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THE DECEMBERISTS "The Crane Wife" Reviews
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AZRating: 8.0
Users rating: 9.0 |
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Release: 3 Oct 2006
Label: Capitol
Genre: Rock
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| Blogcritics |
Rating: 10.0 |
From the groovy "The Perfect Crime #2" and the simple "Shankhill Butchers" to the hauntingly heavy "When the War Came," The Crane Wife is certainly never boring.
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| AV Club |
Rating: 10.0 |
On the second track of The Decemberists' new album, The Crane Wife, Meloy brings "Tain"-like grandeur to "The Island," a three-part, 12-minute mini-epic that starts out describing a forbidding landscape, and ends up describing the rape and murder that occurred there. The band backs Meloy with an eclectic set of sounds, from pounding rock to synthesizer noodling to stark folk, while Meloy sings in the aloof, alluring voice of evil.
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| ShakingThrough |
Rating: 9.2 |
The Crane Wife is the Decemberists' best album.
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| E!Online |
Rating: 8.9 |
With tunes that are more guitar-driven but just as ambitious in scope, such as "Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)" and the epic baroque song cycle "The Island-Come & See/The Landlord's Daughter/You'll Not Feel the Drowning," we've come to love our new Wife.
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| PitchFork |
Rating: 8.4 |
The Decemberists sound like a band that knows exactly where they're going and won't be satisfied until you come along for the trip.
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| Harmonium |
Rating: 8.0 |
The beauty of “The Crane Wife” and “The Island” cycles could not have been more different from one another, the first recalling a cross of “On the Bus Mall” with “Goodbye Blue Sky,” the second another full-bore progstravaganza (ed. – I’ll permit it, but ne’er againe), but the two together anchored a collection that contained more than enough to justify the ship’s new voyage.
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| RollingStone |
Rating: 7.0 |
Among its ten tracks are two song cycles that exceed ten minutes; among its topics are a Civil War romance, meat-cleaver murderers and a damsel dispatched with saber and pistol.
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| PrefixMag |
Rating: 6.0 |
It's a new era for the band, and you're kidding yourself if you think otherwise.
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| Kevchino |
Rating: 6.0 |
This release is an overall disappointmentÔá"to me at least. To be fair, I was expecting too much and then too little. I was both let down and encouraged.
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| Aversion |
Rating: 6.0 |
The Decemberists simply stretch themselves too far on The Crane Wife, abandoning their folk-pop sound, and, more importantly, Meloy's once-detailed songwriting, the band forgets everything that made it heroes of the book-rock underground.
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Users comments
| urmom |
Rating: 1.0 |
most....boring...album...ive ever listen to. i really try , trsu me, cuz i hear some other songs 4m them and i heard lot about them. but this is a snoozefest. |
| Zachary |
Rating: 10.0 |
quite possibly one of the best albums ive ever listened to, its fantastic, a perfect combination of songs in just the right order has me listening to this everynight while falling asleep |
| A wonderful person. |
Rating: 10.0 |
At first I couldn't get into it and now I am IN LOVE. It's seriously great. "Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)" is my new favorite soong. |
| ratmomma |
Rating: 10.0 |
I first heard this album about a week ago and at first I thought it was OK, then after a few more listens I was intrigued. Now I am in love!
When I listen to a CD it is all I want to hear, and when I'm not listening to music I catch myself thinking about how much I want to play this CD again!
Lyrically, the CD is great due to the subject matter. It is quite refreshing to hear songs about topics other than sappy love gained/lost ballads, money, drinking, or whatever it is they play on the radio now. This album tells some truly interesting stories with some pretty exciting music to back it up. You can really hear a lot of the band's musical influences in this album.
I agree with A Wonderful Person that "Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)" is a great song, but don't get me wrong - all of the songs on this album are great! |
| ktmill |
Rating: 9.0 |
it's different from their other stuff, but certainly still beautiful. i love it. good chill music. |
| kb22 |
Rating: 9.0 |
It was certainly ambitious of The Decemberists to tell the stories of The Crane Wife and The Tempest in a musical album format, and I do believe they've succeeded quite well. Those two story lines are layered and rich and convey disparate emotions enchantingly. The other songs on the album, on the whole, don't quite hold up to their previous works; but matching those previous feats would be difficult for any and all. I cannot criticize the band in good conscience though, as, more than anything else, the band commands utmost respect for their meoldic diversity and Meloy's tantalizing lyricism and engrossing story-telling. This band continued to progess with The Crane Wife and fans and critics alike are left salivating after their next venture. |
| Dave |
Rating: 10.0 |
One of the greatest albums of 2006. All the music is so different and yet it blends together perfectly. |
| jagpot71 |
Rating: 10.0 |
This is the first time i have come across this band after reading a review in the UK press. What can I say probably the best album I have heard in a long long time. They combine beutiful music with engrossing stories and have touch of The levellers meets early REM about them. I am very much looking forward to having a listen to thier earlier material. |
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