Timeless Albums: Radiohead – The Bends

Where this idea came from: I went to Nashville a few years back and was hanging out with a producer friend of mine, Donnie Boutwell. He was talking about a certain album and said that it was timeless. It could have been made 30 years ago or last week and you would not know the difference. That piqued my interest and since then I've discovered several more, so maybe this will become a series.

THE BENDS by RADIOHEAD

Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of Radiohead, unlike some of my friends. The more experimental stuff that they've done is really just over the top for me.

The Bends, however, is genius. The songs are strung together very well, the melodies are both invigorating and haunting, but most of all, it's accessible for most any listener. For nearly every year that I've owned the record I've found a new song that I like.

To me, the real test of a great song is whether it can stand up on its own away from production and all the other toys. These songs, if you have the skill required to play them, sound just as good on an acoustic guitar as they do on the album.

So, if you have a chance, go give it a listen because it sounds just as good today as it did when it was recorded in 1995.