Radiohead's sixth studio album came out to a barrage of no hype whatsoever. The Oxford boys have been locked away since 2000's Kid A and 2001's Amnesiac albums confused and baffled the world. People say those albums were difficult, but they weren't that hard on the ears, there's been Pink Floyd ... Read review
Radiohead's Hail to the Thief bridges the gulf between OK Computer's epic progressive rock ... more
and Kid A's skittering electronic theatrics, borrowing equally from each. Its title implies that this is a collection filled with songs of anger and dissent, but...
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Advantages: Radiohead find a mix between guitars and Pro Tools Disadvantages: New fans may not like all the songs
Radiohead's sixth studio album came out to a barrage of no hype whatsoever. The Oxford boys have been locked away since 2000's Kid A and 2001's Amnesiac albums confused and baffled the world. People say those albums were difficult, but they weren't that hard on the ears, there's been Pink Floyd albums weirder than those 2! The album was preceded by the release of There There, which in my opinion is one of the best songs they've made in ages with ... ...Phil Selway kicks in and brings the song through a thunderous second stage. It's truly thrilling.
The album opens up with 2+2=5, and if there was any doubt that Thom Yorke had fallen back in love with his guitar, it's blown away here with this almost-stadium sound. It starts off slowly with an Ed O'Brien riff and spookily clear Yorke vocals (we're all used to not hearing his voice, whether it be auto-tuned out of recognition, or masked ... more
Radiohead's sixth studio album came out to a barrage of no hype whatsoever. The Oxford boys have been locked away since 2000's Kid A and 2001's Amnesiac albums confused and baffled the world. People say those albums were difficult, but they weren't that hard on the ears, there's been Pink Floyd albums weirder than those 2! The album was preceded by the release of There There, which in my opinion is one of the best songs they've made in ages with its tribal drums opening up, then halfway through the song, Phil Selway kicks in and brings the song through a thunderous second stage. It's truly thrilling.
The album opens up with 2+2=5, and if there was any doubt that Thom Yorke had fallen back in love with his guitar, it's blown away here with this almost-stadium sound. It starts off slowly with an Ed O'Brien riff and spookily clear Yorke vocals (we're all used to not hearing his voice, whether it be auto-tuned out of recognition, or masked behind lap-top Cubase trickery), then breaks down for Yorke's "There's no way out" before accelerating at breakneck pace into the second half of the song. It rivals anything released at the time by guitar bands such as the Strokes, Muse or even the Foo Fighters.
But Yorke's love of guitars is bigamous with his relationship to his lap-top, and the next song shows that whilst the band have a more traditional edge on this album, they also have nods to Kid A and Yorke's Warp Records influences. Sit Down. Stand Up is glitch techno bordering on speed garage, with a looped bass riff underpinned by Selway's almost epileptic sounding drums. It's an amazing effect, and surely produced with the live arenas in mind.
We float through the elegiac Sail To The Moon (written about Yorke's son Noah) and stutter through the Like Spinning Plates-esque Backdrifts, before another stonking example of power guitars in Go To Sleep. It's Radiohead of old, mixed with a glitchy time signature. Then Where I End And You Begin, an lmost dreamy song that drifts through and is gone before you even think about it.
The spooky We Suck Young Blood is next, with a blood curdling vocal by Yorke, then another techno interlude with The Gloaming. Thus begins the second half of the album, There There coming next. I will is a guitar ballad that just slows the pace of the album slightly.
A Punchup At A Wedding is one of the highlights of the album, sounding nothing like anything Radiohead have done before, being a jazzy, bluesy, but very uplifting song with an amazing bassline to it. Myxamytosis is a fuzzed up bassline that would scare off any mice in your flat, once described by Thom as "Ugliiiieeeee!!!"
The last two songs bring the album to an acoustic close, with Scatterbrain being the lighter of the two. A Wolf At The Door is a great closer, with the sound of Thom semi-singing, semi-shouting the lyrics of this almost dance-hall like song (Don't worry, it sounds nothing like Mr Beenie Man!). It almost sounds as if he's free-wheeling the lyrics, singing as they come to him, which is an old Radiohead trick, but this is the first time it's sonically evident.
All in all this is an amazing album which finds the band in a safe place, being that they could either go back to the rock of The Bends and OK Computer, or move more into the Kid A-influenced world of scrubbed sounds, loops and lap tops. Wherever they go, I know I'll be right there, enjoying the amazing music that Radiohead are capable of.
Advantages: A much better step on in the Radiohead albums Disadvantages: That Amnesiac was in between this and Kid A
...are once again on track. Hail To The Thief in terms of gauge falls between Kid A and Ok Computer as an album, with bits of the Bends and Pablo Honey thrown in to make it sound even better.
I shall warn you now for all those people who do not like long reviews that this shall be on and if you don’t like long op’s then maybe you should stop reading here. So without further a do lets get on with it. Radiohead are an Oxford based band made up of:
Thom ... ...Ed O’Brien: Guitar
Philip Selway: Drums
The first track on the album, “2 + 2 = 5“, really opened up my eyes to the new sound of Radiohead and just what is to come from Yorke and the lads. It opens with some distortion before the guitars come in then the vocals slowly and haunting. The guitar sounds like it's been lifted from Ok Computer and had a bit of work done to it to add an extra edge to it. Just when you think Yorke's vocals are going to ...
Andy.mack 02.07.2003 (01.04.2004)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Hail To The Thief - Radiohead
Advantages: Sort of a return to form Disadvantages: Still too much noodling and experimenting
...truncated vocals. 2003's Hail To The Thief, then, was widely anticipated by industry insiders as a return to the stadium-bothering full rock sound of The Bends. The "insiders" were.........nearly right.
Here is the tracklisting and I've followed this with a detailed overview of each track labelling it RTF (return to form), STE (still they experiment) or simply BOB (bit o' both).
1. 2+2=5
2. Sit Down Stand Up
3. Sail To The Moon
4. Backdrifts
... ...You Begin
7. We Suck Young Blood
8. The Gloaming
9. There There
10. I Will
11. A Punch Up At A Wedding
12. Myxamatosis
13. Scatterbrain
14. A Wolf At The Door
2+2=5
I had to slap my speakers the first time I heard this. A stuttered, radio reception dominates the first 30 secs of the track before Thom Yorke wails over a picked guitar motif. Just as you're dozing off he screams: "because" and REAL DRUMS kick in. He stops singing and a little ...
waynehorrigan 22.06.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Hail To The Thief - Radiohead
Advantages: Radiohead - Egar to try something new, every track memorable Disadvantages: Maybe too Experimental
I started out being a huge Radiohead fan, without actually owning any of their albums - well I have a tape of OK computer, but hey. I saw a quick preview of this album in Q mag back in 2002, flicking through very "suggestive" pages about Moby, I stumble on a picture of the Gods that are Ed O'Brien and Thom Yorke with the Q award in hand.
Flicking through again, I find an article on them, explaining how they were in LA for recording. "Inevitably, ... ...the times of the September 11th "disaster", "It was like working in a void"... and it shows.
The 1st track - 2+2=5 instantly reminds me of what music should be about: expressional and raw. None of this over produced tosh, down to earth, balls out rock n roll. Once the guitar kicks in, a sense of suspense is created, thoms vocals give it urgancy, while a little elctro beat carries on in the background. Building up into a new section...and WOAH, a ...
h2oz7v 03.05.2005 (09.05.2005)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Hail To The Thief - Radiohead
Advantages: Excellent unconventional music, some beautiful songwriting Disadvantages: Takes a while to grow on you.
...a successful new sound.
Hail To The Thief received a great deal of press for its name alone. Many saw it as a jab at the American government, with Yorke particularly vocal in his dislike for the Bush administration. A play on the saying "Hail To The Chief", it was just too obvious to be Radiohead. Indeed, they denied such accusations, preferring to let their music masterpiece do the talking. This isn't OK Computer. It isn't Kid A. It isn't like ... ...sound unlike any other band. Hail To The Thief was billed as a return to the band's original guitar-driven routes. You can just hear the laughter as they introduce a roaring rock anthem to open the album, only to deviate from the expected course down a road far less travelled. There is no genre to place this record in. The band refuse to comply with the system, and while they continue to produce fantastic music, why should they? 2+2=5 - ( It's the ...
tehfincheh 20.01.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Hail To The Thief - Radiohead
...up with harmony and astral. Hail to the Thief (HttT) is nothing short of this. Compared to their last albums, HttT has more songs, but a lot less electronic influence. The songs seem to have more room to breath and have a lot more air (or silence) flowing through them, making the album perfectly capable of having more songs. Here's three of my favourite songs, analysed and explained by me (SUBJECTIVE): '"2+2=5'" As the title suggests, the song is ... ...line “you've not been, paying attention”, initially gave me the idea that Thom Yorke was angry at us for not being aware of the reality of 9/11. However, the song my be directed at the establishment itself for not being aware of the social change occurring within the people. Lines like “Yeah I feel it, I needed attention”, reveal this. Overall the song is an upbeat, rocky anthem piece, which will defiantly get you going at a gig! '"A Punch up at ...
semiflex 01.07.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Hail To The Thief - Radiohead
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Quality and consistency...
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Advantages: Errrrr.... not many advantages Disadvantages: The worst stuff Radiohead have ever produced
of the classic Radiohead guitar rifts or Thom Yorkes gravelly high pitched gloomy voice. I would not be surprised if this album alienated Radiohead fans worldwide, and I know that it made me think twice about buying the next one; hailto the thief. Radiohead ditched their traditional guitar performed tracks for this joke of an album, with electronics playing such a role that Cher would be proud. If you are a massive Radiohead fan, like me, then buy it for the sake of owning another Radiohead CD, but dont look forward to it. DONT let this album put you off buying Hailto the thief however, you can read my review on that album. If Amnesiac was created by an unknown band, perhaps I wouldnt be so critical, but Radiohead fans and the music industry have learnt to love the Radiohead of old. ...
Advantages: Woman From Tokyo Disadvantages: All downhill for the band after this release
This album, the fifth from Deep Purple Mark II, (Ian Gillan / Ritchie Blackmore / Jon Lord / Roger Glover / Ian Paice) seems to be something of a curio's egg these days - Rock Fans Of A Certain Age will all remember Child In Time, Speed King, Smoke On The Water and Lazy, but who remembers any of the tunes on here? Apart from the one about that sweet lady from the capital of Japan?
Understandable maybe, because after all we are talking about a band that had sired the great albums In Rock, Machine Head, Fireball and the live Made In Japan, so perhaps this was bound to be a little overlooked, much in the same way as, well, Radioheads "HailTo The Thief", good as it is, will not be mentioned in the same breath as "Kid A" or "OK Computer" will it?
When you also consider that by the time it was recorded (in Italy and Germany ...
for £8.99 at the turn of the year when these 10 tracks finally found pysical form. IT IS VERY NICE TO HAVE IT ON CD (lovey front cover, cheers Stanley Donwood) Like all the best things in life, this shouldn't come without charge. Here are just some of the reasons why paying for it is better than getting it for free...
So here it is. An absolute cracker. Ever since OK Computer in '97 (in my opinion the most perfect collection of tracks ever printed on one shiny CD) I feel Radiohead have been fighting for a new sound. Though entertaining, Kid A, Amnesiac and Hailto the Thief felt somehow empty. It seemed that Radiohead were slacking, waiting for something or merely 'hiding in the woods,' but in any case, they did not represent Radiohead at their Bends-esque peak. 'In Rainbows' though sees the five blokes back at their best.
Ironically ...
hail to thechimp
Genre:Party/BoardGame,Kids/Family- Publisher:Gamecock -Deve ...
Product Information for "Hail To The Thief - Radiohead" »
Product details
Title
Hail To The Thief
Performer
Radiohead
Genre
Rock & Pop
Sub Genre
Alternative
Release Date
09/06/2003
Recomended Retail Price
16.99 GBP
Original Release Year
2003
Label / Distributor
Parlophone / EMI Operations/CEVA Logistics
Producer
Nigel Godrich
Pieces in Set
1
Studio / Live
Studio
Stereo
Stereo
Format
Performer
EAN
724358454321
Catalogue Number
5845432
Additional notes
Album Notes
Radiohead: Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, programming); Ed O'Brien (vocals, guitar, sound effects); Jonny Greenwood (guitar, toy piano, glockenspiel, programming, sampling); Colin Greenwood (synthesizer, bass, samples); Philip Selway (drums, percussion). Principally recorded at Ocean Way, Hollywood, California. Not since the Beatles has a group managed to combine mass popularity and cutting-edge aesthetic triumphs so consistently as Radiohead, who by the time of HAIL TO THE THIEF had been on a roll since 1997's OK COMPUTER (as great as THE BENDS was, it didn't garner the band mainstream attention). While KID A and AMNESIAC had been outre, boundary-pushing attempts to expand the pop-rock palette even beyond the ambitious OK COMPUTER, HAIL TO THE THIEF incorporates the avant-garde techniques developed in that journey, applying them to more formal song structures. In this way, we get the best of both worlds on what just might be Radiohead's best album yet. Though this isn't a return to the straight-ahead pop structures of THE BENDS, the guitar does make a welcome return here. There are plenty of glitchy electronics and atmospheric keyboards, etc., but they're integrated with traditional "rock" instrumentation" in a completely organic way. Though they remain art-rockers to the end, with Thom Yorke expressing carefully wrought angst both personal and political, Radiohead injects some blood into things as well. The occasional hard-grooving funk rhythm and crazed rock guitar riff keeps even the airiest sentiments well anchored, making HAIL TO THE THIEF as well balanced as it is progressive.
Album Reviews
Rolling Stone (6/26/03, p.72) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...There are so many delicious melodies here, so much that's both soothing and twisted and catchy, so much to sing along with, even if our prognosis is grim..." Spin (7/03, pp. 103-4) - "...THIEF seesaws between the chill of sequencers and the warmth of fingers on strings and keys....It's strewn with the burnished, elongated melodies that have made them the most diversely covered band since the Beatles..." - Grade: A Entertainment Weekly (6/6/03, pp. 76-7) - "...Like all Radiohead albums, it's a slow grower, a densely packed collection of rapidly mutating sounds and surfaces that takes a while to comprehend..." - Rating: A- Uncut (6/03, p.112) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Deep, broad and sprawling....It is a magnificently engaging and expansive work..." Vibe (7/03, p.145) - 4 out of 5 - "...Radiohead's definition of pop has evolved from guitar-driven tracks with a Beatles influence to textured, willfully complex songs dripping with Pink Floyd-like ambition..."
Titles on disc 1
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.
Gloaming
9.
There There
10.
I Will
11.
Punch Up At A Wedding
12.
Myxomatosis
13.
Scatterbrain
14.
Wolf At The Door
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Listed on Ciao since
25/06/2003
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