Radiohead surprise release Hail to the Thief Live Recordings

Radiohead have surprise-released a new live album, Hail to the Thief Live Recordings 20032009, a project that revisits performances from their 2003 release and casts new light on the band’s ongoing relationship with that material. Available digitally now, a one-off vinyl pressing will follow on October 31, with limited editions in red vinyl in independent stores and cyan-colored vinyl through the band’s W.A.S.T.E. shop. The collection gathers performances from London, Amsterdam, Buenos Aires and Dublin recorded between 2003 and 2009, and has been newly mixed by Ben Baptie and mastered by Matt Colton to preserve a vivid, concert-driven feel.

The release comes as Radiohead reflect on the album at the center of its most durable debates: Hail to the Thief, a sprawling, politically charged work whose length and eclecticism have divided listeners. The project is presented as a way for the band to reevaluate that period and to reintroduce the songs in a different sonic light. A key moment accompanying the announcement is a live video performance of There, There filmed in Buenos Aires in March 2009, providing a concrete glimpse of the band’s energy in the period that the live...