Pablo Honey
Pablo Honey is the debut studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 22 February 1993 in the UK by Parlophone and on 20 April 1993 in the US by Capitol Records. It was produced by Sean Slade, Paul Q. Kolderie and Radiohead's co-manager Chris Hufford.
"Anyone Can Play Guitar" redirects here. For the film, see Anyone Can Play Guitar (film).Pablo Honey
22 February 1993
1992
- Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire
- Courtyard Studios, Oxfordshire
42:11
- Sean Slade
- Paul Q. Kolderie
- Chris Hufford
Radiohead formed in 1985 at Abingdon School in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, and signed a recording contract with EMI in 1991. Their debut EP, Drill (1992), achieved little success. Radiohead's management targeted the American market and chose American producers for their debut album. Pablo Honey was recorded in three weeks at Chipping Norton Recording Studios in Oxfordshire in 1992. The recording was hampered by Radiohead's lack of studio experience.
The singles "Creep", "Anyone Can Play Guitar" and "Stop Whispering" initially made little impact. However, "Creep" gradually gained international radio play, reaching number seven on the UK Singles Chart after it was reissued in 1993. Radiohead embarked on an aggressive promotional tour in the US supporting Belly and PJ Harvey, followed by a European tour supporting James. In May 1995, a live video, Live at the Astoria (1995), was released on VHS.
Pablo Honey reached number 22 on the UK Albums Chart. It was certified gold in the UK in 1994 and triple platinum in 2013. In the US, it was certified platinum in 1995. Pablo Honey received generally favourable reviews, but some found it underdeveloped or derivative. Though it is less acclaimed than Radiohead's later work, some retrospective reviews have been positive and it has appeared in lists of the greatest albums. The members of Radiohead have criticised it, citing weaker songwriting and their studio inexperience. "Creep" remains Radiohead's most successful single.
Music and lyrics[edit]
In Pablo Honey, critics found elements of grunge,[18][19][20] alternative rock,[18] stadium rock,[21] progressive rock,[20] college rock,[18] post-grunge,[22] and jangle pop.[18] The album drew comparisons to Nirvana, Dinosaur Jr., Sugar,[23] U2,[24][25] the Smiths,[25][26] the Cure,[25][26] the Who[27] and the Jam.[27] The Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien described it as a "hedonistic" album that "you might put on in an open-top car on a Saturday night going to a party".[2]
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic described Pablo Honey as a blend of the anthemic rock of U2 with "atmospheric" instrumental passages.[21] The Salon journalist Annie Zaleski said it featured "distortion-blurred guitar lines that twisted like a kite in the wind".[28] Gary Walker, writing for Guitar.com, described it as "nakedly naive and unguarded" compared to Radiohead's more complex later work.[29] He wrote that it captured the "embryonic dynamic" between the three guitarists and described Greenwood's guitar work as an "exhilarating melange of tremolo-picked soundscapes, chunky octaves, screaming high-register runs and killswitch antics".[29] The opening track, "You", moves between major and minor chords and alternating time signatures.[30] "Blow Out" combines elements of bossa nova and krautrock; it starts with "tense, jazzy" drumming and raked chords and concludes with a shoegaze section.[28][29][30]
Zaleski said the Pablo Honey lyrics express anger at the status quo, the feeling of being an outsider, and worry for the future.[28] "Creep" features a quiet verse and a loud chorus, with "blasts" of guitar noise from Jonny Greenwood.[31] Yorke described it as a "self-destruct song".[32] The lyrics were inspired by a woman that Yorke followed around who unexpectedly attended a Radiohead performance.[31] The lyrics of "Stop Whispering" are about oppression, and the frustration from failing to explain it.[28] Yorke wrote the line "Grow my hair, I wanna be Jim Morrison", from "Anyone Can Play Guitar", in response to people in the music business who "think they have to act like fucking prats in order to live up to the legend".[32] According to Zaleski, "Ripcord" is about the "experience of hurtling into the unknown".[28] "Lurgee" ends with a "meandering" solo.[28]
Release and promotion[edit]
"Creep" was released as the lead Pablo Honey single on 21 September 1992.[8][33] It initially received little airplay and sold around 6,000 copies, reaching number 78 in the UK Singles Chart.[8] The 1993 singles "Anyone Can Play Guitar" and "Stop Whispering", plus the non-album single "Pop Is Dead", were unsuccessful.[34] While "Anyone Can Play Guitar" and "Pop Is Dead" charted on the UK Singles Chart, "Stop Whispering" gained no traction.[34] Radiohead rerecorded "Stop Whispering" for the US single as they were not happy with the album version; O'Brien said the new version was "more atmospheric", likening it to Joy Division.[3]
In late 1992, Radiohead toured the UK with Kingmaker and the Frank and Walters.[35] That September, they performed at the UK EMI conference. They impressed the EMI promoter Carol Baxter, who said: "This funny little band came on and they obviously had something. This was a hideous record company do but Thom gave it everything."[8] That Christmas, NME published a review of a Radiohead performance that dismissed them as "a pitiful, lily-livered excuse for a rock 'n' roll group".[8]
Pablo Honey was released in February 1993 and received little press.[8] It reached number 25 in 1993's UK Albums Chart.[36] However, "Creep" became a hit in Israel, where it was played frequently by the radio DJ Yoav Kutner. In March, Radiohead were invited to Tel Aviv for their first overseas show.[37] Around the same time, "Creep" rose to number two on the US Modern Rock chart,[38] and Pablo Honey was selling well on import.[35] "Creep" reached number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[8]
In June 1993, Radiohead began their first North American tour.[39] In July, Radiohead gave an infamous performance of "Anyone Can Play Guitar" live on MTV Beach House in which Yorke screamed the improvised lyrics "fat, ugly, dead!", before breaking down on camera and jumping into a pool. Yorke was holding a live microphone and narrowly avoided electrocuting himself.[40][41][42]
"Creep" reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart when EMI rereleased it in September 1993.[43] That month, Radiohead performed "Creep" on the British music programme Top of the Pops[44][45] and as the first musical guests on the American talk show Late Night with Conan O'Brien.[46] EMI's American arm, Capitol, wanted to continue promoting Pablo Honey and build on the momentum.[8] Radiohead declined an offer to tour the US in support of Duran Duran, as their managers felt they could earn more credibility by supporting Belly.[8] They also opened for PJ Harvey in New York City and Los Angeles.[47]
Radiohead struggled with the tour. Yorke disliked dealing with American music journalists and tired of the songs.[8] The band members appeared in promotional material they later regretted, such as fashion shoots for Iceberg jeans and the magazine Interview.[8] According to Radiohead's agent, the promotional work triggered "a lot of soul-searching about why they were in a group at all".[8] Jonny Greenwood said they "spent a year being jukeboxes ... We felt in a creative stasis because we couldn't release anything new."[8] The American tour was followed by a European tour supporting James and Tears for Fears.[8][35]
Radiohead cancelled an appearance at Reading Festival after Yorke became ill; he told NME, "Physically I'm completely fucked and mentally I've had enough."[48] According to some reports, EMI gave Radiohead six months to "get sorted" or be dropped. EMI's A&R head, Keith Wozencroft, denied this, saying: "Experimental rock music was getting played and had commercial potential. People voice different paranoias, but for the label [Radiohead] were developing brilliantly from Pablo Honey."[48] Kolderie credited the Pablo Honey tours for turning Radiohead "into a tight band".[17]
In the UK, Pablo Honey was certified gold in April 1994, platinum in June 1997 and triple platinum in July 2013.[8] In the US, it was certified gold in September 1993 and platinum in September 1995.[49] On 13 May 1995, a live video, Live at the Astoria (1995), was released on VHS, with performances of Pablo Honey songs such as "Creep", "You" and "Anyone Can Play Guitar".[50][51]
Reissues[edit]
Radiohead left EMI after their contract ended in 2003.[86] In 2007, EMI released Radiohead Box Set, a compilation of albums recorded while Radiohead were signed to EMI, including Pablo Honey.[86] In 2009, EMI reissued Pablo Honey in a "Collector's Edition" with the Drill EP tracks, B-sides and alternative takes.[87] Radiohead had no input into the reissues and the music was not remastered.[88]
In February 2013, Parlophone was bought by Warner Music Group (WMG).[89] In April 2016, as a result of an agreement with the trade group Impala, WMG transferred Radiohead's back catalogue to XL Recordings. The EMI reissues, released without Radiohead's consent, were removed from streaming services.[90] In May 2016, XL reissued Radiohead's back catalogue on vinyl, including Pablo Honey.[91]