Radiohead Surprise Drop New Live Album 'Hail to the Thief (Live Recordings 2003-2009)'
Radiohead have dropped an unexpected new live album. The record, titled Hail to the Thief (Live Recordings 2003-2009) is a catalog of live recordings drawn from their 2003 album of the same name.
Recorded between the year of its release and the end of the In Rainbows tours in 2009, the 12-track album is newly mixed and mastered by Ben Baptie and Matt Colton, respectively. It captures performances of Hail to the Thief tracks from London, Amsterdam, Buenos Aires, and Dublin. The digital version of the live album dropped yesterday (August 13) while physical vinyl editions will follow October 31. The one-off vinyl pressing will be available in a limited-edition red colorway at indie stores, as well as on cyan-colored vinyl, exclusively from Radiohead’s W.A.S.T.E. store.
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In a press release about the album's genesis obtained by Pitchfork and Consequence, Thom Yorke stated: “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 occupies a curious place in Radiohead lore, which generally holds that it is too long. Five years after its release, Thom Yorke posted a revised tracklist on Radiohead’s website omitting four songs - “A Punchup at a Wedding,” “We Suck Young Blood,” “I Will” and “Backdrifts”- and Nigel Godrich later said its lack of editing, while charming, made it “probably [his] least favourite of all the albums.” In 2008, the band reframed a handful of Hail to the Thief tracks on the live studio recording In Rainbows From the Basement. Before that, a searing live version of “2+2=5,” recorded at Earl’s Court, appeared on the 2004 EP Com Lag. As noted in his statement, Yorke recently adapted Hail to the Thief for a spin on Hamlet that opened in Manchester, England, in May.
The new live album marks Radiohead’s first activity since forming a new business entity - a limited liability partnership (LLP) - this March. Earlier this year, Radiohead celebrated the 30th anniversary of the band’s second album, The Bends, sharing a previously unreleased 1995 solo acoustic performance by Yorke. Speaking of Yorke, the artist recently released a new song called "Dialing In" for the Apple TV+ Series Smoke.
Listen to some tracks from Hail to the Thief (Live Recordings 2003-2009) below.
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Article Image: Close-up of Thom Yorke under blue lighting while Radiohead perform at Austin City Limits. (Moffly via Depositphotos)