Radiohead just dropped a brand-new album made up of live songs from their 2003 record, Hail to the Thief.
The tracks, which were performed between 2003 and the end of their In Rainbows tours in 2009, have now been mixed by Ben Baptie and mastered by Matt Colton, making them sound fresh and energetic. Fans can look forward to getting their hands on physical copies starting October 31, but for now, everyone can listen to Hail to the Thief (Live Recordings 2003-2009) online.
Thom Yorke shared some thoughts about how these recordings came to light: “In the process of thinking how to build arrangements for the Shakespeare Hamlet/Hail to the Thief theatre production I asked to hear some archive live recordings of the songs. I was shocked by the kind of energy behind the way we played and it really helped me find a way forward. For us, back in the day, the finishing of this record was particularly messy and fraught, we were very proud of it but there was a taste left in our mouths, it was a dark time in so many ways. Anyway we decided to get these live recordings mixed (it would have been insane to keep them for ourselves) by Ben Baptie, who did an amazing job. It has all been a very cathartic process, we very much hope you enjoy them.”
Hail to the Thief has always been a bit of an oddball in Radiohead’s collection, even though lots of people love it; some say it’s just too long. Five years after it came out, Thom Yorke even posted a shorter version of the tracklist online, leaving out “A Punchup at a Wedding,” “We Suck Young Blood,” “I Will,” and “Backdrifts.” Nigel Godrich once admitted the album’s lack of editing made it “probably [his] least favourite of all the albums.” (That’s a bold statement!) Before this new live album, a few songs from Hail to the Thief showed up on In Rainbows From the Basement, and a fiery live version of “2+2=5” was released on the Com Lag EP in 2004. More recently, Yorke used Hail to the Thief music in a Hamlet play that opened in Manchester in May.
Fans sometimes wonder what Radiohead will do next.
Strangely enough, this is the first thing Radiohead has released since they set up a new business partnership in March, which got people guessing if something big was coming. But just because there’s a new album, it doesn’t mean they’re about to go on tour or anything—Radiohead usually make these business moves for tours, not just for re-releasing music, and they’ve never really toured without something new to show off. Sometimes, bands just like to keep us guessing, don’t they?
