Vinyl Vault

Were it not for an unlikely single that the band wasn’t even that crazy about, Radiohead might never have become the best band in the world, a title that it’s really difficult to even dispute anymore. The single, of course, was “Creep,” and its legend somewhat overwhelms the album which contained it. That album, 1993’s Pablo Honey, is being re-released with a bonus disc of extras, so what better time to reevaluate with a song-by-song review.

Pablo Honey (1993, Capitol Records)

Side A

  A1. “You”
Many of the ingredients were there right from the beginning: Jonny Greenwood’s guitar switching from distorted lullaby arpeggios into explosive chords, Phil Selway’s drums kicking just so to produce a vague sense of unease, and Thom Yorke’s unearthly wail. It’s a formula that’s been working ever since.

  A2. “Creep”
The legend is that Jonny Greenwood tried to mess the song up by inserting those distorted blasts leading up to the chorus. Add in Yorke’s self-hating lyrics and you can see why the band got lumped in with the grunge movement. Nonetheless, the song remains an unassailable gem, all wounded pride and glorious musical anguish.

  A3. “How Do You?”
There is some punkish sneer in this propulsive track. Yorke dresses down someone who has power and clout in spite of his shortcomings. Politician? Rock star? That’s for us to decide while we’re enjoying the freakout instrumental breakdown at song’s end.

  A4. “Stop Whispering”
U2-style uplift was never quite in Radiohead’s wheelhouse, even if the lyrics flash the group’s signature ambivalence amidst the too-tidy (for them, anyway) arrangement.

  A5. “Thinking About You”
Yorke turns the tables in this acoustic gem, imagining himself being left behind by a big star once she hits it big. The song works because the hurt and indignation is relevant to everyone who’s ever felt the sting of losing a love to someone they thought was unworthy (and to anyone who’s ever masturbated to their memory).

  A6. “Anyone Can Play Guitar”
The fuzzed-out guitars and Colin Greenwood’s lurking bass line set the tone as Yorke sings about a rock star’s false feelings of indestructibility. It all leads to one of the catchiest choruses on the album. The Jim Morrison lyrics were apparently inspired by Yorke’s dislike for The Doors movie.

Side B

  B1. “Ripcord”
It again sounds like Yorke is riffing on fame, and it may be once too much here. The arrangement is a little bit schizophrenic in its sudden shifts.

  B2. “Vegetable”
The very gentle verses build to a rousing chorus, but the track as a whole lacks bite, even with Yorke’s prescient promise: “I will not control myself.”

  B3. “Prove Yourself”
Save for a reference to a cathode ray which presages the band’s sci-fi fascination, there is little memorable here once you get past the well-worn quiet-loud shift.

  B4. “I Can’t”
It rumbles along nicely, but except for some guitar squiggles here and there, it’s one of the band’s more generic cuts.

  B5. “Lurgee”
This is a little bit like “Creep”-lite, but the intertwining guitars play well off the arcing melody. It has a nice dramatic sweep to it that would become second nature for the band.

  B6. “Blow Out”
Here is an indication of the direction the band would head many years down the road. The guitar crunch doesn’t quite jibe with the rest of the song, but otherwise the low-key jazzy noodling early in the track wouldn’t sound out of place on Amnesiac or In Rainbows. Classic Yorke couplet: “I am fused just in case I blow out/I am glued just because I crack out.”

Bonus Disc

The extra disc included in the Pablo Honey reissue is notable because it showcases that Radiohead’s career easily could have taken a different path were it not for their restlessness. You can track bands like Travis or Keane back to these early songs, bands that would follow up on Radiohead’s penchant for dramatic pop sweep without checking into the edgier territory that they eventually staked out. At its core, minus all the pops and buzzes, Radiohead is an excellent 5-piece band, and these extra tracks reinforce that.

It also reinforces that they left a lot on thee cutting-room floor. Songs like “Faithless, The Wonderboy” and “Coke Babies” easily could have replaced others on Pablo Honey with little drawback. “Stupid Car” is an especially fine heartbroken ballad that almost sounds a little country.

Listen to “Coke Babies”
Listen to “Stupid Car”

The live versions here prove that the band had an electric stage presence from the get-go. It’s quite a kick to hear the famously reticent Thom Yorke actually exhorting the crowd during “Vegetable,” after which Jonny Greenwood and Ed O’Brien bombard the crowd with their pealing guitars. The BBC sessions also yield winners, such as the itchy unreleased rocker “Nothing Touches Me.”

Listen to “Vegetable (Live)”
Listen to “Nothing Touches Me (BBC Radio One)”

The alternate versions included on the bonus disc don’t add much, although it’s jarring to hear the tender “Thinking About You” done up with a wall of electric guitars. And even though most diehard fans are probably familiar with the acoustic version of “Creep,” it’s still a spine-tingling vocal performance by Yorke that any discerning music fan should have in their collection.

Listen to “Creep (Acoustic)”

So you can enjoy these songs, and the entirety of Pablo Honey for that matter, for the glimpses of the game-changing band to come. I would argue that the songs are equally fascinating for showing the group that Radiohead would never be.

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