What excited me about early Radiohead was that each album represented a degree of artistic growth not seen since The Beatles. It only took 4 albums to go from Pablo Honey to Kid A. Remarkable.

I remember studying at Berklee College of Music in 1999 and EVERYONE was listening to OK Computer... the instrumentalists were trying to understand what they were playing/how things were arranged and the tech guys were trying to figure out the recording/production techniques. It was incredibly influential.

My dad borrowed my copy of OK Computer and was blown away so much I didn’t see it again for year! 😂 Of course I’d bought myself another copy within a few months. Felt lost without the best album in my collection and didn’t mind letting my dad keep my original copy. He was a guitarist and professional recording musician who taught me so much about music. Rest In Peace dad ❤

"Let Down" is one of my favorite songs of all time, any artist, any genre. Fortunate to see them on the OK Computer tour. Most of OK, lots of Bends. Still one of the best shows I've ever seen.

I'm a the bends guy... some of those songs went straight to my soul.

We supplied Radiohead with a fully restored mellotron for OK Computer. We took 18 Tangerine Dream tape frames for Johnny and Thom to choose their three for the album. One of those had the Eight Choir and after we left they recorded Exit Music that evening! As a result I have always loved the album which I consider seminal.

Phil Selway is such an underrated drummer! People think what he's doing is so simple but Rick used the word, sophisticated! Incredible grooves

Severely underrated B-Sides adds to their legacy. Most bands would sacrifice their first-born child for songs like Staircase, Spectre, The Daily Mail, Palo Alto, Lull, Talk Show Host, plus many others. The Radiohead rabbit hole is very deep.

For me, choosing the best Radiohead album is like choosing between my kids. I love them all, for different reasons. I have grown up with them and they've changed as I've changed. Everything in its right place.

As a teenager one of the first bands I loved was Pink Floyd, a band from my parents generation. I always wanted a band from my generation to release our DSOTM. Radiohead was the band, and Ok Computer was the album.

Eventually, one comes to realize, it's "In Rainbows". Them doing it live "From the basement" remains one of the best things on the youtubes (really, maybe better than the actual record). All the sonics they learned from Leckie (the bends), all the musical freedom they learned with Godrich, all the song writing experience they learned together by doing it all for a while. So. Good.

I loved every second of this. Got goosebumps when you played airbag. That song’s like “get ready to hear one of the greatest albums of music history”. Thank you for sharing our passion for this great music and reminding us how we felt the very first time we listened to it.

Thank you for giving “Let Down” the love it deserves. It’s one of the most gorgeous songs ever recorded.

OK Computer was the first album I ever owned. My parents let me pick out a CD at best buy, they didnt know Radiohead. A coworker fron my mom work, was there so they asked for his opinion on if they should allow me to have it. He said "yes, great album". Whoever you were... thank you! I always listen to this album when on a plane for some reason

For me, Ok Computer is a masterpiece. I love the bends too. However, don't forget in rainbows. A complete sound marvel (actually i think it has been the most inspiring album when writting my songs)

Ive always considered the Bends as them using the studio to record the band in that moment in time whereas Ok Computer, they are using the Studio as another instrument, its become a member of the band contributing what it can to the overall sound instead of merely time stamping them as they were on The Bends

I'm 66 these days... I can remember getting this album (The Bends) within a year of its release, literally never having heard Radiohead. I know, I know.. but this album just dominated my listening for over a year. I'd be hard pressed to name another album that so ingrained itself into my mind, heart and soul as this one. Just phenomenal.

Personally i love "The Bends" the most but i have to acknowledge the GIANT leaps forward that they took with "Ok Computer" and "Kid A". Almost unprecedented in rock history. Probably only The Beatles developed so much in such a short time.

I saw them in Belfast a month after OK Computer came out - they played a relatively small venue as a warm up for an arena tour. It’s still probably the best gig I’ve ever been to. I don’t mind admitting I burst into tears more than once during it.

Every Radiohead album is listenable in my opinion. These two definitely stand out. My favorite Radihead listening experience(besides seeing them live at Coachella) was when Kid A came out. I finished work around 11 o'clock and started driving home. The DJ at KTRU Rice Radio played the album in its entirety that first night it dropped. I got home and couldn't get out of the car - I HAD to keep listening! Once the album finished the DJ got on and said something to the effect of "I'm just going to press play again" and then he played it through once more! It was incredible, and I still long for listening experiences like that.

Song timestamps: 0:14 Discount code MEGA, support the channel! 3:42 The Bends, Just 5:08 Just, chord progression 7:08 High and Dry 9:54 Fake Plastic Trees 13:15 OK Computer, Airbag 17:30 Paranoid Android 20:00 Improve yourself as a musician 21:42 Let Down 25:42 Karma Police

“Let Down” is probably one of the best songs ever recorded, not just by Radiohead. The subject matter, the delivery, it really resonated with me when it was new and still does. Despondent, melancholy with enough spunk to metaphorically represent those of us hiding demons… it’s something I could listen to 100 times in a row and not get sick of

Radiohead had an amazing run with The Bends, Ok Computer and Kid A. Three totally different sounding albums and all of them amazing. They are all perfect 10 in my book but OKC is that highest peak what comes to an album experience. It's still my all time favorite album. I was 20 when it came out and still remember where I bought it and how I couldn't get over it for a long time. I probably listened to it daily for a year. I totally agree with Rick when he talks about how sophisticated their songs are (although seemingly simple) compared to many of their peers.

Ok Computer is at the peak of rock music and is full of emotion and rich themes. It speaks to what we are experiencing here in the modern world so perfectly. The isolation, separation, manipulation, communication etc. it’s perfect. The bends is amazing in its own right but it’s so different than Ok computer. Ok computer is perfect and defined what rock music could be!

As a former soundman, I used The Bends CD to E-Q each room. It was mixed to perfectly, especially the bass.

Street Spirit (Fade Out) is my favourite song by Radiohead. The song just hits in so many places. One of the few songs I close my eyes to every single time. So I have to give the nod to 'The Bends'.

Let Down 's got to be their most beautiful tune ever, and that's before the singing starts - it becomes heart-rending.

In 1994 I was in a band that was the opening band for The Bends tour of the UK …14 shows. They were incredible. I never got tired of watching them, they got better and better every night . The Bends is a fantastic album…. but I gotta say I think Ok Computer is even better .

To all of you : Listen to Radiohead discography from the beginning. Your mind will explode from the excitement. It's ridiculous how amazing this band is. So much creativity. I remember every release of Radiohead's new album. It's like a time capsule

“Airbag” is one of my all time favorite songs. It’s odd , mysterious, and melodic. That outro is one of the few songs that gives me chills. Ok Computer as a whole is a great album because it’s so versatile, and each song has its own unique personality. It was beautifully crafted. it’s so ahead of it’s time , that 20+ years from now we’re going to be talking about how significant that release was.

I’m a massive Radiohead fan Rick, so thank you for making this video! In my opinion, The Bends is a great album but Ok Computer is a masterpiece, and a timeless classic! Would love to see a video on Kid A and In Rainbows, which are also masterpiece albums! Radiohead is truly one of the greatest bands of all time!

The leaps that Radiohead took from record to record didn't stop here, of course. The transition from OKC to Kid A is even more dramatic and breathtaking.

The Bends, OK Computer, Kid A, In Rainbows all masterpieces!!!!!

Both albums are excellent start to finish. "Subterranean homesick alien" is one tune that makes me feel outside of myself, light headed. It's amazing how the songs put you in different states of mind.

“Let Down” was a game changer for me personally. Will always be the #1 song. Still that being said, I would put “The Bends” as my overall favorite album.

Pyramid Song for me is the greatest song they have ever wrote it has it all. Frightening psychological emotional lyrics against unexpected music. Straight to Number 1 in the UK which frankly astonished me for a song straight out of the dark left field.

So pleased that Rick gives some love and appreciation to “Let Down”. Also adore this track as well as “Subterranean Homesick Alien” off OK Computer

To my ears, “Subterranean Homesick Alien” is one of Radiohead’s greatest songs.

Please continue this series with the rest of the Radiohead albums! :)

I'm heartened to see all the love for "Let Down." That song was my entry point to Radiohead's music, in general. It's a bit of a story, and I'll spare you. But jeez, is that an unbelievably great song; for me, it's something of a standout on an album full of stand outs. Complex, gorgeous, and immediately accessible. A miraculous album, all around. And Radiohead is my favorite band, and has been for twenty years now. It all began with "Let Down," basically.

While I love Ok Computer and know that it is doing more artistically, perhaps technically the "better" album, I prefer The Bends. The Bends is far more listenable and I find I come back to it over and over again, it is one of my all time favorite albums.

I'm delighted to hear 'Let Down' get the love it deserves. It's light and beautiful yet also dark and hopeless. It's everything great about the sound of Radiohead.

These two records are absolutely incredible but I find myself listening to "In Rainbows" on repeat all the time. I've probably listened to it 3x more than any other Radiohead album. But really. All of them are amazing. The world is better because Radiohead is in it.

I remember about 15 years ago I was in a very dark place and struggling with life. The Bends album was incredibly helpful for me at that time and I still love it.

The Bends is a desert island disc for me. Completely changed my view of Radiohead which I had just written off as a one-hit wonder. Sublime album, definitely dark which appealed to my young dark brooding at the time. One of my old bands used to do a slightly higher energy cover of Fake Plastic Trees. Ok Computer may be more diverse and experimental but The Bends does it for me.

The Bends is an album I can return to at any time. Every song is a single in it's own right. It just doesn't date. Just a phenomenal album.

I really love The Bends but I rarely listen to it all the way through. I listen to OK Computer start to finish all the time. I'd say IMHO it is the most complete album ever. There isn't a single track I wouldn't listen to at high volume in the car.

Let Down is magical. Crank it and turn off the lights ... a truly great song.

The Bends was a great, great 1990s Alternative Rock album. OK Computer was a for real revolutionary music moment that transcended rock. What's more, OK Computer was tuned into the political undercurrents of the day like no other mainstream entertainment product of its time. It was remarkable just how aware these Oxford lads were of the political discontent of ordinary working people the world over. Much of what OK Computer warned against the world eventually would come to wholeheartedly embrace, and thus we have the destabilized world we have today. OK Computer changed my life and in profound ways changed the way I looked at the world.

"creep is a pedestrian track"...musically perhaps...lyrically, it expresses and touches people to the core...rare

The drum into on High and Dry is pure perfection.

The Bends was just them as a top notch guitar band. Ok Computer was them as a top notch musicians. The change was so huge and yet in keeping with what they were doing. Wasn't really terribly interested in them before Ok Computer came out. After, couldn't listen enough. Just incredible. My fav is In Rainbows! Can't believe how they just keep doing it.

I loved The Bends. They put a clinic on with how to be creative with guitars, along with the singing. One of the great rock albums.

I'm team The Bends! My favorite Radiohead album followed by In Rainbows, than Ok Computer.

To me, The Bends is like Revolver. There's such a great turn, yet so much music to come. Two of my favorite songs are "Bones" and "Fake Plastic Trees." The Bends is when all the magic begins. It's also one reason why for me, despite so much argument to the contrary, it's the Beatles, then Radiohead.

The Bends. Each of the songs means so much to my soul. Huge nostalgia and goosebumps. OK Computer was amazing, goosebumps here too. But it has musical 'places' which just don't speak to me in the same way, strange and experimental.

I think OK Computer is one of the greatest albums of all time, not just for Radiohead but for music.

The Bends was a really personal album for me. When it came out, I was 20 and playing bass/singing in an emerging band in Minneapolis. While I know "Creep" was a rather pedestrian song, I loved it and the rest of Pablo Honey had grown on me over time to the point where I had great affection for the album. I didn't love the album, but I certainly liked it enough to pick up The Bends the day it came out. I had just picked up some expensive new monitor speakers which were very good for their time and I popped in The Bends cd into my computer late that Friday evening. Planet Telex signaled a departure from the rather straight-forward Pablo Honey. I then enjoyed the title track. And then "High and Dry" came up. This was a beautiful pop song. But then "Fake Plastic Trees" came up. Jealousy was the emotion that hit. Jealousy that I had never written something this beautiful, this haunting, this complex and melodic. "High and Dry" gave me a hint, but "Fake Plastic Trees" was the point where it was obvious that this was a band that had far, far outgrown their first album. The rest of the album was a spectacular mix of amazing songwriting, performances and production. It was 1995 and Radiohead embarked on a large North American tour to support the album. At least on the local airwaves in Minneapolis, the album wasn't receiving the attention I felt it deserved. Occassionally I'd hear High and Dry or Fake Plastic Trees, but not often. Towards the beginning of their tour, Radiohead came to Minneapolis to play 1st Avenue, a legendary club where Prince made his name. Packed, the capacity for the club is around 1500 with room for perhaps a thousand on the main floor. I was front and center for what was perhaps a 75% full club. The show was utterly amazing despite the venue being far from full. Today it's difficult to imagine a Radiohead show that isn't sold out, but at best the venue was 3/4 full. I specifically remember being frustrated by this. I suspect when we were young like I was at the time, we all had a band that we just KNEW was magnificent, and we wanted to make sure the world was in sync with that perspective. Radiohead was that band for me in 1995. At the tail end of the tour, Radiohead returned to play 1st Ave again! By now, the album had been the beneficiary of word of mouth and it was a sold out, packed show. Radiohead blew the roof off. An interesting side note, a pre-reinvented David Gray was the opener for both shows. This was before his seminal White Ladder album and sadly, David was not well received. But Radiohead was absolutely incredible. I feel so fortunate to have seen the band twice at a small club as that was the last Radiohead club tour. By the time they came around again to support OK Computer, they were at the 4k capacity State Theatre in downtown Minneapolis. A much more upscale, stuffy venue. It was an amazing show, but it lacked the intimacy of 1st Avenue. I saw the band 4 times after that, all of them large outdoor shows. Every performance was amazing, but I'll never forget getting to see the band twice in a small club setting. I struggle when comparing The Bends and OK Computer. The latter is without question the more mature, complex and at times, heart-rending album. My head always tells me that OK Computer is the better album. But my heart always goes back to The Bends. That album influenced me greatly as a songwriter and as a musician. Both are desert island discs for me and my heart says The Bends is the better album (for me at least). I could go on and on about this band but I'll stop here as I'm guessing most will have disregarded my comment due to its length. But I struggle to find a band that has evolved more than Radiohead and still managed to keep its fanbase. It wasn't until "The King of Limbs" where the band sadly began to lose me.

Where is music like this today? I know it probably exists, but bands like this aren't promoted anymore, it's insane. This was fantastic, complex music. Radiohead was huge but I still think they are underrated to this day.

As a huge fan of Radiohead, The Cure, Nirvana and NIN, I have to find ways to sprinkle in positive / happier songs into the cauldron of woe. Its tough, I get why I listened to those bands when they came out...they matched how I felt. But now, I'm not really feeling like I did then, but I still love and appreciate the sound of the songs from those bands. This line from the movie High Fidelity says it all... "Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?"

"Let Down" definitely got me. Very trippy. "Nice Dream" from The Bends is another great, trippy and ethereal song.

I will always have a closer emotional connection to "The Bends" on a personal level. "OK Computer" was an epic album !! You gotta give "In Rainbows" some props though. That album was a masterpiece too !!! "Reckoner," "Body Snatchers", "Jigsaws Falling into Place", "Weird Fishes".... All epic pieces in their own right !!!

Loved sitting and listening to Radiohead with you, these 2 albums are faves of mine too. Keep up the great work Rick.

Rick - great breakdown. Loved every second of it. I’m a big Radiohead fan, too. It’d be cool if you had the chance to do a breakdown like this with “Siamese Dream” and “Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness” with the Smashing Pumpkins - two great albums back to back, kind of like Radiohead here. Awesome video, loved it!

I was a junior in high school when I first heard "Creep" and immediately went out and bought the album. I had virtually the same reaction the you did Rick. When the "The Bends" came out 2 years later, I was forward deployed to Europe and begged the base exchange to get me a copy. When I got it, I wasn't in the right headspace to truly understand and appreciate what it was. For some reason though, Radiohead just stuck with me. I was in Chicago at some late night diner or restaurant when I heard "Paranoid Android" and I couldn't' even comprehend that it was the same band. When I sat down and listened to "OK Computer" for the first time with my discman, I just understood that this band will be a part of the soundtrack of the rest of my life. It wasn't until later that I really went back and listened to "The Bends" and understood that Radiohead music is about the evolution. Similar to TOOL, they have carte blanche to do whatever they want in the studio. Thank you for doing this comparative Rick.

The Bends makes me nostalgic for a decade where I wasn’t even born yet, and OK Computer was released in 1997 yet it’s arguably the most relevant album to 2022 going, so far ahead of it’s time its unbelievable

The Bends is my favorite, “Just” is a song that never gets old to me and such a rocking song. That climbing up part and the solo, you have to be dead to hate that song. It fires me up no matter how many times I hear it.

I was at a concert of Radiohead OK Computer tour in Offenbach Germany. I was a fan already but the concert shook me really. I invited my now wife and it was one of our all time moments. We remember this until today with real joy. Thank you for this review as I feel until today not very much people realize how great they are.

For me, I love the warmth of The Bends, OK Computer is a masterpiece, How to Disappear Completely is my favorite song so Kid A is in the running, but when In Rainbows came out I thought, “well, Radiohead has had its day in the sun, but let’s see if there’s anything relevant here.” Just blew me away. I must have watched the Scotch Mist and From The Basement vids a dozen or more times each in early 2008. I just couldn’t believe they still had this in the tank.

Karma Police is EPIC live. “For a minute there, I lost myself “ when the crowd join in is just great

The closing three tracks on The Bends - Black Star, Sulk and Street Spirit - are, in my opinion, the best run of three consecutive songs on any album ever.

I love that Rick says that his thought after The Bends was, “where do they go from here?” and a lyric in the song The Bends is, “where do we go from here”. Love it!

When The Bends came out it took you to another planet. It was one of those CDs that you could listen to from beginning to end over and over. Such beautiful songs. It has a vibe that is pure magic that I don't think they captured on any of their other albums.

I attended a festival in The Bronx that MCA from the Beastie Boys organized as a benefit for Tibetan monks and Radiohead was one of the bands performing. I was there primarily to see Porno For Pyros, Perry Farrell’s band after Jane’s Addiction. Sonic Youth also performed, as well as a couple of other big bands of the era. At the time, I only knew Creep and Just. A friend of mine asked me if I had heard the new Radiohead record, which I still hadn’t. He told me it was great, so we moved up front in General Admission to watch them. I’m a huge fan of everything Perry Farrell was involved with musically, but that day, Radiohead owned the stage. I was blown away. The friend asked me if I wanted to go see them at Radio City Music Hall a few weeks later and of course, I did. It was one of the greatest rock shows of my life, at one of the greatest worlds greatest live event venues. As you said, it was an equal mix of OK Computer, The Bends and a couple of songs from Pablo Honey. Since then, The Bends has become a close second favorite of mine from Radiohead. Thank you for making this video. It really made my day to see it in my feed!

I love how you are trying to make your mind on what album was best. Obviously its very hard cause Radiohead is almost all cream and very little milk.

I love how many Radiohead songs have a breakdown and then crescendo leading to a climax, usually in the final verse leading to the chorus. Works so damn well.

I saw them in concert on the day that The Bends came out. Not having heard the new album I remember being absolutely blown away over and over again with the new tracks which is not an experience I had had before or since at any other concert. It was obvious from the show that the album was going to be incredible.

The Bends is a straight up rock album! One of the best of the entire 90s. I saw Radiohead during The Bends tour. They opened for REM and absolutely blew them away. REM didn't even turn the house lights down for them, but it didn't matter. They stole the show.

The Bends was simply just a fantastic rock album. Pablo honey X 10. OKC was extremely influential, it was a fever dream, and it helped so much music that came after get to another level. But the Bends will always hold a special place in my heart.

Saw them in London (Kentish Town Forum) the same week The Bends was released, we had a couple of days with the cassette before seeing them. The tickets were £6.50! Also caught them at Brixton for OK Computer. Aside from the records being incredible, they are one of the absolute best bands live

Their best? Undoubtedly “Ok Computer” but “The Bends” would have to be my favourite from start through to finish. “Just” at the time was a great song and btw the video clip for it was also great and different

You gotta give In Rainbows another listen. For the song "Nude" alone.

Really enjoyed listening to your breakdown of both these records. Great stuff

So fun to re-live the exhilaration that came with hearing these albums for the first time with you, Rick! I appreciate your videos so much. I was a freshman in college in 2000, when Kid A came out. That's when I got turned onto Radiohead and went back to their earlier albums. I'll never forget lying on my dorm room loveseat, headphones on, turned up loud, listening to OK Computer straight through for the first time, tears streaming down my face because it was so damn beautiful and meant so much. The liner notes added to the power of it--the desperation of the lyrics and the beauty of the orchestration... It was so much of what I was feeling at the time, and they expressed it for me. Totally agree with you on "Let Down." That was for sure the high point. One of the most breathtaking, complex, and perfectly arranged rock songs ever recorded, in my opinion.

"Just" was the song that converted me! prior to that, for me, they were just another rock band. Johnny's simple solo at the end is also genius! I think that chord progression was inspired by Magazine's "shot by both sides"

I can listen to The Bends from start to end, enjoying almost every song. Very pop-ish and enjoyable for more people. I love the heavier songs like Just and My Iron Lung, but also love the softer songs like Black Star and High and Dry. OK Computer is way more unorthodox, but hits you with Paranoid Android which is the beginning of their experimental phase. I also love the story telling of the whole album itself. If you haven't looked into that theory of the album, it's really cool. The Bends is easier to listen to, but OK Computer is the beginning of what Radiohead would be known for.

The opening chord progression of "Just" has always reminded me of the Love & Rockets song "No New Tale to Tell", check it out. Another fantastic Rick episode! I love hearing his take on anything musical, especially when it is about one of the greatest bands like Radiohead. He always conveys his technical knowledge of music in an everyman kind of way that makes all of us better music fans for having heard it.

Both classics.The first time I heard Airbag on the radio,it blew me away,saw the Ok Computer tour here in Oz,fantastic show.

Actually the kid a-in Rainbows era resonates more with the youngest generations, so what they did there in those years is a pretty drastic change of sonorities, music delivery and general percepiton of their music. Its really rare finding a band that is able to make music suitable for many people of different age, ideas and nationality. There is a pre radiohead and a post radiohead, even if people these days may say they sound sad, depressing or boring, they usually listen to the music which is directly influenced by Radiohead.

I had an amazing experience when 2 of my best friends who’s musical tastes I completely trusted brought me OK Computer and a 1/2 ounce of mushrooms. I only knew “Creep” and thought we might be wasting the fungus, I lived a lifetime before “Paranoid Android” was over. I still have an amazing connection to that album!

Both Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood are geniuses!

Exactly Rick. I've always thought of the first 3 albums as being made by 3 different bands; loved them all in their own right. the raw alt Englishness of Pablo H., then the evolutionary masterpiece of the Bends, and the next level concept production of OK P.

The Bends got me through some tough times. My all time favorite Radiohead album. The melodies, the guitars, and emotion are all perfect.

I worked for Radiohead at one of their first live performances of Ok Computer. I don’t think the album had been released yet. The local crowd didn’t know what to think. 😂. The crew shirts were really cool. I still have it in a box of work shirts.

I love these vs. video's! On this one I stand with The Bends, mostly because it resonated more with my personal twenty-something life at the time. Some suggestions for future episodes: U2 - The Joshua Tree vs. Achtung Baby Beach Boys - Surfin' USA vs. Pet Sounds Fleetwood Mac - Rumours vs. Tango in the Night Bruce Springsteen: Born To Run vs. Darkness On The Edge Of Town Depeche Mode - Some Great Reward vs. Violator ...

Rick, when you talk about Radiohead, I’m so happy. I was late to the Radiohead party, only really delving in deep about 5 years ago, and now they’re just about all I listen to, except for ancient Neil Young recordings. So real.

Changed my life. I think The Bends taught me how to write catchy hooks, OK Comp taught me how to not be afraid to step outside the box as long as it is interesting, and still intelligently hooky. This was my fav segment. My opinions exactly!! 🔥🎶

Oh man it's like picking Revolver or Sgt Peppers. They were both very important records with not one bad track and appeal to different eras of fans. OK Computer takes the edge because of the stellar production and the fact that it feels more like a cohesive thematic album like Dark Side of The Moon or Sgt. Peppers. Every song could be fleshed out to be it's own album it's so dense!

Well done mate - you nailed it! Love your informative take.

I think OK Computer is the best album by any band in last 30 years. It is so complex and interesting. Every time I listen to it I hear something new. It’s amazing how such seemingly random sounds can meld together so perfectly. Everything about it is genius.