Radiohead : Hail To The Thief(Live Recordings 2003-2009)

Radiohead may have made the biggest left turn of any band in terms of a sonic shift in style and sound. OK Computer was arguably one of the biggest alternative rock albums of the 90s(and beyond), propelling Radiohead into the pantheon of legendary bands. And for better or worse as far as Yorke & Co were concerned.

So how do they follow-up their masterpiece and third record? By releasing two wonky and heavily electronic albums that did as much for them as OK Computer did, but not without plenty of backlash(“Where’s the guitars, man?”) Hindsight tells us they were merely spreading their creative and artistic wings as those two records are as highly regarded as OK Computer, but at the time there were plenty of The Bends and OK Computer fans pretty bent out of shape(and honestly, a lot never did get unbent.)

So in 2003 Radiohead dropped the more guitar-centric Hail To The Thief. This was a record that at the time of release was well regarded, but wasn’t quite met with open arms. After Kid A and Amnesiac a lot of fans were hoping for a return to form with guitars and big vocals. What they got was an off-kilter, heavily-political rock record that didn’t deliver immediate hooks and sing-a-longs. It was an album that was meant to be chewed on for a bit before it could be appreciated.

22 years later and Hail To The Thief can finally be appreciated in all its underappreciated glory. Hail To The Thief(Live Recordings 2003-2009) is a collection of live versions of the record’s tracks, put in order of the studio version(two songs are omitted from the original studio version.) This live set easily proves this is one of the band’s most misunderstood albums. Radiohead deliver these songs with fire and fury, opening the record back for a much needed re-evaluation.

What you get here are 12 of the album’s 14 original songs. They’re delivered here in a kind of manic energy, with Thom Yorke bringing a Damo Suzuki delivery to the vocals. Tracks like “2+2=5” has a jagged, punk rock energy when the chorus hits. It feels like the band is excited to be bringing these songs to the stage. “Sail To The Moon” and “There, There” are encapsulated perfectly here, bringing both the studio version’s sonic palate, while having a raw, visceral quality at the same time.

There’s not a moment wasted here. From the ominous opening notes of “Stand Up. Sit Down” to the Gothic piano of “We Suck Young Blood” to the post-grunge clamor of “Myxomatosis” that Muse based an entire career on. And of course the stunning closer “Wolf At The Door” that comes across as pure eerie beauty here.

Much like that other much-maligned Radiohead record The King of Limbs, Hail To The Thief(Live Recordings 2003-2009) delivers surprises and energy on the stage(if you haven’t watched the Limbs ‘From The Basement’ you need to and then re-evalute.) Hail To The Thief(Live Recordings 2003-2009) delivers some much needed redemption to an album that deserves it.