When not sparking lengthy comment threads on this website with their takes on current events, Radiohead are keeping the Hail To The Thief retrospectives rolling. Back in the spring, a production of Hamlet incorporating music from Hail To The Thief was staged in Manchester and London. Thom Yorke worked on Hamlet Hail To The Thief, and the project caused him to revisit live recordings from the Hail To The Thief era. He liked what he heard.
Today, Radiohead have surprise-released an album full of those old recordings. Hail To The Thief, Live Recordings 2003-2009 includes performances of most Hail To The Thief tracks (no "Backdrifts" or "A Punch Up At A Wedding") captured in London, Amsterdam, Buenos Aires, and Dublin between 2003 and 2009. The digital version is out today, with a one-off vinyl pressing to follow on Halloween, available for pre-order now. The album was mixed by Ben Baptie and mastered by Matt Colton.
Yorke shared this statement about the new live album:
In the process of thinking of 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. I barely recognised us, and it helped me find a way forward. We decided to get these live recordings mixed and released (it would have been insane to keep them for ourselves). It has all been a very cathartic process. We very much hope you enjoy them.
I saw Radiohead three times when they were touring behind Hail To The Thief, and those shows ripped. As promised, these recordings reflect that ferocity. You can stream the full live album below, where you'll also find a video of Radiohead performing "There, There" in Buenos Aires.
Hail To The Thief, Live Recordings 2003-2009 is out now digitally and 10/31 physically via XL. Vinyl pre-orders are live at W.A.S.T.E. Although this release is welcome, if it's the reason the band created a new business entity this year, I'll be disappointed.
Meanwhile, Yorke and longtime collaborator Stanley Donwood, who has worked with Yorke on the band's artwork since The Bends, opened their art exhibition This Is What You Get at the Ashmolean Museum in Radiohead's native Oxford last week. They gave an interview about it to The Art Newspaper.
