Hail to the Thief

This is one of my favorite albums. There's something about so much of Radiohead’s material that just hits it exactly for me - tense, complex, precise, rhythmic music with vague but interesting lyrics. They're my "comfort music," and for some reason I started listening to this particular record a lot more during the pandemic, working insane amounts of overtime at my little desk at home while wailing along with “Hail to the Thief.”

I'm sure I've sustained hearing damage from "Sit Down, Stand Up." First I turn it up when the bass comes in. Then a bit louder when the drums come in. And then louder, and the raindrops, and the raindrops, and the raindrops, and the raindrops, and the raindrops, and the raindrops, and the raindrops, and the raindrops, and the raindrops, and the raindrops, and the raindrops, and the

The logical conclusion to Kid A and OK Computer. It closed the golden years of radiohead where almost every album was 5*.

As radiohead has always been extremely solid on album it's still the case here : the correct blend of rock and electronic music that very few group where able to master as much as them.

Favorite Songs: it's difficult to chose some songs that stand out more than others

There is absolutely nothing wrong with this album, in fact its got moments of absolute brilliance.
It does however (for me) lack the hooks that OK Computer has in spades. And that is fine, they are different records for a different place and time. While it is admittedly pretty damn great I don't feel the need to come back and pour over it the way I do with other Radiohead albums. A couple of these tracks are amongst their best work.
Solid 4 star album.

5
Has never been my favorite of theirs but on this listen it really clicked

Very good album although, as the band members have also mentioned, it is a bit too long. In any case, I find it pretty varied and I like the them.

I particularly enjoyed: "2+2=5", "There, There", or "A Wolf In the Door" (any of those could be my favourite). I also enjoyed: "Sit Down, Stand Up", "Sail To The Moon", "Go To Sleep", "Wher I End And You Begin", or "Scatterbrain".

Overall, I find this is a very easy rating: 4 stars. It is simply too good to be given only 3 stars, but it also clearly falls short (in particular due to its length and the not so inspired tracks) to reach 5 stars as other albums from the same band.

This is my third Radiohead listen of the project, and is the most recently released of the albums I've had generated. It melds the guitar-heavy sound used on "The Bends" with the electronic experimentation of "Kid A" without reaching the heights of either album. It feels rather mediocre for the most part, lacking the songwriting of The Bends and the atmosphere of Kid A. Lyrics are of a similar quality to most Radiohead lyrics. I don't know how essential this particular album is in the Radiohead discography, especially coming after their most seminal works. This could easily have been left off the list without much effect. However, it's not a terrible album, and it will still sound good to devout fans of Radiohead.

I do understand the fuss around Radiohead and I adore a few of their songs but, in general, I find it a chore to listen to their entire albums. I'm not sure what animates folks to proclaim them as complete works of genius and I don't know that I can disagree. I, for one, feel great love for The Wall by Pink Floyd and, clearly, that album is regarded as garbage by some folks.

This is a very well made album that simply rubs *me* the wrong way. I can't engage with it but I can't say critically bad things about it. It's just too well made.

The things I don't care for are merely characteristics which describe it and aren't faults. It drones. It uses lyrical motif to express emotion. Thom's voice is often fragile. The instrumentation is lush to the point of muddiness in spots. In others quite lonely.

If I were to be overly critical it would hold about as much weight as saying that I don't care for blue automobiles. That is a me problem.

This is a great album I don't like. Stepping back from my own taste and trying to appreciate what it does with the palette it is restricting itself to it is a 4 of 5. It may not be perfect but it is a fine representative of its ilk.

Remember when people thought George W Bush was as bad as it could possibly get? Almost makes you nostalgic. Speaking of rethinking your 2000s stances, this project has made me wonder why I drifted away from Radiohead post-Amnesiac, as this and In Rainbows are both belters.

not my favorite radiohead album if im being real.

Never listened to Radiohead properly, but thought that it was generally dull music for dull people. Still, I was ready to have my mind changed today. There were flashes of interesting music and ideas, but no single song grabbed me particularly. So this doesn't get a passing grade today, but I want to keep my mind open for the next album of theirs on the list.

The melancholic voice of Yorke is nice to listen to... Sparingly. An entire album of soft anxiousness can get boring after a while. But, I do appreciate whenever the guitars start to shred in this album. Just wish there was more of it like in The Bends.

This is the fourth Radiohead album on my journey. Some time after touring for Amnesiac, the band went to work on their next record, recording in Hollywood over two weeks. There was a consensus to return to the more guitar-driven work of their earlier releases, while still incorporating the electronic elements of Kid A and Amnesiac. The other aspect of this album would be Thom Yorke's observations of the discourse around the war on terror, not necessarily making a political statement, so much as letting it all in. What came out would be known as Hail to the Thief.

Let me get the common criticisms out of the way and address them, cause otherwise they're gonna haunt me for the rest of the review. The general complaints regarding Hail to the Thief are that it's too long and that several ideas on this record are underdeveloped. Even the band itself felt that the record was unfinished and could have been edited down. The closest I will ever come to agreeing with those detractors is that I do find "I Will" rather short at just under two minutes. Yet even those two minutes are some of the most spiteful writing Thom Yorke has ever done, after seeing news footage of a bomb shelter full of families and children destroyed in the Gulf War.

In fact, let's ponder on this some more - what songs would people really want cut from this tracklist? Because I've seen Thom Yorke's alternative tracklisting five years after Hail to the Thief came out. As someone who just defended "I Will", and will also stick up for the equally vindictive "A Punchup at the Wedding", the feelings of discomfort with seeing the world regress on the electronic loop of "Backdrifts", and the gloomy spiritual tune of "We Suck Young Blood" that neatly satirizes celebrity culture, I can't fathom what tracks would be even considered for the cutting floor.

If anything, this album continues to become even more relevant with the continued prevalence of fascist ideology in the world, and the feelings of dread and anxiety in dealing with it all. Sure, it can make for a moody listen, but poignant, as the band never shied away from confronting those fears and temptations head-on. All the while, the instrumental compositions managed to be just as enticing, including the crescendoing hard-hitting opener "2 + 2 = 5", the lush piano ballad "Sail to the Moon", the acoustic jaunt of "Go to Sleep", the driving layered percussion of "There, There", and that delicious fuzzy bassline on "Myxomatosis". It all culminates with the sinister spoken word of "A Wolf at the Door", as Thom vents about his frustrations with a capitalist society over a vibrant string-synth-led arrangement.

I do feel that Hail to the Thief holds up remarkably well in Radiohead's catalog, despite any frustrations that the band and their audience may have endured. It may be a loaded album, but I would not leave a single track behind.

I can never get past the whiny voice with Radiohead

This is the first time I’ve attempted a Radiohead album, and I’m not sure I can stand Thom Yorke’s whole thing.

Not their best album, but still great.

Several of my favourite Radiohead songs sit in Hail to the Thief. There, There is an awesome single, it’s amazing the feeling of urgency they summon with a few simple chords and eerie pacing that’s neither fast nor slow. Wolf at the Door is similarly powerful in its low key delivery of an anxious, twisty turny melody. The high power moments also play out beautifully, 2+2=5’s “PAYING ATTENTION!” quickly transitions into Sit Down, Stand Up’s “AND THE RAIN DROPS!” In my opinion these two freak-outs make for the best opening moments of any Radiohead album.

I find that it falls short of the upper echelons of their discography due to its length and diversity. For example, I find The Gloaming to be a stylistic hangover from Amnesiac which I would prefer wasn’t revisited. In Rainbows has a similar sonic set up to my favourite aspects of this album, but is then laser focused on what it wants to achieve. Every time there is a bit of energy loss though, the band will hit you with another “must have” classic song, so it easily holds its own.

Really got lost in some of the songs towards the end. Great album!

Before embarking on this 1001 journey, I didn't really care for Radiohead. But now they are one of my favourites. That being said, I regret so much giving In Rainbows just a 3 when I think about other records on this list that I gave a 3. But I wasn't such a big fan then, so that's it. However, this record is a lot more enjoyable for me believe it or not. It's one of my favourites, and I actually like it more than In Rainbows and Kid A. I can't figure out why, but I like it very much. It's a 5 for me!

Why do all the songs sound like they're being played backwards? Everything is distorted and I can't tell what Thom Yorke is saying. If someone asked me what my favourite Radiohead lyric was, I'd have to say "Aaaaahhhhhhhgeeeeeebyeeeeeeaaaayyyy"

Favorite track(s): 2 + 2 = 5, Where I End and You Begin, There There, Myxomatosis