CONNECT SETS

There are three live releases of the Decemberists that I’m aware of: their most excellent 2007 DVD entitled ‘The Decemberists: A Practical Handbook’; a 2006 iTunes download called ‘Live from SoHo’; and this one. The DVD is far and away the best of the three, consisting of the final night of their 2005 tour supporting the ‘Picaresque’ CD in their adopted hometown of Portland, Oregon along with some interview footage. If you can’t get that one, this is possibly the next-best thing.

This was released as a digital download by Capitol shortly after signing the band from the low-key indie label Kill Rock Stars in 2006. I suppose it was meant to be a promo of sorts for their studio release ‘The Crane Wife’, and in fact it contains three tracks from that album along with a remake of the old and oft-covered John Denver tune “Please Daddy (Don’t Get Drunk This Christmas)”.

None of the Crane Wife songs is quite as sonically precise or dynamic as their studio versions, but that’s not really surprising given these are promos and were recorded on the road. Some of the band’s trademark sounds are less pronounced here, particularly Jenny Conlee’s piano and B3 Hammond forays (she leans much more heavily on her accordion throughout), as well as the wonderful harmonizing vocals made famous by former drummer Rachel Blumberg and later Petra Haden (Ms. Haden appears on the DVD as well as the Crane Wife studio album). But drummer John Moen’s falsetto is a passingly decent substitute for a woman’s voice backing up front-man Colin Meloy, and Ms. Conlee’s accordion is almost as engaging as her Hammond anyway.

The version of “O Valencia!” featured here is a bit more guitar-heavy than the studio release but otherwise pretty true to the original; and “The Perfect Crime” could actually pass for the studio version.

One thing that occurs to me now while listening to this live version of “The Crane Wife Parts 1 & 2” is that the more progressive, lyrically-intensive sound the band would adopt with their 2009 release ‘The Hazards of Love’ should have been predictable for anyone listening to this song. The band employs some of the same sort of arrangement tendencies here that they did on Hazards, particularly the almost lumbering organ & accordion sounds; repetitive electric guitar licks; and extended slow transitions that emphasize Meloy’s acoustic guitar fingering and wandering storytelling. When I listen to this tune after many spins of Hazards it sounds more like a transitional preface to that album than I could have imagined back in 2006; in fact, coming toward the end of that album as it did one has to wonder if Meloy already had ‘Hazards’ in mind when he wrote this song. Or at least something akin to it.

The closing “Please Daddy (Don’t Get Drunk This Christmas)” is another trademark of sorts for the band. In concert they have long thrown in a cover song or two, usually from the seventies or eighties. From what I understand this is another of Meloy’s thoughtful touches, intended as a way of engaging the many parents that show up in his audiences in tow of their teenage kids. That of course is one of the great things about this band; their music transcends age, and they are one of the few bands I can think of that a 16 year-old wouldn’t be embarrassed to go see with their 40 year-old father. In fact, I know a fair number of kids who’ve done just that. I personally would have preferred the band’s live version of ELO’s “Mr. Blue Sky” here, but let’s not be picky.

I don’t believe this was ever released on CD, but you can get the digital download from Rolling Stone, Amazon, iTunes and probably lots of other places as well. This isn’t a masterpiece at all, and wouldn’t be a good substitute for any of their studio albums. But if for no other reason than a very good live version of “The Crane Wife Parts 1 & 2”, you should check it out if you have any interest in the band whatsoever. I’m tempted to say this is just for collectors, but given the timing of their ‘Hazards’ release I’ll go ahead and bump that to three stars and recommend it for anyone who is on the fence of getting one of their studio releases. Or even better, go get the DVD.

peace