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Hail To the Thief (Collectors Edition)

Radiohead - Hail To the Thief (Collectors Edition) Audio CD

A fair review of the Radiohead "Hail To the Thief (Collectors Edition)" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Radiohead reviews here, or go back to the Radiohead tabs.

Band: Radiohead
Title: Hail To the Thief (Collectors Edition)
Rating:

Release Date: 2009-08-25
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: 2 + 2 = 5 2: Sit Down. Stand Up. 3: Sail To The Moon 4: Backdrifts 5: Go To Sleep 6: Where I End And You Begin 7: We Suck Young Blood 8: The Gloaming 9: There There 10: I Will 11: A punchup At A Wedding 12: Myxomatosis 13: Scatterbrain 14: A Wolf At The Door 15: Paperbag Writer (There There) 16: Where Bluebirds Fly (There There) 17: I Am Citizen Insane (Go To Sleep) 18: Fog (Again) - Live (Go To Sleep) 19: Gagging Order (Go To Sleep) 20: I Am A Wicked Child (Go To Sleep) 21: Remyxomatosis (Cristian Vogel RMX) (2+2=5) 22: There There (First Demo) (2+2=5) 23: Skttrbrain (Four Tet RMX) (2+2=5) 24: I Will (Los Angeles Version) (2+2=5) 25: Sail To The Moon (Jo Whiley Show - 5/28/03) 26: 2+2=5 (Live At Earls Court, London, 11/26/03) (Com Lag) 27: Go To Sleep (Zane Lowe - 12/8/03)

Less than OK Computer or In Rainbows
OK Computer and In Rainbows are classic like an "A", but I can only give "Half to Thief" a B- at best. Doesn't quite match the crisp songs and exhilarating guitar sounds a la Soundgarden or Smashing Pumpkins. Maybe if I'm just completing my collection, but not as essential as the others.

Hail to the Thief
Allmusic, IGN and Pitchfork Media all gave it high marks. Hail to the Thief being Radiohead's 6th studio album and their 2003 release was met with positive reviews by the critics and did also very well with the general public. The album reached nr 1 in the UK and nr 3 in the US. Three singles were released on this album. These being, i. e. , "There There", "Go to Sleep" and "2 + 2 = 5". All the lyrics are included in the booklet and we also get a personnel list that lists what they played. 4/5.

Soundtrack to despair (aka law school)
(If you've survived that you know what I'm talking about. This album got me through hell - specifically, my first year of law school. ) I spent many post-studying late nights with this CD, playing cards on the laptop (something to occupy my eyes but not my strained brain) while dissolving into the glorious gloom and despair swirling around in my headphones. And strangely loving it - there's something about wallowing in misery that's oddly freeing.

I know Yorke & Co. have denied it had any expressly political overtones, but part of the album's impact at the time (at least for me) was its ability to articulate a sense of the anxiousness surrounding the invasion of Iraq. Whether you thought we should be there or not (I didn't), it was gonna happen and you felt powerless to do much about it. Bigger forces than you were at work in the post 9/11 world, and those feelings of inevitability, confusion, irrelevance, and dread were expressed in the repetition of the lyrics and percussive instrumentation (punctuated with the occasional glorious chaotic noise) and connected with me much more than anything on Kid A or Amnesiac. 'There There' was a decent enough single, but it takes on a whole new character in the context of the album - a melodic release of tension that's exuberant, while still dark. And the handclaps on 'We Suck Young Blood' are just awesomely creepy.

Listening to it again now, long after Iraq has ceased to be the dominant issue of the day, the album holds up even better than I remember it - a sign that it's truly a work of art capable of reflecting whatever the listener needs to project onto it. It's almost operatic. The Bends will always be my favorite Radiohead disc, and there's no denying the perfection of OK Computer, but Hail to the Thief might be their best work.

Not especially good
On both OK Computer and The Bends, and even Kid A and In Rainbows, right from the opening songs I loved the albums, with even the lesser songs getting at least 4 stars. Hail to the Theif was the first Radiohead album I'd heard that I didn't immediately fall in love with. Not so with Hail to the Theif. There are some good cuts, sure, but on the whole. . . not their best album. I'd only recommend this for the most devoted fans and/or completists, and definitely not until you own their other albums.

The band doesn't wear LA so well
After all, this is one of only a few bands in recent memory to score a string of three near-perfect albums (THE BENDS, OKC, KID A). Radiohead
Hail to the Thief; 2003
Capitol Records

My Rating: 58/100

It's hard to complain about a Radiohead record of any kind. Given the rousing success of IN RAINBOWS, Radiohead has pretty much cemented their status as the grand champions of left-field pop music. And while there are quite a few great tracks on THIEF, the record suffers from being a little TOO conventional and overly glum (yes, Radiohead can be overly glum). It all begins with the title. In my book, Radiohead's brilliance lies precisely in their indirect manner of expression. I'm used to a band that skirts the fringes of our present reality, mining the subconscious dread and paranoia fear that haunt us all. I'd much rather leave the political rants to the Rage Against the Machines and Sean Penns of the world. Still, themes aside, THIEF might be a five star record if the production weren't so LA. I know the band says they were going for a LIVE feels with these songs, but much of THE BENDS was recorded live, and sounded more raw than this. Overall, I still rather enjoy this record, because, once again, it's Radiohead. But I'd only just place this above PABLO HONEY in ranking the albums.

Cohesion (4/5)
Consistency (3/5)
Concept (4/5)
Consequence (4/5)

Tracks:

1. 2+2=5 (5/5)
2. Sit Down, Stand Up (5/5)
3. Sail to the Moon (4/5)
4. Backdrifts (4/5)
5. Go to Sleep (3/5)
6. Where I End and You Begin (3/5)
7. We Suck Young Blood (2. 5/5)
8. The Gloaming (3. 5/5)
9. There There (5/5)
10. I Will (3/5)
11. A Punchup at a Wedding (5/5)
12. Myxomatosis (3/5)
13. Scatterbrain (4/5)
14. A Wolf at the Door (4/5).

You can see a complete list of all Radiohead discography, or go back to the Radiohead tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.