Radiohead has surprised fans with the sudden announcement and digital release of a new live album, Hail to the Thief Live Recordings 2003-2009. The album, which is out digitally today and will be available physically on October 31, captures performances of songs from their acclaimed sixth studio album across various shows between 2003 and 2009.
To mark the announcement, the band has shared a live video performance of "There, There" from a show in Buenos Aires, a powerful glimpse into the raw energy captured on the new record.
The idea for the album came to frontman Thom Yorke while he was working on the critically acclaimed theatre production, Hamlet Hail to the Thief. This frenetic adaptation of Shakespeare's classic was set to a deconstructed score of reworked songs from the 2003 album. Yorke explained, "In the process of thinking of how to build arrangements for the... 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."
This "cathartic process" led the band to decide to release these recordings to the public. The album features performances from shows in London, Amsterdam, Dublin, and Buenos Aires. It was mixed by Ben Baptie and mastered by Matt Colton.
For collectors, the album will be available as a one-off pressing on vinyl in a limited-edition red colorway at independent stores, and on cyan-colored vinyl exclusively from the band's W.A.S.T.E. store. The tracklist includes fan favorites such as "2 + 2 = 5," "There, There," and "A Wolf at the Door."
Tracklist
Side A
2 + 2 = 5
Sit Down. Stand Up
Sail to the Moon
Go to Sleep
Where I End and You Begin
We Suck Young Blood
Side B
The Gloaming
There, There
I Will
Myxomatosis
Scatterbrain
A Wolf at the Door
