View Larger
Rate it!
Avg: 4.0 (99 ratings)
- Date Released: October 3, 2006
- Genre: Alternative/Punk
- Label: Rough Trade
Colin Meloy and friends return with even more beautifully wrought murder ballads, Civil War tragedies and doomed Shakespearean romances.
-
We Say...
The Crane Wife retains the bullish folk-rock character of 2005's Picaresque, its 12-string guitars fattened, Arcade Fire-fashion, with the grainy textures of wheezing pump-organ, accordion, hurdy-gurdy and dulcimer appropriate to Colin Meloy's beautifully wrought murder ballads, Civil War tragedies and doomed Shakespearean romances. Two three-part suites significantly expand his ambitions, however: "The Crane Wife" itself is an extended rumination on human-avian interaction comparable to Joanna Newsom's "Only Skin," while "The Island" shifts from marshland bird-life to a grisly trad-folk narrative of rape and murder, its dramatic tone and pulsing Hammond organ conjuring up the bizarre prospect of Emerson, Lake & Palmer covering Dock Boggs or the Carter Family. Recorded with help from local Portland, Oregon, talent like Laura Veirs and her producer Tucker Martine, the results have a strangely compelling faux-antique manner.
-
They Say...
Colin Meloy and his brave Decemberists made the unlikely jump to a major label after 2005's excellent Picaresque, a move that surprised both longtime fans and detractors of the band. While it is difficult to imagine the suits at Capitol seeing dollar signs in the eyes of an accordion- and bouzouki-wielding, British folk-inspired collective from Portland, OR, that dresses in period Civil War outfits and has been known to cover Morrissey, it's hard to argue with what the Decemberists have wrought from their bounty. The Crane Wife is loosely based on a Japanese folk tale that concerns a crane, an arrow, a beautiful woman, and a whole lot of clandestine weaving. The record's spirited opener and namesake picks off almost exactly where Picaresque left off, building slowly off a simple folk melody before exploding into some serious Who power chords. This is the first indication that the band itself was ready to take the loosely ornate, reverb-heavy Decemberists sound to a new sonic level, or rather that producers Tucker Martine and Chris Walla were. On first listen, the tight, dry, and compressed production style sounds more like Queens of the Stone Age than Fairport Convention, but as The Crane Wife develops over its 60-plus minutes, a bigger picture appears. Meloy, who along with Destroyer's Dan Bejar has mastered the art of the North American English accent, has given himself over to early-'70s progressive rock with gleeful abandon, and while many of the tracks pale in comparison to those on Picaresque, the ones that succeed do so in the grandest of fashions. Fans of the group's Tain EP will find themselves drawn to "Island: Come and See/The Landlord's Daughter/You'll Not Feel the Drowning" and "The Crane Wife, Pts. 1 & 2," both of which are well over ten minutes long and feature some truly inspired moments that echo everyone from the Waterboys and R.E.M. to Deep Purple and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, while those who embrace the band's poppier side will flock around the winsome "Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)," which relies heavily on the breathy delivery of Seattle singer/songwriter and part-time Decemberist Laura Veirs. Some cuts, like the English murder ballad "Shankill Butchers" and "Summersong" (the latter eerily reminiscent of Edie Brickell's "What I Am"), sound like outtakes from previous records, but by the time the listener arrives at the Donovan-esque (in a good way) closer, "Sons & Daughters," the less tasty bits of The Crane Wife seem a wee bit sweeter.
“ The indie iTunes — Hardcore music fans are migrating to eMusic, the iTunes Music Store's cheaper, cooler cousin.”
Rolling Stone
eMusic Tip
Paid downloads are counted towards an album discount but free downloads are not.
COMPLETE FOR FREE!
You can download the rest of the tracks from this album for free! Just click the Complete Album button.
We’re sorry this album can only be downloaded using paid subscription download credits.
We recommend you Save it for Later by clicking the Save for Later button shown just above this message. For a list of related albums you can download right now, check out these recommendations.
We'll give you 10 additional free credits to download this album and start your paid subscription.
Get 10 bonus credits on us if you download this album. Sweet!
| 01. |  |
The Crane Wife 3 |
4:20 |
|
| 02. | |
The Island, Come And See, The Landlords Daughter (You'll Not Feel The Drowning) |
12:42 |
|
| 03. | |
Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then) |
4:19 |
|
| 04. | |
Oh Valencia! |
3:49 |
|
| 05. | |
The Perfect Crime 2 |
5:35 |
|
| 06. | |
When The War Came |
5:08 |
|
| 07. | |
Shankil Butchers |
4:41 |
|
| 08. | |
Summersong |
3:31 |
|
| 09. | |
The Crane Wife 1 & 2 |
11:25 |
|
| 10. | |
Sons & Daughters |
5:13 |
|
10 Total Tracks, 60:43 Total Length
Loading...
Playlists If you like The Decemberists, check out these member playlists
Explore music recommended by The Decemberists fans
Credits
- John Moen - Percussion // John Moen - Drums // John Moen - Vocals (Background) // Roger Seibel - Mastering // Mike King - Design // Mike King - Layout Design // Tucker Martine - Producer // Tucker Martine - Mixing // Eyvind Kang - Violin // Eyvind Kang - Violin // Eyvind Kang - Violin // Eyvind Kang - Viola // Eyvind Kang - Viola // Eyvind Kang - Viola // Autumn DeWilde - Photography // Nate Query - Percussion // Nate Query - Bass (Electric) // Nate Query - Cello // Nate Query - Vocals (Background) // Nate Query - Bass (Upright) // Christopher Walla - Keyboards // Christopher Walla - Vocals (Background) // Christopher Walla - Producer // Christopher Walla - Mixing // Laura Veirs - Vocals // Laura Veirs - Talking // Rich Hipp - Assistant Engineer // Ezra Holbrook - Vocals (Background) // Chris Funk - Dulcimer // Chris Funk - Banjo // Chris Funk - Bouzouki // Chris Funk - Guitar // Chris Funk - Percussion // Chris Funk - Pedal Steel // Chris Funk - Guitar (Electric) // Chris Funk - Vocals (Background) // Chris Funk - Hurdygurdy // Colin Meloy - Guitar (Acoustic) // Colin Meloy - Bouzouki // Colin Meloy - Percussion // Colin Meloy - Guitar (Electric) // Colin Meloy - Vocals // Colin Meloy - Design // Jenny Conlee - Percussion // Jenny Conlee - Piano // Jenny Conlee - Accordion // Jenny Conlee - Glockenspiel // Jenny Conlee - Organ (Hammond) // Jenny Conlee - Vocals (Background) // Jenny Conlee - Organ (Pump) // Jenny Conlee - Wurlitzer // Jenny Conlee - Moog Bass // Carson Ellis - Design // Carson Ellis - Illustrations // Carson Ellis - Lettering // Dawn Barger - Management // BJB - Mixing // Steve Drizos - Hand Drums
Choose from over 7 million
music downloadseMusic features legendary and emerging artists in every genre: classic rock to classical,indie to international, soundtracks to spiritual, jazz to country and many more.
MP3 downloads work on any digital media player
With eMusic, you OWN your music without any restrictions. Burn music to a CD, play it on your computer, mobile phone or any digital media player - including iPod®, Zune® and Walkman®.
Songs available for 50¢ or less
eMusic subscriptions start at just $11.99 a month for 24 downloads - that's just 50¢ per song! And it gets better from there - our plans go as low as 42¢ per song!
Music Discovery
eMusic is about discovery. We make finding new music fun again with music recommendations from our award-winning team of music experts, member playlists and new music features.
Cancel anytime
With all the great music and site features we're pretty sure you will love eMusic. If not, no problem. You can cancel at any time and keep the music you have downloaded.
© 1992 - 2009 All Media Guide, LLC