Radiohead have surprise-released an album of live recordings drawn from their 2003 album, Hail to the Thief. 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. Physical editions follow on October 31. Listen to Hail to the Thief (Live Recordings 2003-2009) below.
In a statement explaining how the record came about, Yorke said, “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.”
Though foundational for many fans, 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.” (All of them?!) In 2008, the band modestly 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, etching a faint question mark beside their dormant status. Today’s release does not necessarily answer the question that business entity raised: Radiohead typically form LLP entities for tours, not reissues, and, historically, the band has not toured without a new album to fine-tune or promote.
