The Bends reached number four on the UK Albums Chart, but failed to build on the success of "Creep" outside the UK, reaching number 88 on the US Billboard 200. It received greater acclaim than Pablo Honey, including a nomination for Best British Album at the Brit Awards 1996, and elevated Radiohead from one-hit-wonders
to one of the most recognised British bands. Also credited for influencing a generation of post-Britpop acts, such as Coldplay, Muse and Travis.
Radiohead released their debut album, Pablo Honey, in 1993. By the time they began their first US tour early that year, their debut single, "Creep", had become a hit. The band felt pressured by the success and mounting expectations. Following the tours, the singer, Thom Yorke, became ill and Radiohead cancelled an appearance at the 1993 Reading Festival.
According to some reports, Radiohead's record company, EMI, gave them six months to "get sorted" or be dropped. EMI's A&R
head, Keith Wozencroft, denied this, saying: "Experimental rock music
was getting played and had commercial potential. People voice different
paranoias, but for the label Radiohead were developing brilliantly. To produce their next album, Radiohead selected John Leckie, who had produced records by acts they admired, such as Magazine. But Leckie did not like Pablo Honey, but saw potential in Radiohead's new demos, Yorke's vocals and the three-guitar lineup. The drummer, Philip Selway, said Radiohead were reassured by how relaxed and open-minded Leckie was on their first meeting. According to O'Brien, the success of "Creep" meant that Radiohead were
not in debt to EMI and so had more freedom on their next album. EMI asked Radiohead to deliver a followup to "Creep" for the American
market; however, according to Leckie, Radiohead had disowned "Creep" and
did not "think in terms of making hit singles".
EMI gave Radiohead nine weeks to record the album, planning to release it in October 1994. Work began at RAK Studios in London in February 1994. Yorke would arrive at the studio early and work alone at the piano; according to Leckie, "New songs were pouring out of him." The band praised Leckie for demystifying the studio environment. The guitarist Jonny Greenwood said: "He didn't treat us like he had some kind of witchcraft that only he understands. There's no mystery to it, which is so refreshing." In The Bendas roles were more divided, with Yorke generally playing rhythm, Greenwood lead and Ed O'Brien providing effects. The band also created more restrained arrangements; in O'Brien's words, "We were very aware of something on The Bends that we weren't aware of on Pablo Honey... If it sounded really great with Thom playing acoustic with Phil and [Colin], what was the point in trying to add something more?"
The opener "Planet Telex" began with a drum loop taken from another song, the B-side "Killer Cars", and was written and recorded in a single evening at RAK. "(Nice Dream)" began as a simple four-chord song by Yorke, and was expanded with extra parts by O'Brien and Greenwood. Much of "Just" was written by Greenwood, who, according to Yorke, "was trying to get as many chords as he could into a song". Not satisfied with the versions of "My Iron Lung" recorded at RAK, Radiohead used a live recording from the London Astoria, with Yorke's vocals replaced and the audience removed.
Radiohead made several efforts to record "Fake Plastic Trees". Eventually, Leckie recorded Yorke playing "Fake Plastic Trees" alone, which the rest of the band used to build the final song."High and Dry" was recorded the previous year at Courtyard Studios, Oxfordshire, by Radiohead's live sound engineer, Jim Warren.
"The Bends", "(Nice Dream)" and "Just" were identified as potential singles and became the focus of the early sessions, which created tension. Yorke in particular struggled with the pressure, and Radiohead's co-manager Chris Hufford considered quitting, citing Yorke's "mistrust of everybody". Jonny Greenwood spent days testing new guitar equipment, searching for a distinctive sound, before reverting to his Telecaster. The bassist, Colin Greenwood, described the period as "eight weeks of hell and torture". According to Yorke, "We had days of painful self-analysis, a total fucking meltdown for two fucking months."
The album has been described as alternative rock and indie rock. Like Pablo Honey, it features guitar-oriented rock songs, but its songs are "more spacey and odd", the music is more eclectic than Pablo Honey, and Colin Greenwood said The Bends better represented their style. Several critics identified it as a Britpop album, though Radiohead disliked Britpop, seeing it as a "backwards-looking" pastiche.
No hay comentarios.:
Publicar un comentario