 "Less than OK Computer or In Rainbows" | 2009-10-28 |
| - Reviewed By brenbobmovies |
| Doesn't quite match the crisp songs and exhilarating guitar sounds a la Soundgarden or Smashing Pumpkins. OK Computer and In Rainbows are classic like an "A", but I can only give "Half to Thief" a B- at best. Maybe if I'm just completing my collection, but not as essential as the others. |
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 "Soundtrack to despair (aka law school)" | 2009-10-09 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2LMPJ7P6PJK0X |
This album got me through hell - specifically, my first year of law school. (If you've survived that you know what I'm talking about.) I spent many post-studying late nights with this CD, playing cards on the laptop (something to occupy my eyes but not my strained brain) while dissolving into the glorious gloom and despair swirling around in my headphones. And strangely loving it - there's something about wallowing in misery that's oddly freeing.
I know Yorke & Co. have denied it had any expressly political overtones, but part of the album's impact at the time (at least for me) was its ability to articulate a sense of the anxiousness surrounding the invasion of Iraq. Whether you thought we should be there or not (I didn't), it was gonna happen and you felt powerless to do much about it. Bigger forces than you were at work in the post 9/11 world, and those feelings of inevitability, confusion, irrelevance, and dread were expressed in the repetition of the lyrics and percussive instrumentation (punctuated with the occasional glorious chaotic noise) and connected with me much more than anything on Kid A or Amnesiac. 'There There' was a decent enough single, but it takes on a whole new character in the context of the album - a melodic release of tension that's exuberant, while still dark. And the handclaps on 'We Suck Young Blood' are just awesomely creepy.
Listening to it again now, long after Iraq has ceased to be the dominant issue of the day, the album holds up even better than I remember it - a sign that it's truly a work of art capable of reflecting whatever the listener needs to project onto it. It's almost operatic. The Bends will always be my favorite Radiohead disc, and there's no denying the perfection of OK Computer, but Hail to the Thief might be their best work. |
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| "Not especially good" | 2009-09-06 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1RJCUI7J8P5CU |
| Hail to the Theif was the first Radiohead album I'd heard that I didn't immediately fall in love with. On both OK Computer and The Bends, and even Kid A and In Rainbows, right from the opening songs I loved the albums, with even the lesser songs getting at least 4 stars. Not so with Hail to the Theif. There are some good cuts, sure, but on the whole... not their best album. I'd only recommend this for the most devoted fans and/or completists, and definitely not until you own their other albums. |
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| "The band doesn't wear LA so well" | 2009-08-20 |
| - Reviewed By blackbeardo |
Radiohead
Hail to the Thief; 2003
Capitol Records
My Rating: 58/100
It's hard to complain about a Radiohead record of any kind. After all, this is one of only a few bands in recent memory to score a string of three near-perfect albums (THE BENDS, OKC, KID A). Given the rousing success of IN RAINBOWS, Radiohead has pretty much cemented their status as the grand champions of left-field pop music. And while there are quite a few great tracks on THIEF, the record suffers from being a little TOO conventional and overly glum (yes, Radiohead can be overly glum). It all begins with the title. In my book, Radiohead's brilliance lies precisely in their indirect manner of expression. I'm used to a band that skirts the fringes of our present reality, mining the subconscious dread and paranoia fear that haunt us all. I'd much rather leave the political rants to the Rage Against the Machines and Sean Penns of the world. Still, themes aside, THIEF might be a five star record if the production weren't so LA. I know the band says they were going for a LIVE feels with these songs, but much of THE BENDS was recorded live, and sounded more raw than this. Overall, I still rather enjoy this record, because, once again, it's Radiohead. But I'd only just place this above PABLO HONEY in ranking the albums.
Cohesion (4/5)
Consistency (3/5)
Concept (4/5)
Consequence (4/5)
Tracks:
1. 2+2=5 (5/5)
2. Sit Down, Stand Up (5/5)
3. Sail to the Moon (4/5)
4. Backdrifts (4/5)
5. Go to Sleep (3/5)
6. Where I End and You Begin (3/5)
7. We Suck Young Blood (2.5/5)
8. The Gloaming (3.5/5)
9. There There (5/5)
10. I Will (3/5)
11. A Punchup at a Wedding (5/5)
12. Myxomatosis (3/5)
13. Scatterbrain (4/5)
14. A Wolf at the Door (4/5) |
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| "In Contains There There!!" | 2009-08-06 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2AZVPUNTZBWU6 |
Hail to the Thief is one of my favorite Radiohead albums. It is an interesting album. I still hear alot of Kid A in it but it definately rocks alot more and has a beautiful acoustic piece.
Hail to The Thief also contains There There which is probably my favorite Radiohead song period. A Punchup at a Wedding has a beautiful rhythm to it, Where I End and You Begin is one of my favorites on the album. The album ends with Scatterbrain and A Wolf At the Door, two songs I can never skip over. Love the way it starts, 2+2=5 and Sit Down Stand Up, great energy.
Actually the only song I do not like on the album is We Suck Young Blood but that is something personal with me. It is a dirge and I tend to not like them regardless of who is doing them.
I like the rocking on this album mixed with the electronics, a different album where Kid A
and Amnesiac were quite similar and In Rainbows is different from Hail to the Thief. You can definately hear the evolution though.
If I was being introduced to Radiohead I would not start with this album but probably it would be third or fourth down the list.
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| "happy, happy, joy, joy" | 2009-06-29 |
| - Reviewed By spacemom3 |
Radiohead has done something no other band has been able to do: convince me that growing up isn't so bad. R.E.M. couldn't do it (I stopped listening after Document), nor could U2 (I stopped after The Joshua Tree). All the other bands that I adore just didn't have enough staying power (Gang of Four, Joy Division, Ride, The Smiths). It took me years to move on from Pablo Honey, but with each successive album, they are more and more capable and more and more interesting.
Hail to the Thief is proof that they can do anything now. There's a sense of complete mastery. They don't have to prove anything - they can just have fun in any style they choose. I love the industrial sound of Myxomatosis a la Skinny Puppy with Thom Yorke settling on a deep, intimate voice this time. Or the punk urgency of 2 + 2 = 5.
This band is so fascinating, capable, and stimulating that I'm willing to go wherever they lead even if it means I have to grow up to keep up with them. |
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