(Single from album, "The Bends")
This is a dark song. Gloaming, melancholy and chewing on its own desperate loneliness, "Street Spirit" is, both as a Radiohead track, a song in its own right, and especially as the closing track to a pretty phenomenal album, a wonderful song in every respect. Musically accomplished, lyrically beautiful and sonically astounding...
"Street Spirit" begins with a very haunting riff. Its grim from the outset, amplified by the sharp, edgy sound of the acoustic guitar in the background, and the rhythmic triangle beat. Thom Yorke's voice is doubled tracked and sprinkled with the gloomy special effect of reverb, and, as the drums roll in, the bass slowly ticking over in the deepest reaches of the track, the full, manic depressive atmosphere has set in. The bass fills out later in the song, along with the drums, while the guitars are kept at a continuous pace and presence.
Its at this moment in the song that, despite the stereotypical glum atmosphere created by the slow, meandering agony of the instruments, echoed by the whining, warped genius of the vocals, you begin to realise why this song was a commercial success. Its very beautiful in composition, and very well put together. In terms of closing an album which manages, expertly, to diversely explore several moods and feelings, "Street Spirit" is perfect, fading out at the final checkpoint; having reached the end, the true emotion of mankind - melancholia. As Radiohead finish their song, its somewhat comforting to now that after all the emotion of "The Bends", they landed up here, just as everyone does, in a pit of despair.
This said, it does have a perversely, light hearted feeling despite its very dark overtones. Jonny Greenwood's electric lead guitar (especially in syncopation with Yorke's acoustic backing) does glimmer, and the synthesised strings in the background (most prominent at 3:20) have a very optimistic feel to them.
However you choose to hear and interpret this, do it as the end of "The Bends" and not as the first track of the single release or as a single track. This song only really works to penetrate the listener after the bouncing turmoil of the whole album has passed by. You should however, give it a go. Its Radiohead at their finest.
★★★★★
Versions of “Street Spirit (Fade Out)”
Album/Single Version – 4:12