Colin Meloy Sings Live!

Colin Meloy | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 8, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Kill Rock Stars
• ASIN: B0013P6TK6
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #69,325 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

A fourteen-song set documenting The Decemberists' lead singer/songwriter's 2006 solo tour. Meloy was heralded by Rolling Stone as "a master of improbable juxtaposition: arcane, detailed fictions of star-crossed passion and avenging bloodshed dressed up in indie rock jangle, la-de-da choruses, and vintage prog-rock bombast" in a review of The Decemberists' show in NY's Central Park last spring. By contrast, the live solo album presents him in a stripped down, acoustic setting. Of the thirteen Meloy originals, two are previously unreleased compositions, "Dracula's Daughter" and "Wonder". Along the way, he employs snippets of songs from The Smiths, Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, and REM. The collection also captures ample between-song banter.

"Not everybody's vinyl-only bonus track gets its own headline story over here at Pitchfork news, but yet again, not everybody we cover wrote `The Crane Wife.' Hearts went pitter-pat last week when we reported that Decemberists frontman/coffee shop heartthrob/toy monkey enthusiast Colin Meloy's forthcoming live solo acoustic disc, Colin Meloy Sings Live!, would arrive in April from Kill Rock Stars. But there's more! It turns out that the vinyl incarnation of Colin's album won't be dropping via Kill Rock Stars at all, but rather from their buds at Jealous Butcher, which was responsible for the vinyl release of all of the previous KRS Decemberists LPs. It will come on two discs of 180-gram audiophile-quality virgin vinyl, and sport as a bonus track a cover of the oft-covered `Blues Run the Game' by '60s folkie Jackson C. Frank." -- Pitchfork

"In the journey to indie superstardom, embarking on an acoustic solo tour is a rite of passage equivalent to earning your Eagle Scout merit badge. The Decemberists have solidified their path to greatness, and ... frontman Colin Meloy has launched his own Eagle Scout campaign. Each [song] is delivered with the utmost honesty and precision, and between songs, Meloy exhibits an accessible charm that belies his growing level of fame. This is the sign of a true showman, and one who is still genuine and personable to boot." -- Harmonium Music

A 15-song set documenting The Decemberists leader's 2006 solo trek across the US. The set runs the length and breadth of Colin Meloy's songwriting career, covering his days as part of Missoula's Tarkio up through the current Decemberists catalog.

Meloy's charmingly awkward stage banter, coupled with the passion and introspection given to the songs in this solo live context, make this record a wonderful view into the songwriter's creative world.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yes, it works, May 2, 2008

By 

John Provis - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Colin Meloy Sings Live! (Audio CD)

On this album (a collection of live recordings), Colin Meloy manages to do something that takes quite a bit of talent: taking songs from a full band with diverse and sometimes pretty deep instrumentation, and make them work in the singer/acoustic guitar format. It doesn't quite have the quirkiness of the full Decemberists lineup, but it doesn't need to - Meloy obviously knows which bits of the songs absolutely need to be there to back up the vocals, and puts them there while leaving out everything else. He's obviously enjoying himself (as shown by "Dracula's Daughter", described as 'the worst song I ever wrote' but played with a wink), and he quotes a couple of sections of well-known and less well-known songs almost seamlessly into the middle of his own songs. Particular highlights for me are "We Both Go Down Together," and the 12-minute version of "California One / Youth And Beauty Brigade" with just a little bit of the Smiths thrown in for good measure. All in all, it's a great album.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great album for Decemberists fans, February 2, 2009

By 

C. W. Hacker (Placentia, CA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Colin Meloy Sings Live! (Audio CD)

I love all of the albums from The Decemberists. Though a big draw is the instrumentation, the main attraction is the lyrics and I do really like Colin Meloy's voice, so of course I didn't hesitate too much in listening to this album. As someone else put it, it does work really well, even without the extra instrumentation.

Though recorded across several concerts it is put together like one coherent show, so if you listen to it straight through it's a nice experience. However, I imagine after the twentieth time some of the banter - which I like and think is amusing - might get old. Fortunately, the longer bits are separate tracks, so you can skip them.

The music is all excellent, great guitar work and his singing is in top form. Of course, we expect this being that they must have chosen the best performances from the recorded shows to compile here :)

The best part for me is that while some of my favorite Decemberists songs are here and sound great, some of those that I didn't like or pay attention to as much on the albums work better here. Specifically, I'm referring to Red Right Ankle and The Gymnast, High Above The Ground. I liked these songs on the albums, but often found myself skipping them for whatever reason. Hearing them on this album made me appreciate them much more. There are no poor tracks here. The non-Decemberists songs are very good, with a similar but slightly different feel, as you would expect. The weakest song is probably the opener, Devil's Elbow, but I still do like it. Just not as memorable as most.

Bottom line, any Decemberists fan should have this, but I wouldn't give this to someone as their introduction or only exposure to the band.

5.0 out of 5 stars Colin Live, August 15, 2011

By 

Garp10 "biersampler" (San Saba, TX) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Colin Meloy Sings Live! (Audio CD)

I was very pleased at the excellent sound quality and the number of great songs on the album. This is an excellent addition to my (still small) Decembrists collection. I'm very pleased with it.