HTTT is my favorite RH album. I don’t care if the entire band calls it bloated or whatever, it is an absolute banger of an album that for me totally encompasses the range and vibe of the band.
I don’t even understand the idea that it’s bloated. The songs Yorke would have left off are fucking great. Backdrifts - banger. We Suck Young Blood - creepy-ass slow burn with an epic, bonkers midpoint breakdown. A Punch Up At a Wedding - banger. I Will - are you kidding me?
I get that he wanted it to be more concise but just as longer ≠ better, neither does shorter.
Very true, I think they can be guilty of holding songs back too, as with true love waits, the live version is incredible but a way overproduced and lost version of it ends up on moon shaped pool. Httf looses its essence if any of the songs get cut
I love it just as is. I wish they had held back I Might Be Wrong for HTTT instead of Amnesiac, because I feel like it totally fits the vibe of HTTT perfectly, but that’s just me.
I would be perfectly happy if Suck, Punchup and Myxomatosis were left for a deluxe version. Myxomatosis is actually one of their best live songs, but FOR ME the other three are kinda take/leave. I Will is one of their best songs, bar none.
They always spent too much time figuring out running orders, especially Kid A and Amnesiac. Perhaps they felt like "doing the opposite of whatever we did for the last one" as they have also said. On hindsight, I get how it may feel like too much and the best result out of the experience was splitting In Rainbows in two. DITNU was a recurring theme on Dead Air Space and the LP7 run-up, and I know Jonny really wanted Go Slowly in the album but it's otherwise perfect as it is.
What HTTT has to show for is that it has some of their most iconic tracks ever. It clocks in at just 3 minutes more than OK Computer with two additional tracks, but I prefer my Radiohead albums below 50 minutes overall.
Usually bands don’t like their best work, and I agree it sums them up perfectly to me, a wide range of brilliant musicians creating both great sounding music with meaning
I wasn’t aware that it was held in lower esteem. My opinion is that OKC-In Rainbows was other-worldly stuff. They don’t have a bad release but 1998-2008 was transcendent.
It's great, was the first RH album I fell in love with. I will say, for me, there's about two or three too many songs on there. When people say it's a bit bloated...well...it is.
The consensus from the band (and fans) seems to be that the album was too rushed and too bloated.
The band recorded it very quickly, Ed himself said that they “didn’t spend enough time editing” it in a 2009 interview ( Thom was there too)…he went on to say it could’ve been a great record if they spent more time on it….less songs, more editing, more magic.
That’s what they did with in rainbows, which is just about as perfect as a record can get.
HTTT is a good record though. And no one can deny that there there is one of radioheads greatest achievements.
It’s almost like they just straight up released the deluxe version first, which from a roll out/release point of view is maybe unideal, but means the fans get to just have at the smorgasbord of tunes.
After experiencing the 2006 live version of videotape, a lot of people were disappointed by the album version….me included, BUT it grew on me. Eventually I realized the live version would’ve been far too grandiose, at least to conclude the album. I think final version of gorgeous and subdued in the best way.
[This video might help you appreciate videotape a bit more](https://youtu.be/p_IHotHxIl8?si=PiQKUthRBg8hwn-t)
It’s my favorite one. And the people talking about this or any Radiohead album, or even albums in general, being “bloated” are plain disrespectful and have too strong an opinion about the length of an album, acting as if they are looking for some perfect, streamlined specimen to bow to.
HTTT was what got me into Radiohead when I was in high school in 2003. It has some of my all time favorite songs on it (There There, 2+2=5, Wolf). I’ve always said people sleep on that album way too much. Also never understood the hate for We Suck Young Blood. I loved that song mostly because it made my parents ask me “what the fuck are you listening to?” When I would be playing it in my room when I was 14.
It’s just really long, which makes the experimental bits define the record.
2+2=5 is beloved by most fans
Sit Down Stand Up is Sit Down Stand Up
Sail to the Moon has some haters
I’m not a fan of Backdrifts, the synth is too repetitive
Go to Sleep doesn’t really have a hook or catchy bit, so it doesn’t fit well with the rest of their rock
Where I End is another classic of their discography, though I prefer the basement version
Young Blood is thought of as boring or weird
The Gloaming isn’t great in the studio version, but they nailed it in the basement
There There is a beloved classic
I Will is their shortest song, it doesn’t do much but I love it
Punchup is a solid track but has plenty of haters
Myxomatosis knocks my socks off
Scatterbrain is one of my least favorites, it’s just musically flat with sharp vocals
In a band known for closing tracks, Wolf at the Door is the best for a lot of people
All in all, there are plenty of great songs, plenty that were improved after the album, and plenty that divide the fan base. Still an incredible album.
There’s a strong herd mentality here.
If you repeat a narrative enough times, people will start to parrot it.
In the case of this album, the narrative is:
“It’s bloated”
“It’s too long”
Funny thing is, A Light For Attracting Attention has only one less song than this album and no one complained about its length.
I don’t think Hail to the Thief is bloated, like any album is there a track I would cut? Sure.
I’d cut We Suck Young Blood.
Just like I’d cut Electioneering from OKC or Jigsaw from In Rainbows.
Hail to the Thief receives a lot of negativity because some of the band wish they could go back and trim it and because everyone keeps repeating the aforementioned narrative.
It’s my favorite album as it encapsulates EVERYTHING that makes this band special.
The styles within the album are disparate in a good way.
It captured the band doing exactly what they intended, which was record an album very quickly and spontaneously and it has that live high energy feel.
The Gloaming is the only track that sounded like it needed more but really that’s because of how much they added to the live version.
Oddly enough, it’s the only album since 2000 that has no orchestral arrangements.
I don’t think that’s a flaw though.
Anyway, the quality is there and I’d take this album over their last 3 albums.
Without a doubt, the most overrated song on this sub. I do not understand the worship for it. I think it is easily the weakest track on the album.
Maybe zoomers like it because it’s about going to a bar and getting trashed and getting laid
Dude, I respect the opinion but had to downvote for saying its appealing to zoomers because it’s about getting trashed and getting laid. No Radiohead song boils down to that, cmon.
Jigsaw is a fan favorite because it’s just so damn concise and energetic with killer riffs and melodies, and maybe the best payoff of any song on the album. That final verse man, gives me chills.
It’s so drab.
It was better when it was on electric guitars.
Even the band don’t care for it, they never play it live.
And it is absolutely about going to bars in Oxford and that whole scene, Thom discussed it.
It’s a novel b-side.
Fair enough. Even if it is “about” that on its face I come away with a lot more.
I also have an unpopular take about this album. 15-Step is my least favorite. *runs and hides*
That’s interesting, I’m surprised people at large find it bloated, although for me jigsaw is an important part of in rainbows, but I agree that electioneering could be cut. Ultimately we aren’t the musicians who were there recording at the time and won’t truly know the actual meaning behind including or excluding songs
My favourite album because it has the most Radiohead feel to it, if you know what I mean. There's a mix of everything in there. I'm not saying I think it's their best, but it's my favourite.
I'd cut Punchup but apart from that, it's practically flawless and has some of their best material and artwork.
This album was recorded very quickly in LA. The band decided, deliberately, to track as soon as possible. They did, but the mixing did not go so well. For this reason they have not regarded HTTT so well. That seems to have trickled down to the masses
In a vacuum of time and space, everything from OKC to In Rainbows could be dubbed Radiohead’s best album. I’ve always felt the strongest about Kid A, but I’ve had every other album second at some point. There are little “flaws” in all of them arguably, but each of them is so pointed and the ideas are so sharp. HTTT is no exception. Even with a little bloat it’s fantastic.
The previous year, the band road-tested the new material during some one-off gigs in Spain and Portugal. If I remember corrrectly, the new songs that would eventually end up on HTTT were all very well received by fans.
Perhaps if the band hadn't done this, then they have been a little more frugal with the final track-listing.
You could also make the same argument that Ok Computer would have been viewed very differently if it had included I Promise, Lift, and Man of War. All still amazing songs but it would have also left the album a little 'bloated'.
Because IR, TB and OKC are much more consistent albums. Amnesiac and HTTT both have really high highs and some incredible tracks but also have some really low lows.
Too long and bloated. And just like amnesiac, a lot of the songs don't really compliment eachother to form a complete album experience imo. Though it is still good and has some of my very favorite radiohead songs on it
Ahh, Hail to the Thief. A group of chronic overthinkers and endless 2nd guessers, finally deciding to shoot from the hip again. For the first time since… Pablo Honey, I guess. One song a day, two weeks… that was 99% of the recording process. The best elements of Kid A, OK Computer, and The Bends, all woven into a diverse, raw, spontaneous and demanding fabric of deliciousness. Far from their most impactful album, but dang, is it their best. At least in my opinion.
HTTT is my favorite RH album. I don’t care if the entire band calls it bloated or whatever, it is an absolute banger of an album that for me totally encompasses the range and vibe of the band.
I don’t even understand the idea that it’s bloated. The songs Yorke would have left off are fucking great. Backdrifts - banger. We Suck Young Blood - creepy-ass slow burn with an epic, bonkers midpoint breakdown. A Punch Up At a Wedding - banger. I Will - are you kidding me? I get that he wanted it to be more concise but just as longer ≠ better, neither does shorter.
Very true, I think they can be guilty of holding songs back too, as with true love waits, the live version is incredible but a way overproduced and lost version of it ends up on moon shaped pool. Httf looses its essence if any of the songs get cut
Disagree on TLW, the studio version is beautiful. I kinda see them as 2 sides of the same coin
I love it just as is. I wish they had held back I Might Be Wrong for HTTT instead of Amnesiac, because I feel like it totally fits the vibe of HTTT perfectly, but that’s just me.
I would be perfectly happy if Suck, Punchup and Myxomatosis were left for a deluxe version. Myxomatosis is actually one of their best live songs, but FOR ME the other three are kinda take/leave. I Will is one of their best songs, bar none.
They always spent too much time figuring out running orders, especially Kid A and Amnesiac. Perhaps they felt like "doing the opposite of whatever we did for the last one" as they have also said. On hindsight, I get how it may feel like too much and the best result out of the experience was splitting In Rainbows in two. DITNU was a recurring theme on Dead Air Space and the LP7 run-up, and I know Jonny really wanted Go Slowly in the album but it's otherwise perfect as it is. What HTTT has to show for is that it has some of their most iconic tracks ever. It clocks in at just 3 minutes more than OK Computer with two additional tracks, but I prefer my Radiohead albums below 50 minutes overall.
Also for a band that absolutely nails album openers, 2+2=5 might be my absolute favorite opener.
I agree, it’s also my absolute favorite RH song.
Usually bands don’t like their best work, and I agree it sums them up perfectly to me, a wide range of brilliant musicians creating both great sounding music with meaning
Thank god I’m not the only one I thought I was going crazy lmao
Always a pleasure to meet another person that feels this way about HTTT
Hail to the thief is and has always been my favoriet
I wasn’t aware that it was held in lower esteem. My opinion is that OKC-In Rainbows was other-worldly stuff. They don’t have a bad release but 1998-2008 was transcendent.
It's great, was the first RH album I fell in love with. I will say, for me, there's about two or three too many songs on there. When people say it's a bit bloated...well...it is.
The consensus from the band (and fans) seems to be that the album was too rushed and too bloated. The band recorded it very quickly, Ed himself said that they “didn’t spend enough time editing” it in a 2009 interview ( Thom was there too)…he went on to say it could’ve been a great record if they spent more time on it….less songs, more editing, more magic. That’s what they did with in rainbows, which is just about as perfect as a record can get. HTTT is a good record though. And no one can deny that there there is one of radioheads greatest achievements.
It’s almost like they just straight up released the deluxe version first, which from a roll out/release point of view is maybe unideal, but means the fans get to just have at the smorgasbord of tunes.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers method
In Rainbows isn’t perfect by a long shot, the issue with IR is videotape, which is just bad
I'm sorry what. Videotape bad??
Also, IR is my fave Radiohead album, it’s NEARLY perfect! You are objectively wrong my friend ;)
After experiencing the 2006 live version of videotape, a lot of people were disappointed by the album version….me included, BUT it grew on me. Eventually I realized the live version would’ve been far too grandiose, at least to conclude the album. I think final version of gorgeous and subdued in the best way. [This video might help you appreciate videotape a bit more](https://youtu.be/p_IHotHxIl8?si=PiQKUthRBg8hwn-t)
It’s my favorite one. And the people talking about this or any Radiohead album, or even albums in general, being “bloated” are plain disrespectful and have too strong an opinion about the length of an album, acting as if they are looking for some perfect, streamlined specimen to bow to.
HTTT was what got me into Radiohead when I was in high school in 2003. It has some of my all time favorite songs on it (There There, 2+2=5, Wolf). I’ve always said people sleep on that album way too much. Also never understood the hate for We Suck Young Blood. I loved that song mostly because it made my parents ask me “what the fuck are you listening to?” When I would be playing it in my room when I was 14.
It’s just really long, which makes the experimental bits define the record. 2+2=5 is beloved by most fans Sit Down Stand Up is Sit Down Stand Up Sail to the Moon has some haters I’m not a fan of Backdrifts, the synth is too repetitive Go to Sleep doesn’t really have a hook or catchy bit, so it doesn’t fit well with the rest of their rock Where I End is another classic of their discography, though I prefer the basement version Young Blood is thought of as boring or weird The Gloaming isn’t great in the studio version, but they nailed it in the basement There There is a beloved classic I Will is their shortest song, it doesn’t do much but I love it Punchup is a solid track but has plenty of haters Myxomatosis knocks my socks off Scatterbrain is one of my least favorites, it’s just musically flat with sharp vocals In a band known for closing tracks, Wolf at the Door is the best for a lot of people All in all, there are plenty of great songs, plenty that were improved after the album, and plenty that divide the fan base. Still an incredible album.
There’s a strong herd mentality here. If you repeat a narrative enough times, people will start to parrot it. In the case of this album, the narrative is: “It’s bloated” “It’s too long” Funny thing is, A Light For Attracting Attention has only one less song than this album and no one complained about its length. I don’t think Hail to the Thief is bloated, like any album is there a track I would cut? Sure. I’d cut We Suck Young Blood. Just like I’d cut Electioneering from OKC or Jigsaw from In Rainbows. Hail to the Thief receives a lot of negativity because some of the band wish they could go back and trim it and because everyone keeps repeating the aforementioned narrative. It’s my favorite album as it encapsulates EVERYTHING that makes this band special. The styles within the album are disparate in a good way. It captured the band doing exactly what they intended, which was record an album very quickly and spontaneously and it has that live high energy feel. The Gloaming is the only track that sounded like it needed more but really that’s because of how much they added to the live version. Oddly enough, it’s the only album since 2000 that has no orchestral arrangements. I don’t think that’s a flaw though. Anyway, the quality is there and I’d take this album over their last 3 albums.
>I'd cut jigsaw from In Rainbows W H A T
Same w/ *we suck young blood* off hail to the thief. To each their own I guess.
Without a doubt, the most overrated song on this sub. I do not understand the worship for it. I think it is easily the weakest track on the album. Maybe zoomers like it because it’s about going to a bar and getting trashed and getting laid
Dude, I respect the opinion but had to downvote for saying its appealing to zoomers because it’s about getting trashed and getting laid. No Radiohead song boils down to that, cmon. Jigsaw is a fan favorite because it’s just so damn concise and energetic with killer riffs and melodies, and maybe the best payoff of any song on the album. That final verse man, gives me chills.
It’s so drab. It was better when it was on electric guitars. Even the band don’t care for it, they never play it live. And it is absolutely about going to bars in Oxford and that whole scene, Thom discussed it. It’s a novel b-side.
Fair enough. Even if it is “about” that on its face I come away with a lot more. I also have an unpopular take about this album. 15-Step is my least favorite. *runs and hides*
House of Cards is weaker imo, drags on for too long.
Perhaps
That’s interesting, I’m surprised people at large find it bloated, although for me jigsaw is an important part of in rainbows, but I agree that electioneering could be cut. Ultimately we aren’t the musicians who were there recording at the time and won’t truly know the actual meaning behind including or excluding songs
Eh. Subjective, no explanation that we can concretely say. Imo, it just doesn't hit the same way.
My favourite album because it has the most Radiohead feel to it, if you know what I mean. There's a mix of everything in there. I'm not saying I think it's their best, but it's my favourite. I'd cut Punchup but apart from that, it's practically flawless and has some of their best material and artwork.
It's all good
HTTT has my favourite opening 3 songs of a RH album. 2+2, Sit Down, and Sail to the Moon are an unbeaten and legendary run of three.
This album was recorded very quickly in LA. The band decided, deliberately, to track as soon as possible. They did, but the mixing did not go so well. For this reason they have not regarded HTTT so well. That seems to have trickled down to the masses
Great album but I think the track listing ruins the flow.
It's my favorite, tied with Kid A. But I'm in the minority on not really liking In Rainbows.
In a vacuum of time and space, everything from OKC to In Rainbows could be dubbed Radiohead’s best album. I’ve always felt the strongest about Kid A, but I’ve had every other album second at some point. There are little “flaws” in all of them arguably, but each of them is so pointed and the ideas are so sharp. HTTT is no exception. Even with a little bloat it’s fantastic.
Raindropsssssssssss
The previous year, the band road-tested the new material during some one-off gigs in Spain and Portugal. If I remember corrrectly, the new songs that would eventually end up on HTTT were all very well received by fans. Perhaps if the band hadn't done this, then they have been a little more frugal with the final track-listing. You could also make the same argument that Ok Computer would have been viewed very differently if it had included I Promise, Lift, and Man of War. All still amazing songs but it would have also left the album a little 'bloated'.
Because IR, TB and OKC are much more consistent albums. Amnesiac and HTTT both have really high highs and some incredible tracks but also have some really low lows.
Too long and bloated. And just like amnesiac, a lot of the songs don't really compliment eachother to form a complete album experience imo. Though it is still good and has some of my very favorite radiohead songs on it
Ahh, Hail to the Thief. A group of chronic overthinkers and endless 2nd guessers, finally deciding to shoot from the hip again. For the first time since… Pablo Honey, I guess. One song a day, two weeks… that was 99% of the recording process. The best elements of Kid A, OK Computer, and The Bends, all woven into a diverse, raw, spontaneous and demanding fabric of deliciousness. Far from their most impactful album, but dang, is it their best. At least in my opinion.