Colin Meloy, Colin Meloy Sings Live!

reviewed by dave heaton

Colin Meloy Sings Live! -- a simple title, telling you what you need to do. Assuming you know who Meloy is, that he’s the lead singer of the internationally renowned, “literary”/”dramatic” pop/rock band form Portland Oregon called the Decemberists…but that’s becoming more likely each day.

Colin Meloy Sings Live! was recorded in 2006, across 8 shows of a solo tour. In song choice you may expect him to lean towards the more simple, more seemingly personal, less fanciful songs, and to an extent he does. There’s fine versions of “Red Right Ankle” and “On the Bus Mall”, a song from his pre-Deccemberists band Tarkio (“Devil’s Elbow”), and a new song, a stunning little number about giving birth to a child – titled “Wonder”, and driven by it. There’s also little glimpses into Meloy’s personality and tastes via that beloved concert chestnut, the cover song. Mostly he just works bits of songs in here and there: bits of Fleetwood Mac, of R.E.M., of the Smiths. He also covers “Barbara Allen” as a celebration of Shirley Collins, perhaps introducing fans of his music to hers in the process.

Yet he doesn’t ignore the fanciful, fantasy side of the Decemberists music, either, the side that compels Meloy to write songs about ships and chimney sweeps and such. There are solid versions of “A Cautionary Song” and “Bandit Queen”, to name just a couple. On this CD he doesn’t tackle any of the Decemberists’ most epic story-songs: no “Mariner’s Revenge”, nothing from The Tain. That shouldn’t be a surprise, but it’d be nice to hear him challenge himself a little more, by doing solo versions of songs that seem impossible to perform when you’re just one person.

(I had a similar notion about the Decemberists with orchestra show they played here in Philadelphia – the orchestra sat out on the catchiest pop songs but joined in on the big sweeping dramatic songs, playing into expectations about orchestras and what sort of music they should play.)

Challenge isn’t what this CD promises, though. It’s Colin Meloy! Singing Live! And that’s what you get. And it’s great.

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