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Editorial Reviews
Full Title - You Can Play These Songs With Chords. Album includes Out-Of-Print rarities and never-before released songs. 18 tracks. Barsuk Records. 2002.
Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By Brian
Format:Audio CD
This album is a collection of rarities and b-sides and I would not reccomend it to the first time death cab buyer your best bet is to pick up the photo album the biggest plus to this album is the smiths cover of this charmning man which is done semi tastefully aside from a few lyrical miffs.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Audio CD
I've read and heard far too many reviews of this album that don't give it the credit it deserves, so hear goes.
Honestly, this is an incredible album, but you have to be a Death Cab fan to appreciate it. Yes, this is their first demo and their B-sides. So don't complain if you buy it and aren't pleased because it's not "up to their usual quality"
But this album gives you insight into Death Cab that you aren't going to find anywhere else. So if you care about this band and actually appreciate their music in a moving sense, it's incredible. Some of the B-sides on this album are more incredible than the original songs. Also, it's amazing to hear the differences between the songs that made it onto latter recordings and those which were laid down for You Can Play These Songs With Chords.
So stop complaining. If you didn't like this album, you don't really like Death Cab. If you do, however, this is a rare treasure. Buy it, but only if you're a real fan. You know who you are.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
A preliminary note: like the other reviews mention, You Can Play These Songs With Chords isn't the best place for a new Death Cab fan to start. Regardless, it is an excellent collection of songs that pinpoints a band from their infancy to most recent.
The opening eight tracks are a re-release of the demo recordings singer/guitarist Ben Gibbard did in 1997 (released with the same title as this compliation). Playing all of the instruments himself, the bulk of these demos resurfaced a short while later on Death Cab's first proper album, Something About Airplanes (then played with a full band). For the most part, the sound quality is awfully lo-fi, which recorder/future DCFC guitarist Chris Walla was obviously aiming for. As for the music, most of the songs are close enough to the final product, which is two-thumbs-up material. The few demos that didn't make it, like "Hindsight" and "That's Incentive" (with its limber bassline) show that not all songs cut were bad.
The rest of the material is a collection of B-sides from DC's history. Some, like "TV Trays" and the original version of "Song for Kelly Huckaby," are on the verge of being subpar. Others, like the pretty "Army Corp of Architects," the quasi-Built to Spill-ish "Prove My Hypotheses" and the Something About Airplanes misfire "State Street Residential," are some of the best tracks the band has recorded. Some, like the hilarious cover of the Smiths' "This Charming Man" and the 'European Dance Hit' "Tomorrow," just don't fit into any catagory.
For the most part, this is a great collection of songs Death Cab fans will be eager to get ahold of. For the newcomer, this may prove to be a confusing assortment of tracks.
Oh, side note: the CD insert is a great help: I was always interested in who plays on songs, and this delievers in addition to the amusing notes provided by the band members.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Some Songs are Best Left on the Cutting Room Floor
Just because you become mildly succesful doesn't mean you have to release every studio noodle your band has performed. Please don't release subpar music to make money.
Published 14 months ago by Mark McLaughlin
4.0 out of 5 stars
Well worth a listen, or two, or three
Most of the tracks on this offering are lo-fi and just full of washed-out, Pacific Northwest, dreary-day angst. Read more
Published on May 31, 2007 by keeverdc
5.0 out of 5 stars
DCFC really does have something for everybody.
This album takes you on a ride just as the other dcfc albums do...you are mesmerised from track 1 until the end. Read more
Published on May 16, 2006 by Amir
5.0 out of 5 stars
DCFC's Best Album
I might get a lot of negative responses from this review, but in my opinion this is the best album Death Cab has produced. Read more
Published on March 24, 2005 by Jason Persson
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Acquired Taste
I evidently didn't listen to the advice given here when I bought this CD as my first Death Cab for Cutie purchase. Read more
Published on November 27, 2004 by Janet
4.0 out of 5 stars
a cute album
death cab for cutie's "you can play these songs with chords" is the cutest album ever, musically speaking. Read more
Published on August 1, 2004 by deus ex mecca
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not Your Typical Death Cab
What the heck was Ben Gibbard thinking?!?! The cover of the Smith's "This Charming Man" is downright embarassing and should of never seen the light of day. Read more
Published on December 28, 2003 by "taeclee99"
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great album for fans or newbies
I'm fairly familiar with DCFC, having seen them live three times and hearing most of their songs.
This is one of my favorite Death Cab albums. It's raw and fun. Read more
Published on April 1, 2003 by A. Fabbri
1.0 out of 5 stars
Are you kidding?
I enjoyed the Forbidden Love EP way back when. But now what is all the hype? And what is with the horrendous Smiths cover?
Give me a break.
Published on February 20, 2003 by Daniel Sama
3.0 out of 5 stars
Yeah, it's Death Cab, but it's not all that cool.
I'm a huge fan of DCFC and I love every song on every record, but you can really see why these ones didn't make it on to the records. Read more
Published on January 9, 2003 by Ryan
Listmania!
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