After the electronic experimentation of Kid A and Amnesiac, Radiohead attempted to go back to their guitar roots for their sixth album, 2003s Hail To The Thief. What resulted was a good record barred from greatness by clunky political statements and too many songs that werent up to scratch. The band have even admitted as much, with Ed OBrien telling Mojo magazine that they should have pruned it down to 10 songs, then it would have been a really good record. Its also their most imbalanced release. Amongst the attempt to go back to their rock roots, they couldnt resist throwing in some of the electronic and jazz flourishes that had crept into their previous work. Whereas before they were melded into the songs seamlessly, on Hail To The Thief they sound crow-barred in. Nigel Godrich once called it more like a homogeny of previous work and that probably describes it best. There are some classic Radiohead moments on there, but overall it sounds more like a b-sides collection than a cohesive work.
