Radiohead – Pablo Honey

Ah yes. Pablo Honey. The one record every Radiohead fan loves to hate. It must be tiresome having to put up with criticism from one’s mates about how one loves everything Radiohead have produced, so to seem somewhat objective, your average Radiohead junkie will claim that this record is unadulterated garbage.

Perhaps I am in the minority on this one, but Pablo Honey is not an awful record. It is actually quite respectable. I would rather listen to Pablo Honey than the last Kaiser Chiefs or Arctic Monkeys album. There is the obvious standout track “Creep” which catapulted Radiohead into the limelight and to the top of the rock charts. The message of the song is not overly complex and the signature riff on the track was created by the band messing about with the cords to their guitar amplifiers. All of that being said, Thom Yorke’s voice simply connected with everyone and “Creep” gave music listeners something to look forward to from future releases.

The other tracks on the debut album are a wash of one’s standard brit pop of the day. It’s actually quite like the band that Radiohead profess to dislike, Oasis. Songs like “How Do You” “Ripcord” and “Prove Yourself” could have easily ended up on a throwaway Oasis album (read: anything after What’s The Story Morning Glory). One can tell throughout each song that the fundamentals were all there. Yorke’s voice sounded dissimilar to any other’s, the guitar work was solid and the percussion was deft. But that bit of experimentation that would become so much a part of their music had yet to be realised.

My favourite song on this album is not “Creep.” That may come as a surprise, as it to most people is the one song from Pablo Honey that they would openly admit to listening to still. My favourite track is “Thinking About You.” It is a primitive version of the sort of work Radiohead were about to embark upon with their classic The Bends. The lyrics are simple enough and while some have suggested the song is about masturbating I think that’s a very base level interpretation of the lyrics. The song, while it might be about that, seems to suggest the relationship between the male and female in question to be more than just that.

Whatever one may think of Pablo Honey, I think it’s very clear that what followed Radiohead’s questionable debut record has been unmatched by any other band. As I will discuss in my next article, The Bends is perhaps one of the most under-appreciated candidates for the best record of all-time.