Álbum Hail To The Thief (Radiohead)

Hail To The Thief de Radiohead

Álbum de Radiohead

2003
★★★★★
Basado en 18 votos
  • Fecha de lanzamiento: 9 de Junio de 2003
  • Sello Discográfico: Parlophone
  • Compositores: Radiohead
  • Productores: Nigel Godrich, Radiohead

Valora este álbum

Hail To The Thief es un álbum de Radiohead, publicado en 2003 por Parlophone. El disco incluye 14 canciones, entre ellas «2+2=5», «Sit down. Stand up.», «Sail to the Moon.» y «Backdrifts.».

Presentación

"Hail to the Thief", el sexto álbum de estudio de Radiohead, representa una síntesis de los dos mundos sonoros que la banda había explorado hasta ese momento: el rock de guitarras expansivo de OK Computer y la experimentación electrónica abstracta de Kid A y Amnesiac. Lanzado en 2003, es su trabajo más largo hasta la fecha, un disco denso y a menudo ecléctico que refleja la paranoia y la agitación política de principios del nuevo milenio, en el contexto de la "guerra contra el terror" y la creciente polarización política.

El título del álbum, a menudo interpretado como una referencia a la controvertida elección de George W. Bush en Estados Unidos, establece un tono de disidencia y urgencia que recorre todo el disco. Musicalmente, es un álbum de contrastes, que salta de potentes temas de rock a delicadas piezas de piano y experimentos electrónicos, a veces dentro de la misma canción. Es un trabajo que, aunque a veces criticado por su duración y falta de cohesión en comparación con sus predecesores, contiene algunos de los momentos más potentes y directos de la carrera de la banda.

Proceso de grabación

En contraste con las prolongadas y tortuosas sesiones de "Kid A" y "Amnesiac", Radiohead abordó la grabación de "Hail to the Thief" con un deseo de espontaneidad y rapidez. La mayor parte del álbum se grabó en solo dos semanas en los estudios Ocean Way de Los Ángeles, con su productor de confianza, Nigel Godrich. La banda buscaba capturar la energía de sus actuaciones en directo, un enfoque que no habían utilizado desde "The Bends".

El método consistía en tocar las canciones en vivo en el estudio, con la mayoría de los elementos electrónicos integrados en la interpretación en lugar de ser añadidos como overdubs. Este enfoque más directo y colaborativo revitalizó a la banda después de la naturaleza fragmentada de las sesiones anteriores. Thom Yorke llegó con muchas ideas y letras ya desarrolladas, escritas en respuesta al clima político y social del momento, lo que dio al proceso una dirección clara y un sentido de urgencia.

Claves sonoras

El sonido de "Hail to the Thief" es deliberadamente híbrido. Las guitarras afiladas y el rock enérgico regresan a un primer plano en temas como "2 + 2 = 5" y "There There", pero la variedad sonora sigue estando enriquecida por la experimentación electrónica. Sintetizadores analógicos, cajas de ritmos y paisajes sonoros procesados digitalmente se entrelazan con la instrumentación de rock tradicional.

El álbum es notable por su diversidad. Se pueden encontrar baladas de piano desoladoras ("Sail to the Moon"), krautrock hipnótico ("Where I End and You Begin") y texturas electrónicas sombrías ("The Gloaming"). Esta variedad, si bien es una de las fortalezas del disco, también ha sido fuente de debate, con algunos críticos (y la propia banda en retrospectiva) sugiriendo que el álbum podría haberse beneficiado de una edición más estricta para ser más cohesivo.

Repaso a los temas

Pese a su longitud, el álbum está repleto de temas destacados que muestran a la banda en plena forma.

"2 + 2 = 5": Una apertura explosiva que comienza con el sonido de una guitarra enchufándose y la frase "Es genial despertar chupando un limón". La canción va creciendo en intensidad, pasando de una estrofa contenida a un estribillo de rock catártico y urgente. La letra, con su referencia orwelliana, establece el tono de paranoia política del álbum.

"There There": Considerada por muchos como una de las mejores canciones de la banda, "There There" se construye sobre un ritmo de percusión tribal y pulsante. Las guitarras entrelazadas crean una atmósfera de tensión y anticipación que finalmente explota en un clímax sonoro épico. La letra, inspirada en los cuentos de los hermanos Grimm, es una advertencia oscura y ominosa. Jonny Greenwood la ha descrito como el mejor momento de la banda.

"Go to Sleep": Un tema que destaca por su complejo riff de guitarra acústica y su cambio de ritmo a mitad de canción. Líricamente, expresa una sensación de impotencia y frustración ante las fuerzas políticas, con un estribillo que clama por una rebelión ("We're going to sleep").

"A Wolf at the Door": La canción de cierre es una de las más singulares del repertorio de Radiohead. Con un tono de vals siniestro, Thom Yorke narra una letra llena de imágenes aterradoras y surrealistas en un estilo casi recitado que recuerda a un cuento de hadas macabro. Es un final teatral y profundamente inquietante para un álbum lleno de ansiedad.

Lanzamiento y rendimiento

Una de las notas más destacadas del lanzamiento de "Hail to the Thief" fue su filtración masiva en internet diez semanas antes de la fecha oficial de salida. Pese a esto, el álbum fue un gran éxito comercial. Debutó en el número 1 en las listas del Reino Unido y en el número 3 en el Billboard 200 de Estados Unidos, demostrando la sólida base de seguidores de la banda. En España y el resto de Europa, también obtuvo excelentes resultados en las listas de ventas. Fue el último álbum de Radiohead bajo su contrato con EMI/Parlophone.

Juicio de la crítica

La crítica recibió "Hail to the Thief" con elogios casi unánimes. Fue visto como un regreso accesible para la banda después de la etapa experimental de "Kid A" y "Amnesiac", pero sin sacrificar la complejidad y la ambición. Publicaciones como Rolling Stone y NME lo aclamaron como uno de los mejores álbumes del año. Sin embargo, algunas críticas apuntaron a su duración como un posible defecto.

En retrospectiva, el álbum es visto como un trabajo de transición, un puente entre la experimentación de principios de la década de 2000 y el sonido más íntimo y personal que desarrollarían en In Rainbows. Aunque quizás no tenga el estatus icónico de sus predecesores inmediatos, "Hail to the Thief" es un álbum potente, inteligente y visceral, un documento sonoro de un mundo en estado de alarma.

Listado de Canciones

  1. 2+2=5

    Letra

    ("We're on.") ("That's a nice way to start, Johnny.") Are you such a dreamer To put the world to rights? I'll stay home forever Where two and two always makes a five I'll lay down the tracks Sandbag and hide January has April showers And two and two always makes a five It's the devil's way now There is no way out You can scream and you can shout It is too late now Because You have not been Paying attention Paying attention Paying attention Paying attention You have not been Paying attention Paying attention Paying attention Paying attention You have not been Paying attention Paying attention Paying attention Paying attention You have not been Paying attention Paying attention Paying attention Paying attention Oh I try to sing along I get it all wrong 'Cause I'm not 'Cause I'm not I swat em like flies But like flies the buggers keep coming back But I'm not Oh hail to the thief Oh hail to the thief But I'm not But I'm not But I'm not But I'm not Don't question my authority or put me in the dock 'Cause I'm not 'Cause I'm not Oh, go and tell the king that the sky is falling in When it's not When it's not When it's not Maybe not Maybe not
  2. Sit down. Stand up.

    Letra

    Sit down, stand up Sit down, stand up Walk into the jaws of hell (sit down, stand up) Walk into the jaws of hell (sit down, stand up) Anytime (sit down) Anytime (stand up) Sit down, stand up Sit down, stand up We can wipe you out anytime (sit down, stand up) We can wipe you out (sit down, stand up) Anytime Anytime Stand up, sit down The rain drops (repeated)
  3. Sail to the Moon.

    Letra

    I sucked the moon I spoke too soon And how much did it cost? I was dropped from moonbeams And sailed on shooting stars Maybe you'll Be president But know right from wrong Or in the flood You'll build an Ark And sail us to the moon Sail us to the moon Sail to the moon
  4. Backdrifts.

    Letra

    We're rotten fruit We're damaged goods What the hell, we've got nothing more to lose One gust and we will probably crumble We're backdrifters This far but no further I'm hanging off a branch I'm teetering on the brink Oh honey sweet So full of sleep I'm backsliding You fell into our arms You fell into our arms We tried but there was nothing we could do Nothing we could do All evidence has been buried All tapes have been erased But your footsteps give you away So you're backtracking Ah ah ah You fell into our arms You fell into our arms We tried but there was nothing we could do Nothing we could do You fell into our, ah You fell into a We're rotten fruit We're damaged goods What the hell, we've got nothing more to lose One gust and we will probably crumble We're backdrifters
  5. Go to Sleep.

    Letra

    Something for the rag and bone man "Over my dead body" Something big is gonna happen "Over my dead body" Someone's son or someone's daughter "Over my dead body" This is how I end up getting sucked in "Over my dead body" I'm gonna go to sleep Let this wash all over me We don't wanna wake monster taking over "Tiptoe round tie him down" We don't want the loonies taking over "Tiptoe round tie them down" May pretty horses Come to you As you sleep I'm gonna go to sleep Let this wash All over me
  6. Where I End and You Begin.

    Letra

    there's a gap in between there's a gap where we meet where i end and you begin and i'm sorry for us the dinosaurs roam the earth the sky turns green where i end and you begin i am up in the clouds i am up in the clouds and i can't and i can't come down i can watch but not take part where i end and where you start where you, you left me alone you left me alone. X' will mark the place like parting the waves like a house falling in the sea. i will eat you all alive i will eat you all alive i will eat you all alive i will eat you all alive there'll be no more lies there'll be no more lies there'll be no more lies there'll be no more lies
  7. We suck Young Blood.

    Letra

    are you hungry? are you sick? are you begging for a break? are you sweet? are you fresh? are you strung up by the wrists? we want the young blood are you fracturing? are you torn at the seams? would you do anything? flea-bitten? motheaten? we suck young blood we suck young blood won't let the creeping ivy won't let the nervous bury me our veins are thin our rivers poisoned we want the sweet meats we want the young blood
  8. The Gloaming.

    Letra

    Genie let out the bottle It is now the witching hour Genie let out the bottle It is now the witching hour Murderers you're murderers We are not the same as you Genie let out the bottle Funny haha funny how When the walls bend When the walls bend With your breathing With your breathing When the walls bend When the walls bend With your breathing With your breathing With your breathing They will suck you down To the otherside They will suck you down To the otherside They will suck you down To the otherside They will suck you down To the otherside To the shadows blue and red To the shadows blue and red Your alarm bells Your alarm bells To the shadows blue and red To the shadows blue and red Your alarm bells Your alarm bells Should be ringing This is the gloaming
  9. There there.

    Letra

    in pitch dark i go walking in your landscape. broken branches trip me as i speak. just because you feel it doesnt mean it's there. just because you feel it doesnt mean it's there. there's always a siren singing you to shipwreck. (don't reach out, don't reach out) steer away from these rocks we'd be a walking disaster. (don't reach out, don't reach out) just because you feel it doesn't mean it's there. (there's someone on your shoulder) just because you feel it doesn't mean it's there. (there's someone on your shoulder) there there why so green and lonely? heaven sent you to me. we are accidents waiting waiting to happen. we are accidents waiting waiting to happen.
  10. I Will

    Letra

    I will Lay me down In a bunker Underground I won't let this happen To my children Meet the real-world coming Out of your shell With white elephants Sitting ducks I will Rise up Little baby's eyes Eyes, eyes, eyes Little baby's eyes Eyes, eyes, eyes Little baby's eyes Eyes Eyes
  11. A Punchup at a Wedding.

    Letra

    no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no i don't know why you bother nothing's ever good enough for you i was there and it wasn't like that you came here just to start a fight you had to piss on our parade you had to shred our big day you had to ruin it for all concerned in a drunken punchup at a wedding. hypocrite opportunist don't infect me with your poison a bully in a china shop when i turn round stay frozen to the spot. you had to piss on our parade you had to shred our big day you had to ruin it for all concerned in a drunken punchup at a wedding. the pointless snide remarks of hammerheaded sharks the pot will call the kettle black in a drunken punchup at a wedding. no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no
  12. Myxomatosis.

    Letra

    the mongrel cat came home holding half a head Proceeded to show it off to all his new found friends he said "i been where i liked i slept with who i liked she ate me up for breakfast and screwed me in a vice and now i don't know why i feel so tongue-tied" i sat in the cupboard and wrote it down in neat they were cheering and waving cheering and waving twitching and salivating like with myxomatosis but it got edited fucked up strangled, beaten up used as a photo in Time magazine buried in a burning black hole in Devon "i don't know why i feel so tongue-tied don't know why i feel so skinned alive." My thoughts are misguided and a little naive I twitch and i salivate like with myxomatosis you should put me in a home or you should put me down I got myxomatosis I got myxomatosis "now no one likes a smart arse but we all like stars" that wasn't my intention, I did it for a reason it must have got mixed up strangled, beaten up i got myxomatosis i got myxomatosis "i don't know why i feel so tongue-tied"
  13. Scatterbrain.

    Letra

    I'm walking out in a force ten gale. birds thrown around, bullets for hail. the roof is pulling off by its fingernails. your voice is rapping on my window sill yesterday's headlines blown by the wind. yesterday's people end up scatterbrain. then any fool can easy pick a hole. (I only wish I could fall in) a moving target in a firing range. somewhere I'm not scatterbrain. somewhere I'm not scatterbrain. lightning fuse powercut. scatterbrain
  14. A Wolf at the Door

    Letra

    Drag him out your window Dragging out the dead Singing I miss you Snakes and ladders flip the lid Out pops the cracker Smacks you in the head Knives you in the neck Kicks you in the teeth Steel toe caps Takes all your credit cards Get up get the gunge Get the eggs Get the flan in the face The flan in the face The flan in the face Dance you fucker dance you fucker Don't you dare Don't you dare Don't you flan in the face Take it with the love its given Take it with a pinch of salt Take it to the tax man Let me back Let me back I promise to be good Don't look in the mirror at the face you don't recognize Help me, call the doctor, put me inside Put me inside Put me inside Put me inside Put me inside I keep the wolf from the door But he calls me up Calls me on the phone Tells me all the ways that he's gonna mess me up Steal all my children if I don't pay the ransom And I'll never see them again if I squeal to the cops Walking like giant cranes And with my X-ray eyes I strip you naked In a tight little world And are you on the list? Stepford wives who are we to complain? Investments and dealers Investments and dealers Cold wives and mistresses Cold wives and Sunday papers city Boys in First Class don't know we're born just know Someone else is gonna come and clean it up Born and raised for the job Someone always does I wish you'd get up get over Get up get over and turn the tape off I keep the wolf from the door But he calls me up Calls me on the phone Tells me all the ways that he's gonna mess me up Steal all my children if I don't pay the ransom And I'll never see them again if I squeal to the cops So I'm just gonna