A while back, I was comforting myself for not being able to get tickets to a concert that I really wanted to go to. I put on my pajamas, broke out the Scotch and settled in for a night of buying music. In my hand, I had the music lover's equivalent to gold - an iTunes gift card.
Along with a classic I couldn't believe I was missing ("Piano Man" by Billy Joel), a token frivolous pick ("Umbrella" by Rihanna. Don't judge) and a few other songs, I bought The Crane Wife (2006), The Decemberists' fourth full-length album.
It was one of the best purchases I've ever made.
The Crane Wife is based on a Japanese folk tale, although the album references other time periods and musical traditions as well. According to the official website, "Decemberists songwriter and frontman Colin Meloy first came across the story of The Crane Wife several years ago, in the children’s section of a bookstore in Portland."
The other members of the band - multi-instrumentalist Chris Funk, keyboardist Jenny Conlee, bassist Nate Query and drummer John Moen - collaborated with him to translate the folk tale into a collection of songs. The result is a haunting album full of achingly gorgeous melodies and thematic lyrics.
The Crane Wife is one of those albums that works best as a whole. The transitions between songs are seamless and provide as much enjoyment as the songs themselves. The transition between "The Crane Wife 3" and "The Island" is the most masterful that I have ever heard. The notes blend together, fading and appearing like mist, until the first guitar chord takes over and pulls the listener completely in.
Of course, I cannot write about The Crane Wife without mentioning "The Island." The 12 minute and 26 second-long track is actually a combination of three songs ("Come and See," "The Landlord's Daughter" and "You'll Not Feel the Drowning"), and is the jewel of the album. It is the very definition of epic. Layering varied shades of sound, the song builds in complexity and ass-kickingness until it climaxes about three-fourths of the way through in a fit of Nintendo-like synthesizer, organ, guitar and drums. Cymbals crash like waves in a storm, as the listener gets swept up in an auditory frenzy. It finishes with the creepily restrained "You'll Not Fear the Drowning," complete with strings and acoustic guitar. Like the calm after the storm, this part of the song is not particularly comforting, but is a respite in which the listener can recover.
The only track that I do not think is as strong on the album is "The Perfect Crime #2." Although the melody and beat are catchy, the redundancy of the lyrics ("it was a perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect crime") can get a little tiresome. I would recommend the CONNECT set version of this song, in which the band offsets the lyrics with accordion, mandolin and viola, creating a much more interesting sound.
However, there is not much else that I can say to criticize this album. It was an immediate favorite from the moment I first listened to it, and one that has stuck with me ever since. I highly recommend it.
Favorite tracks: "The Island," "O, Valencia!," "Summersong," "The Crane Wife 3"
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