Category: Vinyl

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Vinyl

Vinyl love: The Decemberists “The crane wife”

(Vinyl Love is a series of posts that quite simply lists, describes, and displays the pieces in my growing vinyl collection. You can bet that each record was given a spin during the drafting of each corresponding post.)

Artist: The Decemberists
Album Title: The crane wife
Year released: 2006
Year reissued: 2010
Details: Gatefold sleeve, 2 x LP

The skinny: Anyone who thought The Decemberists would temper their idiosyncratic sound and inventive, yet sometimes esoteric narrative lyrics for their major label debut, obviously never met the Portland-based five-piece. Songs included a prog rock masterpiece and a three part mini-rock opera based on a Japanese folk story, the latter being where this, their fourth album draws its name. Another brilliant work by one of my favourite bands.

Standout track: “O Valencia!”

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Vinyl

Vinyl love: The Decemberists “The king is dead”

(Vinyl Love is a series of posts that quite simply lists, describes, and displays the pieces in my growing vinyl collection. You can bet that each record was given a spin during the drafting of each corresponding post.)

Artist: The Decemberists
Album Title: The king is dead
Year released: 2011
Details: Gatefold sleeve, 180 gram

The skinny: The Portland-based five-piece’s 5th record is a pretty straightforward album, as far as The Decemberists go. Focusing smartly this time on the American folk tradition, the band received support from Gillian Welch, Laura Veirs, and R.E.M.’s Peter Buck. It’s lovely stuff.

Standout track: “This is why we fight”

Categories
Vinyl

Vinyl love: The Decemberists “What a terrible world, what a beautiful world”

(Vinyl Love is a series of posts that quite simply lists, describes, and displays the pieces in my growing vinyl collection. You can bet that each record was given a spin during the drafting of each corresponding post.)

Artist: The Decemberists
Album Title: What a terrible world, what a beautiful world
Year released: 2015
Details: Gatefold sleeve, Double LP, 180 gram, Laser etching on side D

The skinny: Working backwards through my Decemberists collection, their 7th studio album is a lighter and livelier work than their earlier material. I was released after a four year ‘hiatus of sorts’, but it felt more like a decade. “What a terrible world, what a beautiful world” did not disappoint, feeling like a breath of fresh air to combat all the evil pollutants we have to deal with in the daily news.

Standout track: “Make you better”