Hail to the Thief is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead. It was released on June 9, 2003 through Parlophone internationally and a day later through Capitol Records in the United States. It was the last album released under Radiohead‘s record contract with EMI, the parent company of Parlophone and Capitol.
After transitioning to a more electronic style on their albums Kid A (2000) and Amnesiac (2001), which were recorded through protracted studio experimentation, Radiohead sought to work more spontaneously, combining electronic and rock music. They recorded most of Hail to the Thief in two weeks in Los Angeles with their longtime producer Nigel Godrich, focusing on live takes rather than overdubs. The songwriter, Thom Yorke, wrote lyrics influenced by the unfolding war on terror and the surrounding political discourse, incorporating influences from fairy tales and children’s literature. The cover artwork, created by the artist Stanley Donwood, is a roadmap of Hollywood with words taken from roadside advertising in Los Angeles and from Yorke‘s lyrics.
Following a high profile internet leak of unfinished material ten weeks before release, Hail to the Thief debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and number three on the US Billboard 200 chart. It was certified platinum in the UK and Canada and gold in several countries. It was promoted with singles and music videos for There There, Go to Sleep and 2 + 2 = 5. Hail to the Thief received positive reviews; it was the fifth consecutive Radiohead album nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album, and won for the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Non-Classical Album.
Tracklist:
- 2 + 2 = 5 (The Lukewarm.)
- Sit Down Stand Up (Snakes & Ladders.)
- Sail to the Moon (Brush the Cobwebs Out of the Sky.)
- Backdrifts (Honeymoon Is Over.)
- Go to Sleep (Little Man Being Erased.)
- Where I End and You Begin (The Sky Is Falling In.)
- We Suck Young Blood (Your Time Is Up.)
- The Gloaming (Softly Open Our Mouths in the Cold.)
- There There (The Boney King of Nowhere.)
- I Will (No Man’s Land.)
- A Punchup at a Wedding (No No No No No No No No.)
- Myxomatosis (Judge, Jury & Executioner.)
- Scatterbrain (As Dead as Leaves.)
- A Wolf at the Door (It Girl. Rag Doll.)
Radiohead
Thom Yorke: voice, words, guitar, piano, laptop
Jonny Greenwood: guitar, analogue systems, ondes Martenot, laptop, toy piano, glockenspiel
Colin Greenwood: bass, string synth, sampler
Ed O’Brien: guitar, effects, voice
Philip Selway: drums, percussion
Additional personnel
Nigel Godrich: recording, editing, operation, mixing
Darrell Thorp: engineering, backing up, cataloguing
Plank: instrument maintenance and rebuilding
Graeme Stewart: tape loops on “The Gloaming”, engineering of preliminary sessions
Stanley Donwood: painting, packaging
