Artist: Radiohead
Label: Parlophone Records
Release: 2009
Rating: 2.9/5
Just about everyone in the Western world knows Radiohead, and Creep is still lodged somewhere in the memory of all of us who grew up in the nineties. The decade wasn’t defined only by grunge, the genre the big hit Creep belongs to, but also by Pablo Honey, the debut from Radiohead, and even more so by all the band’s later albums, which rank them among the most popular and most innovative bands of recent musical history.
Pablo Honey came out in 1993, at the peak of the grunge movement, a year before Kurt Cobain’s death. Radiohead cleverly cashed in on the genre’s popularity and, with the hit Creep, lodged themselves in the hearts of most introverted teens of the time (I admit, I was one of them). But the song has outgrown its shackles, and you can still hear it behind the closed doors of plenty of grumpy, troublesome teenagers.
On the first CD you get the album as it was released in 1993, with the big hit Creep of course. What we mostly hear is grungy, distorted whining, both vocally and instrumentally. Now and then there are touches of indie rock and Britpop too. In short, nothing important or new. Britain never really took to grunge. Only two bands were popular for playing this style – Radiohead and Bush. Bush were way better at nailing the real grunge feel, while Radiohead’s attempts were rather barren, and we can only thank the gods that they came to their senses and started making music that suits them much better.
The second CD has some rare recordings from the band, which the most devoted fans will surely appreciate. The second disc also includes a few demo recordings. They show Radiohead from a somewhat rawer side, though even there you can hear how mature their sound already was before they signed with a label.
Musically you could say Radiohead jumped on the grunge bandwagon, which was popular practically everywhere at the time. Their take on grunge was pretty weak, too clichéd, high-school stuff, but with Creep they managed to craft an anthem for all the misfit high schoolers, and that opened the door to worldwide fame. All the more surprising, then, that going forward they didn’t bow to pressure from labels and trends, and got more innovative with every album. Here they made music that’s nothing special, very simple, devoid of imagination, clinging to clichés, which makes it all the more astonishing that they made such a quality leap already on the next album. On this one they come across as pretty naive, blindly following grunge trends, with the odd trace of indie rock and Britpop, but not a hint of an idea of their own anywhere. What came next is truly unbelievable!
Pablo Honey shows Radiohead at the peak of their lyrical self-pity. Thom Yorke made tremendous progress as a songwriter on the albums to come, but that pathetic quality stayed in his voice, and it’s most noticeable on this debut. Interestingly, Yorke went from poet of high-school troubles to a deep, socially critical philosopher and visionary, which you can already see on The Bends.
Pablo Honey isn’t all that good an album. You can feel Radiohead were still relatively inexperienced and looking for their marketing niche. In terms of success they achieved an enormous amount with it, in my opinion even more than they deserved. The music isn’t stirring, it isn’t all that melodic, and Radiohead are pretty average as musicians too. Pablo Honey is a product of its time, one where Radiohead can only count the success in financial terms, because the album adds nothing musically important. For all the fans of this album, though, I recommend this reissue, since it holds plenty of hidden treasures. And anyone who wants to get into Radiohead, better wait for another release, where their skills are more obvious.
Lineup
Thom Yorke – vocals, guitar
Jonny Greenwood – lead guitar, piano, organ
Ed O’Brien – guitar, backing vocals
Colin Greenwood – bass
Phil Selway – drums
Production
Sean Slade, Paul Q. Kolderie, Chris Hufford
Tracklist
CD1:
1. You (3:27)
2. Creep (3:55)
3. How Do You? (2:11)
4. Stop Whispering (5:25)
5. Thinking About You (2:41)
6. Anyone Can Play Guitar (3:37)
7. Ripcord (3:09)
8. Vegetable (3:12)
9. Prove Yourself (2:25)
10. I Can’t (4:13)
11. Lurgee (3:07)
12. Blow Out (4:41)
CD2:
1. Prove Yourself (Demo)
2. Stupid Car (Demo)
3. You (Demo)
4. Thinking About You (Demo)
5. Inside My Head
6. Million Dollar Question
7. Yes I Am
8. Blow Out (Remix)
9. Inside My Head (Live)
10. Creep (Acoustic)
11. Vegetable (Live)
12. Killer Cars (Live)
13. Faithless The Wonder Boy
14. Coke Babies
15. Pop Is Dead
16. Banana Co (Acoustic)
17. Ripcord (Live)
18. Stop Whispering (U.S. Version)
19. Prove Yourself (BBC Radio One Session 06/22/92)
20. Creep (BBC Radio One Session 06/22/92)
21. I Can’t (BBC Radio One Session 06/22/92)
22. Nothing Touches Me (BBC Radio One Session 06/22/92)
