Radiohead's Hail to the Thief released

Hail to the Thief Radiohead

Released: June 9, 2003 Peak: 3 US, 11 UK, 11 CN, 2 AU Sales (in millions): 1.12 US, 0.3 UK, 2.5 world (includes US and UK) Genre: experimental alternative rock

Tracks: Song Title [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. 2 + 2 = 5 (The Lukewarm) [3:19] (11/17/03, 15 UK) Sit Down Stand Up (Snakes & Ladders) [4:19] Sail to the Moon (Brush the Cobwebs Out of the Sky) [4:18] Backdrifts (Honeymoon Is Over) [5:22] Go to Sleep (Little Man Being Erased) [3:21] (8/18/03, 32 MR, 12 UK) Where I End and You Begin (The Sky Is Falling In) [4:29] We Suck Young Blood (Your Time Is Up) [4:56] The Gloaming (Softly Open Our Mouths in the Cold) [3:32] There There (The Boney King of Nowhere) [5:25] (5/10/03, 14 MR, 4 UK, 12 CN) I Will (No Man’s Land) [1:59] A Punchup at a Wedding (No No No No No No No No) [4:57] Myxomatosis (Judge, Jury & Executioner) [3:52] Scatterbrain (As Dead as Leaves) [3:21] A Wolf at the Door (It Girl. Rag Doll) [3:21] All songs written by Radiohead. Total Running Time: 56:35 The Players: Colin Greenwood (bass) Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards) Ed O’Brien (guitar, effects, backing vocals) Philip Selway (drums, percussion) Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, keyboards)

Rating: 3.845 out of 5.00 (average of 29 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “Radiohead’s admittedly assumed dilemma: how to push things forward using just the right amounts of the old and the older in order to please both sides of the divide? Taking advantage of their longest running time to date, enough space is provided to quench the thirsts of resolute Bends devotees without losing the adventurous drive or experimentation that eventually got the group into hot water with many of those same listeners. Guitars churn and chime and sound like guitars more often than not; drums are more likely to be played by a human; and discernible verses are more frequently trailed by discernible choruses.” AMG “So, whether or not the group is to be considered ‘back,’ there is a certain return to relatively traditional songcraft. Had the opening 2 + 2 = 5 and Sit Down, Stand Up been made two years before, each song’s slowly swelling intensity would have plateaued a couple minutes in, functioning as mood pieces without any release; instead, each boils over into its own cathartic tantrum.” AMG “The spook-filled Sail to the Moon, one of several songs featuring prominent piano, rivals ‘Street Spirit’ and hovers compellingly without much sense of force carrying it along.” AMG “Somewhat ironically, minus a handful of the more conventionally structured songs, the album would be almost as fractured, remote, and challenging as Amnesiac. Backdrifts and The Gloaming feature nervous electronic backdrops, while the emaciated We Suck Young Blood is a laggard processional that, save for one outburst, shuffles along uneasily.” AMG “At nearly an hour in length, this album doesn’t unleash the terse blow delivered by its two predecessors. However, despite the fact that it seems more like a bunch of songs on a disc rather than a singular body, its impact is substantial. Regardless of all the debates surrounding the group, Radiohead have entered a second decade of record-making with a surplus of momentum.” AMG

Resources and Related Links: AMG All Music Guide review by Andy Kellman WK Wikipedia Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 10/15/2009; last updated 6/2/2022.