Search - Radiohead :: Just

Great song, solid B-sides

Adam | 07/15/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Many people consider "Just" to be the tour-de-force of the album The Bends, and they're perfectly justified in that conclusion. It is an excellent song, and at the time of its release it featured what was without question Jonny Greenwood's best guitarmanship. I would assume, however, that if you're looking to buy this single you've probably already heard the song, so I'll leave it at that and talk about the CD#2 B-sides.We have three live B-sides here: "Bones" and "Planet Telex" off of The Bends, and "Anyone Can Play Guitar" off of Pablo Honey. Out of these selections, I have to say that "Anyone Can Play Guitar" is probably the most exciting, with Jonny adding a lot of distorted feedback noises during the intro and breaks that weren't featured on the album. The other two songs, however, are very good as well. If you've never heard "Planet Telex" live, then you probably have no idea how the live version puts the studio version to shame. There are actually noticeable GUITARS in the live version, and the entire recording is much, much more enthused (don't worry, that nice little tremolo piano is still there!). Once you've heard the live version, you'll realize how comparably tame and understated the studio recording is. I actually prefer the "Live at the 10 Spot" version of "Planet Telex," but this one is still quite awesome. And many people think that "Bones" gains similarly from a live performance, but I don't necessarily agree with that. Thom's voice is never as superb live as it is on record, and it hurts this song pretty badly. Still yet, every other member of the band is solid and the live recording featured on this single is good. On this version the band plays at a quicker pace: it neither hurts nor necessarily helps the song, but I just thought I'd tell you.If I were going to put this single out, I would have probably substituted the live version of "Bones" with a live recording of "Just," but that's just me. And it's probably the only change I would have made. Overall, if you're a fan of live Radiohead (which you definitely should be), you can't go wrong with this single. You get three solid live tracks (one, "Anyone Can Play Guitar," that the band no longer plays), PLUS a studio track that's sure to blow you away. And did I forget to mention the FREE postcards included in this pressing? WELL! You get two free postcards with this CD that feature the band in their Pablo Honey/Bends fashions and hairdoos (Thom with long, blonde hair, and Colin with long hair) posing in front of two different buildings. One is color, the other black and white (at least the ones that were in my copy were). These are REALLY cool, and I would imagine that they'll probably be a nice little collector's item someday. Well well well, a good buy just got better! :)"