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Avg: 4.0 (117 ratings)
- Date Released: April 8, 2008
- Genre: Alternative/Punk
- Style: Alternative
- Label: Kill Rock Stars / Redeye
The sheen is dead: Decemberists frontman strips songs to the basics.
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We Say...
Until this album, I hadn’t decided if I really liked the Decemberists or not. Maybe I still haven’t, but consider me a fan of leader Colin Meloy. On Decemberists discs, I hear a gap — one that continues to narrow but nevertheless remains — between Meloy’s grand aesthetic ambitions and the band's inability to achieve the folky intricacies of Fairport Convention or match the Smiths’ sense of propulsion and longing. But on this utterly unadorned album, drawn from several performances on his 2006 solo tour, where there’s nothing but Meloy’s reedy voice and acoustic guitar, it’s clear that this Montana-born, Portland-based songwriter is his own bookish beast and no mere Morrissey wannabe — even when he segues "California One" into the Smiths’ “Ask.”
Out from under his band’s blanketing layers, there’s a force and focus to his solo delivery that heightens his charm — check his personable between-song patter — and sharpens his songs. Compare Picaresque's studio version of “The Engine Driver” with this faster, starker rendition. Although the arrangement is reduced to a simple strum that mirrors the directness of his “If you don’t love me, let me go” sentiments, the result is louder, even catchier because he’s removed every unnecessary element and fills the vacuum with deeper feeling. This rendition sounds like something the Decemberists have never had: a hit. No wonder the audience starts singing. -
They Say...
It's fitting that head Decemberist Colin Meloy's first "official" release as a solo artist would be a live album, as the bespectacled auteur has already self-released (in very limited quantities and only available at shows) a collection of Morrissey covers, an EP of Sam Cooke songs, and a set of tunes from British folk legend Shirley Collins. On Colin Meloy Sings Live!, the focus is on the author's own material, touching on everything from the Decemberists catalog and recent unreleased solo material to songs from his first band, Tarkio. Recorded over a span of two weeks in 2006, Meloy strips things down to just acoustic guitar and voice, allowing audiences an atypically arrangement-free peek into the noted bibliophile's vast arsenal of song. Fan favorites like "Engine Driver," "Gymnast, High Above the Ground," and "Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect," the latter of which features a nice Fleetwood Mac "Dreams" coda, benefit from the newfound austerity, exposing plenty of previously buried lyrical twists and hidden melodies. That said, Sings Live! is not a landmark album, nor even a superb "live" album, but the sound quality is decent enough (though the "acoustic guitar through the board" is a bit disappointing), and Meloy is a jovial host with his adoring fans, who ultimately this collection of songs was released for.
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| 01. |  |
Devil's Elbow |
4:17 |
|
| 02. | |
We Both Go Down Together |
3:10 |
|
| 03. | |
Evoking a Campfire Singalong |
0:48 |
|
| 04. | |
The Gymnast, High Above the Ground |
6:43 |
|
| 05. | |
Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect > Dreams |
4:56 |
|
| 06. | |
Dracula's Daughter |
2:42 |
|
| 07. | |
Wonder |
3:02 |
|
| 08. | |
A Brief Introduction to Shirley Collins |
1:47 |
|
| 09. | |
Barbara Allen |
3:29 |
|
| 10. | |
The Engine Driver |
3:54 |
|
| 11. | |
On the Bus Mall |
6:00 |
|
| 12. | |
A Skull, a Ship, and a Sheep |
1:55 |
|
| 13. | |
California One / Youth and Beauty Brigade > Ask |
12:23 |
|
| 14. | |
The Bachelor and the Bride |
4:11 |
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| 15. | |
A Cautionary Song |
3:43 |
|
| 16. | |
Red Right Ankle |
4:17 |
|
| 17. | |
Bandit Queen |
6:45 |
|
17 Total Tracks, 74:02 Total Length
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Credits
- Shirley Collins - Arranger // Tucker Martine - Mixing // Tucker Martine - Assembly // Rich Hipp - Engineer // Rich Hipp - Assistant // Colin Meloy - Arranger // Carson Ellis - Illustrations // Carson Ellis - Cover Painting
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