bought vintage Telecasters because of that record, hoping they would magically acquire some of what Jeff had, but it didn’t work. Go figure…
@@jameslewis8227 we’ve all done it! I still do! Haha we buy the gear of our heroes!
@@Producelikeapro I have to admit I’ve done it plenty of times as well. BTW, the Jeff Buckley Wikipedia page says that Matt Bellamy from Muse owns and uses Jeff Buckley’s yellow Telecaster. I suppose you may be able to find out if that’s true…
John McGeoch’s guitar work in Magazine, Siousxie and The Banshees and PiL is something else, he never got the credit he deserved before he passed.
Agreed! Huge fan, he's been talked about in quite a few of our videos now! He's getting his own episode!
@@Producelikeapro that’s wonderful Warren! Looking forward to it.
Thanks! Me too!
@@sspbrazil - John's one of my favourite guitarists, too! I also liked his work with The Armoury Show! Cool that Warren's planning his own episode! 😍
@@mightyV444 and Visage too. Yes, I’m happy Warren is going to dedicate an episode to him, it’s going to be great.
It was the first Radiohead record I bought. I own all of their records as a result of that first experience with their music. First class, all the way.
Yes, a wonderful album
Random fact about that "iconic MTV performance". I remember watching it live on air. It was a "Summer Special" that MTV did every year and they were playing in front of a pool. Them Yorke jumped in the pool at the end of the performance in true rockstar fashion. Except he was wearing Doc Martin's when he jumped in and they were pulling him to the bottom and he was actually drowning on live television and barely made it out of the pool alive.
Warren, I think I was similarly blown away, I was handed the bends and ok computer whilst I was babysitting an empty house with a stereo in Benedict st Glastonbury early 1999, I was rehearsing a new band I'd cobbled together, Altered Native, and these two albums were the soundtrack and inspiration to my life, memorable beyond words, Fantastic episode, kudos to your guitar player, thanks matey.
Thanks Cam! Yes, all of us in bands were like ‘what is this music? It’s amazing!!’
@limelight81 thanks for sharing
@@Producelikeapro Appreciate you being such a well researched resource, akin to that other master musicologist, Rick Beato and his series 'what makes this song great?'
@limelight81 Cheers buddy, that was a win win a!
I remember "Pablo Honey" and how "Creep" was IMMENSE. In America, the song was so out of left field that Radiohead were called "British Nirvana. Kid you Not! "Pablo Honey" was solid, but "Creep" far outshined any other song on the rest of the album. Blur and Britpop were emerging on Alternative American stations. So Radiohead got lumped into that. Oasis exploded on to America about a year or so after Radiohead and "Creep" floored everybody.
So the first listen of "The Bends?" Wow. Not Britpop at all. Totally different to "Pablo Honey." I bet it shocked many who wanted "Creep" Part 2. Swirling guitars, psychedelic touches. Vulnerability. "The Bends" was a grower. "High and Dry" and "Fake Plastic Trees" are among the finest songs Radiohead has ever done. But if they wanted to scare off "Creep" fans, it worked.
But making "The Bends" like Radiohead did saved their careers and allowed them to still keep going almost 30 years later.
I feel a sudden itch to listen to "The Bends" again. Thanks Warren.
Thanks ever so much!
Agreed! Masterpiece of an album!
i love how thom yorke loathes the song and always snarls to the audience about "doing some karaoke" when they play it live. people really must have wrecked his nerves by confusing him with the lyrical i from that very moment of songwriting. whenever one band has 1000 albums but only THAT ONE SONG, i feel compelled to listen to the rest just to do them some justice.
They literally wrote Creep to be like (or copy) Nirvana. Loud chorus, quiet verse, as seen in Smells Like Teen Spirit, was their intent.
@limelight81 Agree entirely. The difference between Bends and OKC was substantial, and then the difference between OKC and KidA was again, huge.
Still one of my fav albums!! 🤘 Sadly, I didn’t know who they were when they opened for R.E.M. in Stockholm, Sweden ‘95. Some had probably heard Creep, but that’s it. He even thanked a guy in the audience for rocking out!! 😂 After the show, Thom just walked right past me, disappeared in the crowd, to enjoy R.E.M. 😄 Little did he know, that wouldn’t be so easy in the near future…
Indeed! Such an important band for so many of us
This album changed my life forever. I was 14, in Scotland and football mad. I’d really badly injured my ankle and couldn’t play at all. I started taking music lessons at school instead of sport and during that time I heard High & Dry on the radio. I never kicked a ball again and have been obsessed with guitar and making music ever since!
I wasn’t a fan of their first album, but when I heard “Fake Plastic Trees” I knew these guys were something different. Always in my top 5 bands ever since
Thanks for sharing!
Agreed
This was marvelous! How about Doolittle by the Pixies as the next album?
I was gonna say Doolittle too
Definitely on the list!!
Yes!
i was waiting for the Pixies influence all the way through, it never came. Thom mentioned more than once how they were influenced/inspired at the beginning by R.E.M and The Pixies.
@@domgirard4095 actually at one point it was mentioned that Radiohead influenced REM which is kinda suspect. Respect sure. Influenced? I don’t see it.
My favorite band ever. Another great episode warren! Great to see the teacher of Nigel Goodrich!
Thanks ever sos much h Rafael!
Killed it! Would love a Kid A / Amnesiac video like this. So good
Thanks! Stay tuned!!
The Bends is to Radiohead what Modern Life Is Rubbish is to Blur. In both cases, the sophomore effort wasn't a disappointment but rather a huge statement that they reject staying in their original lane and they're just getting started. Watch out!
Agreed 100%! Great analogy!
Another great one about an important and unusual band. Thanks for the peek behind the curtain, I love these!
Thanks ever so much!
Wow Warren! First an in depth interview with John Leckie and now this! Nice one!
Thanks Ryan!
Damn this channel is criminally underrated, loving this longer format!
As shucks! Thanks ever so much! You’re very kind
It never ceases to amaze me how you keep turning me on to the most musically nutritious albums that I would have never otherwise known about. This series has has without a doubt enriched my understanding of the significance of particular artists and their influence on music as whole and for that I am grateful. Thank you.
I was obsessed with this album in '95 and still am. It has influenced so much of my own music.
Very well said
My all-time favorite album from them! Thanks for doing this one, Warren 👏🏼
As for another album, my pick might be Joni Mitchell’s Blue.
Hejira is better...
Hi Elise, love that album! It's in the works!
@@nikolic-sq5rx both equally brilliant!
Got into Radiohead with OK Computer .. so was thrilled to drill right into The Bends afterwards.. As a homestay guitarist, there are so many powerful riffs and hooks to keep me endlessly returning to these songs and noodling away. In Rainbows is my favourite but the songs from Planet Telex through to Black Star are my guitar heaven.
Thanks ever so much for sharing!
Well done Warren a superb in-depth look at one of the most influential albums ever.. a real masterpiece! I was mesmerized by this doco... I recorded in Chipping Norton ( is it still going?) where they did Pablo Honey I believe, I thought there were parts of the Bends recorded there too, but apparently not. I loved Pablo honey too, but I remember when the bends came out and how it went Stella and took the band to the next level. Thanks again, I now have an urge to play the album again!
Thanks ever so much Chris! I really appreciate it
Great episode. Such a brilliant accessible album that struck the perfect line between experimental and rock/pop.
Thanks very much Alex!
@limelight81 masterpiece!
this is gonna be cracking! saved to my watch later folder for drive home tonight!!
Thanks very much
Thank you for making this. I was just listing to the Bends with my son on a drive to our cottage enjoying the music and production so much. I wasn’t able to figure out who the producer was but really wanted to know. I’ll be checking out his catalog soon enough. Thx
Just an incredible 50 mins. Radiohead are by far my favourite band and this deep dive into The Bends was a joy to watch. So many details I didn’t know.
Warren is there some way we can pay you for this? A Patreon? Ko-Fi? I feel like I should be paying to subscribe like Netflix because I get as much enjoyment from this RUclips Channel as I do from it.
Wow! Thanks ever so much Christian! I have a Production website, do you do Music Production?
@@Producelikeapro I don’t. Just a big music fan. I make guitars though!
I’m sure there’s a lot of us watching that would like to help support the channel. A Patreon or Ko-Fi where we can subscribe would be great.
What a great video! The guitar demonstrations were such a difference maker for me. Also, the interviews and stories from the studio were so cool. My fav Radiohead album! Thanks!
Thanks! That’s great to hear!!
Loved this video. Showing the guitar part with the E-bow reminded me of the great work done by Big Country, particularly on their debut album The Crossing. Still one of my favourites to this day. If you ever felt like doing a video on that album or just the title track, it would be much appreciated. I feel it has a sound on its own. And the whole album is a great story. Keep it up. Thanks.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks ever so much for the great comment! I really appreciate it!
The Bends is, for me, the greatest album of my lifetime. Nothing before or since has taken me to that zen spiritual place in the way that this album still does. Where they went after Ok computer is a different band. Good... but less somehow.
I’m a huge fan as well! Can you tell? Haha thanks ever so much for sharing!!
@limelight81 Watch the Live at the Astoria gig... then watch any gig after... the fans STILL scream loudest for those early songs. Ok is ok, but there's so much filler.. the likes of climbing up the walls , the tourist and Let Down just can't compete with Street Spirit, Just, My Iron Lung, Fake Plastic Trees, etc, those songs soar and never age.
I always tell people when they get into Radiohead for the first time that it's best to just start from the beginning and listen to their discography in order of release. Mainly because when you go from Pablo Honey to The Bends you'll notice a significant jump in quality immediately. And it gets better from there somehow. 95% of all musicians would be glad to pull off an album as good as The Bends, and yet in the case for Radiohead, depending on who you ask, it's probably not in most people's top three or four favorite Radiohead albums. that's just how great Radiohead is
Thanks ever so much for sharing
It's number one on my list. Probably partly an artifact of when it came out, during my first year at university, and it's indelibly linked with that time in my mind. The first band I saw at university, just a couple of weeks after I arrived in September 1994, was Radiohead playing in the small student union venue, the Foundry, and playing a lot of the songs off The Bends. I went out and bought the 2 CD single set of My Iron Lung the next day!
Love this album a lot. As with all of their releases. Glad you're giving it the attention it deserves next to a lot of their other big ones.
I must say, I really enjoy the equipment breakdowns you do, with the pictures of the equipment in question. Really enjoyable.
Thanks ever so much!!
I love the guitar lessons in these videos, especially listening to that mesa-boogie/music man combo.
From the moment I heard my first Radiohead tune, I was a HUGE fan. I cover Creep in some of my solo shows. I love all that I just learned here. Thank you again, Warren.
The Bends + Kid A + In Rainbows + Tom Yorke's solo work are some of the most accessible, while artistically adventurous albums I've heard. People that just know them as "the band that plays Creep" are really missing out.
Creep was a huge hit in the US, in the UK it was singles from 'The Bends' that established them.
You Sir. Are a scholar. These are by far the best and most fun videos on music thus far. Cheers.
Thanks ever so much!
Got that album when I was 15 and listened to it over and over again. Still love it, still rock it multiple times a years. Great video, Warren!
I think I have watched this about 15 times....amazingly insightful, also the breaking down of the guitar work is much appreciated! Well done once again sir! I thoroughly enjoy these videos!
Wow! Thanks ever so much Fred
Really enjoyed the guitar breakdown, I've known the album since it was released and kind of took it for granted. Cheers.
Thanks ever so much
Great choice and excellent format covering a really great range of information of all aspects of the album.
Thanks ever is much!
Great video! I massively enjoyed it and it inspired me to play some Radiohead again!
As for albums that changed music, mandylion by the gathering was one of the first gothic metal with a female singer albums that really worked. Though I’d be much more interested to see an analysis of their album “how to measure a planet”. It grew into this progressive electro space age rock that shouldn’t work but somehow does.
Thanks ever so much! Great idea. More to add to the list
Jamie Humphries absolutely nailing those guitar tones 👏🏼 cheers to you sir. Great video really enjoyed it 👍🏼
Jamie is the man!!
Tremendous video. A favorite album of mine from my 20s that still kills me in my 40s.
I love The Bends from Radiohead. It actually made me pick up the electric guitar and continue with music (I used to play piano when I was younger). And it got me interested in the heavier music (Metallica, Korn, System of a Down etc....).
The Bends was hugely inspirational to so many of us in bands at the time!!
My intro into Radiohead...My friend sat me down at the end of his bed and said "This is a grower...You wont get it the first, second, third time"...Eventually I shared a house with a friend and she had it on tape...It got to the point that if she wanted to play it, she knew if she wanted to find it, it would be in my stereo because I kept "stealing it" from her room when she wasn't home. Thanks for the vid...really interesting seeing/hearing the break downs...
Your content is always great, but it’s been fire as of late!
Wow! Thanks ever so much!!
I played and played and played this album.
So many great songs.
"Fake Plastic Trees" is a wonderful tune.
More of your usual brilliance - thank you! The only criticism I can think is that it would be good to have had more guitar analysis (more songs analysed I mean)
Thanks ever so much Paul!
Well done!! Great episode. Huge Radiohead fan here. Nice getting such in-depth breakdowns of the recording process. 🙏
Thanks ever so much
it's absurd how good this album is, and then came ok computer... great video, keep it up man
Agreed! Masterpiece!!
Really enjoyed this. As a big radiohead fan for years thought I knew everything about them but some really great gems of info here that I didn't know. Would love to see you do one of these on talk talk. Especially spirit of eden?
Thanks ever so much! Thanks for the great ideas
I'm still not much of a Radiohead fan, but now at least I have a greater appreciation for their musicianship & impact on modern rock. As always, Mr. Huart, you've created an interesting & thoughtful piece. Cheers ✌
Thanks ever so much for sharing that! I’m glad to be able to help!
Brilliant, loved the whole video!
Thanks ever so much!
THIS WAS SO GOOD IT CONFUSES ME, PERFECT VIDEO WARREN
Thanks ever so much
This was an excellent choice. It could also be argued that Kid A was similarly a game changer as so many bands started incorporating electronic elements to their sound more earnestly after its release. Either way, this was hugely educational as always. I love hearing about what go on behind the scenes in the making of these albums. It makes you appreciate them in a whole new way. :)
Kid A is weird in that they stole so much of it from electronic acts of the time and now everyone thinks they invented those sounds.
@@danpreston564 oh of course, everyone familiar with electronica knows that, but it was having it applied in a "rock" context that was refreshing.
@@inphanta yeah, it introduced it to a different audience. Oddly, aside from adding vocals to an often instrumental style of music, they kept the electronic and the rock quite separate on Kid A. It is maybe less of a mash up than we think when taking each song in isolation. What they did do was bring a songwriters structure and mentality to the electronic elements.
Fantastic review! This record was a massive influence on me. Tucked away in a lesser known city in Canada I was obsessed with it. Later in life I did Street Spirit at a singing recital - my teacher also turned out to be a huge fan of Radiohead. Strangely, my wife was extremely critical of Thom Yorke’s voice. We’ve been divorced for quite some time now. She didn’t like my voice either and I take that as a massive compliment.
Thanks ever so much for sharing your insight! Yes, these kinds of experiences fuel us don’t they?
I've just discovered this. Where have you been all my life? Intelligent music commentary and how it is played on guitar. This is tooooo much! I've subbed.
Brilliant album! Love your STCM series, Warren. Cheers!
Not a big fan of Radiohead but they're one of the bands that influenced in how I listen or (try to) create music. Their eccentric approach to music is what draws me to them. This video made me respect RH more because of the dissection of just and my iron lung. And this truly makes me lucky and blessed that I was able to see them live in Japan last 2016. Surely one of the best live performance I watched. Thank you Warren, Jamie and the Produce Like a Pro team for this superb video!
Awwww record labels getting overwhelmed by amazing musicians...lmao they should just let em create... what a band & what an album! Great documentary Warren! Thank you!
Thanks ever so much Bruno!
Another amazing job here! The Bends is such a mind-blowing phenomenon in Rock History. It is one of my most favourite Radiohead albums. I appreciate the editing here and the guitar insights. I just wished you turned up the volume of John Leckie's interview bits that would have been perfect. I would like to suggest Disintegration by The Cure for you to tackle next. Great job as always!
This album hit me at JUST the point in my life that I needed it to.
As always great work sir. Thanks so much work.
Thanks ever so much
Thank you a lot for this video. Great work on documenting and explaining the album.
Awesome, video loved it .the shredmaster pedal Greenwood's tone
Thanks
Dude I watched the the videos you made on The Colour and The Shape and Superunknown over and over and over again and now I have watched this about five times this stuff is so cool. I really hope you do OK Computer some day and dig some awesome info on how thy recorded it. Best RUclips channel ever
Wow! Thanks ever so much! I really appreciate it
I hope you keep doing these. This is great history
Just noticed that John Leckie has a Moog Mother 32 in the background there
Thanks Elyot!
@@elyot4010 yes, amazing!
Great job with this video! Thank you!
It's curious that Leckie does not mention the technique that he used to record the layers of acoustic guitars in Nice Dream, which was recording the five members of the group playing the song with one guitar each One at the same time.
Fantastic video !!!!
Thanks ever so much
This is my favorite Radiohead record. Always has been.
As always, excellent choice! A pleasure to watch, like all of the other episodes. Much appreciated. Greetings from germany!
Great vid as usual Warren. I first heard this masterpiece sitting in my friend’s bedroom in ‘95 at the ripe old age of 15 whilst smoking a special cigarette or two…Blown away.
Please, please do an episode on Greenday’s Dookie. Or Blink’s Enema of the State. I’ll love you forever!
Marvellous ideas!
Absolutely Fantastic. May I suggest this is part one, you might as well OK Computer as part 2!!
This is a great video - very informative, detailed and accessible. Through this, I have discovered Radiohead and I’m very old!
Did you ever do a review of Who’s Next (or similar) - I’ve always been fascinated by Glyn Johns’ approach to music production.
got to hang out with these guys in mid 90's they were at a party next door to my house in Athens GA getting ready to open for REM...nice quiet guys back then...and a fun party
That’s amazing! Thanks for sharing
I think The Bends is their best album. And the dedication to the late, great Bill Hicks just seals the deal for me.
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing
Excellent review about this marvelous album. Radiohead’s fans appreciate it❤️
Thanks ever so much
The Bends, Grace, and later OK Computer made a huge impression on 'my first proper London band'™ - influential to the point of borderline plagiarism! At the time of playing the Camden Circuit there were 3 bands the major labels were looking at to cash in on the Radiohead wave: mine, Coldplay and Muse. Despite getting lots of down time to record demos in the Matrix studios, and doing showcases for Island, EMI, etc we didn't quite cut it, and probably a blessing in disguise, but I look back fondly on those years, the comradery, and tension of trying to make a dream come true. Thanks for the marvelous video, Warren!
What great find ! I am trying to get my head around mixing in Cubase (home recording - nothing professional) and found this channel as a recommendation - subscribed. Finally youtube's crappy algorithm is doing something useful for a change. 👍
Thanks ever so much Mike! I appreciate it!
Great great great great great great great great video.
I've always exactly wondered what it was that famously caused the band to begin approaching the recording process so abruptly and differently during this period, and this video helps to explain why. Jonny commented in an interview once that "recording used to be a chore, up until half way through The Bends." But the fact that they took a break and used the live performances in between as an opportunity to hone the unrecorded material makes a lot of sense.
As a Greenwood obsessive for decades, spending hours scrutinising each detail of his guitar playing and recreating it in covers bands, I can say that the analysis segment, breaking down his parts and the effects used was also perfectly legit. There are some truly groundbreaking moments on that record and the guitar sounds were just off the charts.
It's also a very well aged document of a rock band at the peak of its game in terms of developing its own style and executing the songs with absolute confidence. It's more than 25 years old and still sounds fresh. The b-sides during the period remain the strongest of their career. I agree with the person who said that The Bends is probably the album that comes closest to pleasing everyone. It might not be my "favourite" Radiohead album (although, then again, maybe it is), but it would definitely be my go-to in most situations. It's the one that serves as the perfect introduction to those who are wondering if they should give this band a chance, since they've heard so much hype. Even my friends who don't like Radiohead still concede that The Bends is the one they'll make an exception for.
The Bends brought me to where I am now and will forever carry me forward
i can't remember the geezers name doin the run through of the chords and notes but i met him several times whilst i was a stagehand and assistant to backline techs in london 2003 to 2012 n believe me he's the man, a gent and a pro amongst pros, i was lucky to come across such strong characters, thanks man i bought a 73 rhodes and kaoss pad the day after talking to you at the shepherds bush load out in 2003, Life changing
Excellent album,Thank you
Thanks ever so much
@@Producelikeapro You're welcome
Thanks for your positive comment!
Great video- you convey an authentic love of the album- and Jamie’s sections add a lot!
Still my Favourite RH album. Every single song is amazing.
Agreed! Masterpiece
When I heard OK Computer I thought it reminded me of DSOTM maybe because it was so well thought out but 'The Bends' was a gem that started them on a inspired journey. Radiohead were only the band MUSE could have been!... a little Partridge!
Thanks ever so much!
I think Muse are an alternative future of Radiohead.
@limelight81 Muse lacks subtlety. They’re about as subtle as a sledgehammer to the head.
This was a great watch, thank you
My intro to Radiohead was OK Computer. Even though I've subsequently bought and listened to their other lps, OK remains my favorite.
Yes, in the US in particular The Bends didn’t do well as Grunge still dominated Radio, a couple of years later when Ok Computer Radio had moved on and that album got a lot of Radio play. Plus the video for Paranoid Android was very successful on MTV
@limelight81 thanks for your comment
Great analysis, thank you !
it'd be cool if you talked about flying lotus...thom yorke has said he was his favorite producer and in my opinion one of the most creative and innovative. love the show, great video!