We now come to the final Radiohead revisited giveaway, and this time, for the 2009 deluxe edition of Hail To The Thief, which hands down is my favorite album in the entire catalog. It might be my favorite because it incorporates all the different musical styles on the previous albums, or because it is considered a least favorite, or a “throw-away” album by some fans.
Regardless of the reason, this is Radiohead’s ultimate masterpiece, with two tablespoons of the guitar-heavy OK Computer, a cup of the experimental and electronic Kid A, one-quart of piano, and a pinch of The Bends.
The album arguably has the best 1-2 punch of all of Radiohead’s albums with the multi-sectioned and eventually intense “2+2=5”, followed by the equally as powerful and building “Sit Down, Stand Up.” How can one not be rocking out at the two-minute mark of the opening track? For as layered as “2+2=5” sounds, it is one the more cleaner sounding guitar parts in long while.
“Sit Down, Stand Up” has one the funkiest and syncopated piano rhythms I have heard Jonny Greenwood ever play. Atop that playing is a repeated “Sit down, stand up” until borderline creepy phrases of “walk into the jaws of hell” and “we can wipe you out anytime.” For the final minute and 15 seconds, “the raindrops” is repeated above an intense, trance-like music accompaniment inducing head banging.
“Sail to the Moon” reminds me of “Karma Police” and “Pyramid Song” with the heavy piano, which of course I thoroughly enjoy hearing. I can never get too much of piano in any song.
After the Kid A-like “Backdrifts,” we go down memory lane to Radiohead’s second album The Bends. “Go To Sleep” has that guitar, alt-rock sound, bringing back their roots. Even though the band has ascended by leaps and bounds musically, they can never escape their initial influences. Some call it a blessing, and others call it a curse.
The next three tracks of “Where I End and You Begin,” “We Suck Young Blood” and “The Gloaming” is a return to the experimental and trippy elements found on Kid A and Amnesiac.
Radiohead then goes back in time once again, but this time to Ok Computer, the days where they straddled the line between alt-rock and experimental with the lead-off single “There There”, “I Will” and “A Punch Up At a Wedding.”
With one more Kid A type song in “Myxomatosis,” the album comes to a close with the Amnesiac-like “Scatterbrain” and “A Wolf at the Door.”
Next time you sit down and listen to Hail to the Thief, really try and think of this album with ingredients from Radiohead’s back catalog. It is almost a “Best Of” without actually having any previously released songs from prior albums. If anything, I view this ultimate masterpiece as an homage to everything they had done, an amalgamation, if you will, of all that makes Radiohead arguably the most challenging, and never-conforming-to-mainstream-radio band the music industry has ever heard.
For grins, here is the tracklist for Hail to the Thief with the album it compliments, or rather, the “Best Of” feel:
1. 2+2=5 (Amnesiac)
2. Sit Down, Stand Up (Kid A)
3. Sail To the Moon (OK Computer)
4. Backdrifts (Kid A)
5. Go To Sleep (The Bends)
6. Where I End and You Begin (Amnesiac)
7. We Suck Young Blood (Kid A)
8. The Gloaming (Kid A)
9. There There (OK Computer)
10. I Will (Ok Computer)
11. A Punch Up At A Wedding (Ok Computer)
12. Myxomatosis (Kid A)
13. Scatterbrain (Amnesiac)
14. A Wolf At the Door (Amnesiac)
The second disc contains b-sides from the “There There,” “Go To Sleep” and “2+2=5” singles. Included among them are a live track of “Fog (Again),” a remix of “Myxomatosis” appropriately titled “Remyxomatosis,” the first demo version of “There There,” a remix of “Scatterbrain” and another version of “I Will.”
In addition, there are also live tracks from the Jo Whiley Show from May 28, 2003, Live at Earls Court in London from November 26, 2003 and Zane Lowe from December 8, 2003.
The DVD contains the promotional music videos to the three singles, including a promo video for “Sit Down Stand Up,” and live video footage from Belfort Festival, and Later…With Jools Holland.
The deluxe edition also contains the sleeve covers for the three singles, the booklet from the original album release, and a poster from the special edition released in 2003.
Hail To The Thief (standalone album) – 5 out of 5 stars
Hail To The Thief (2 CD/1 DCD) – 5 out of 5 stars
Disc 2 Track List:
(Taken from “There There” single)
1. Paperbag Writer
2. Where Bluebirds Fly
(Taken from “Go To Sleep” single)
3. I Am Citizen Insane
4. Fog (Again) – Live
5. Gagging Order
6. I Am A Wicked Child
(Taken from “2+2=5” single)
7. Remyxomatosis (Cristian Vogel RMX)
8. There There (First Demo)
9. Skttrbrain (Four Tet RMX)
10. I Will (Los Angeles Version)
(Jo Whiley Show – 28/05/93)
11. Sail To the Moon
(Live at Earls Court, London – 26/11/03)
12. 2+2=5
(Zane Lowe – 08/12/03)
13. Go To Sleep
DVD Track list:
(Music Videos)
There There
Go To Sleep
2+2=5
Sit Down Stand Up
(Live at Belfort Festival)
2+2=5
(Later…With Jools Holland 27/05/03)
There There
Go To Sleep
2+2=5
Where I End And You Begin
Editors’ Note: PopWreckoning has one unopened copy of this special edition of Hail to the Thief to be given away to a resident of the United States. To win, all you have to do is comment with your favorite song from the album Hail to the Thief and explain why the song stands out to you. The comment that stands out to the Editors the most, wins.
Please remember to include a working email address so we might contact you for mailing information. Contest will run until June 10.
