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Thread: The Decemberists

  1. #1
    Member Bungalow Bill's Avatar
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    The Decemberists

    The American Jethro Tull?
    For that which is not,
    there is no coming into being
    and for that which is,
    there is no ceasing to be;
    yea of both of these the lookers into truth have seen an end.
    Bhagavad Gita

  2. #2
    Estimated Prophet notallwhowander's Avatar
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    I've always associated them with Tull to, I guess in the way that Meloy is a storyteller like Anderson, pens high-quality lyrics, and will pick up a folk theme or idiom just as readily.
    Wake up to find out that you are the eyes of the world.

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    Quote Originally Posted by notallwhowander View Post
    I've always associated them with Tull to, I guess in the way that Meloy is a storyteller like Anderson, pens high-quality lyrics, and will pick up a folk theme or idiom just as readily.
    I can see that, although I have always thought, from a songwriting perspective that they reminded me of Al Stewart in many ways.

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    No. Decembrists had a few Tull-ish pieces back 3-4 records ago, but there's not much of the dynamics or (instrumental) drama that makes Tull riveting. I would say Tull and the Decembrists do draw from some of the same sources: the British folk of past centuries for example. But that's as far as I would take the analogy.

    Funny, but some of the Decembrists' most Tull-ish music, which is what drew me in to the band, is particularly reviled by a large part of their fan base. Check out their album reviews and newsgroups.

  5. #5
    Estimated Prophet notallwhowander's Avatar
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    Well this is what's uncanny about the whole thing. I don't think their music is like Tull. They just remind me of Tull. It's hard for me to put a finger on it, but there it is.
    Wake up to find out that you are the eyes of the world.

  6. #6
    Maybe a couple songs on Picaresque and The Crane Wife have a Tull flair, but I really don't hear the same intricacies instrumentally that were Tull trademarks.
    "And your little sister's immaculate virginity wings away on the bony shoulders of a young horse named George who stole surreptitiously into her geography revision."

    Occasional musical musings on https://darkelffile.blogspot.com/

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    Member Bungalow Bill's Avatar
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    I agree with most people here: they're Tull-ish but, at the same time, don't sound too much like Tull. It's the story-telling and the dynamics of the music, I think - maybe they're kind of a neo-prog Amerikana version of Tull.

    Anyway, I will say that I always though they were a decent band until the run of The Tain, The Crane Wife, and The Hazards of Love - then I realized that they are a very excellent band.
    For that which is not,
    there is no coming into being
    and for that which is,
    there is no ceasing to be;
    yea of both of these the lookers into truth have seen an end.
    Bhagavad Gita

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    Member Bungalow Bill's Avatar
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    I should say that I watched a recent live show on YouTube this week and the bass player is exceptionally good!
    For that which is not,
    there is no coming into being
    and for that which is,
    there is no ceasing to be;
    yea of both of these the lookers into truth have seen an end.
    Bhagavad Gita

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    They're good but frustratingly over-tasteful. There's five people in the band (plus two or three live additions on most tours), but you wouldn't know it to listen - most of the time you don't notice anything but the lead vocal and the beat, and that's the point. The rest of the band blends together into a sound like one huge 12-string guitar.

  10. #10
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    New album: I’ll Be Your Girl

    https://youtu.be/ksTFj6L0mao

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    Member Jerjo's Avatar
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    I suppose that this wouldn't mean some folks definition of prog but the concept album Hazards of Love is definitely epic.

    I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart

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    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    ^ The Crane Wife is the only Decemberists album I've listened to, and I really liked it (haven't listened to it for quite a while now). I'm going to continue with this one tonight. It's aged for over 10 years, so it should be good!

    I just looked the band up on Spotify, and I see there was a 10th anniversary edition of The Crane Wife with a bonus disk of demos and alternate takes. Was the album also remastered or something? And how is the additional material, worth listening to?

  13. #13
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    BTW, the other band that comes to mind first, in response to hearing The Crane Wife, anyway, is XTC. Will have to listen to more albums to see if Tull comes to mind at all.

    (Looks as though we've lost Bungalow Bill, eh? Unless he's lurking...)

  14. #14
    I'm here for the moosic NogbadTheBad's Avatar
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    Check out The Hazards Of Love
    Ian

    Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on progrock.com
    https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-a...re-happy-hour/

    Gordon Haskell - "You've got to keep the groove in your head and play a load of bollocks instead"
    I blame Wynton, what was the question?
    There are only 10 types of people in the World, those who understand binary and those that don't.

  15. #15
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    If you reread the first sentence of my first post above (because it was a bit oblique), you'll see that was exactly my intention - it was in reply to Jerol's post, but I probably should have included his post to make that clear!

    I just listened to a few songs off of The Crane Wife to get primed, and it was hard to pull myself away from that album. It's so good!

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    Quote Originally Posted by NogbadTheBad View Post
    Check out The Hazards Of Love
    I actually just picked this one up on CD fairly recently. Fantastic album and a true concept album that needs to be listened to as a whole work.

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    Member Jerjo's Avatar
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    I wish that they had done a live album off the Hazards of Love tour. I've seen excerpts and it looked very dynamic.
    I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart

  18. #18
    I saw the Hazards tour in a small theatre in London, it was rather excellent, one set of Hazards and then another of greatest hits.

    Outside of Hazards, Crane Wife and The Tain there isn’t really anything progressive or conceptual, but each album has some very string writing, performance and interesting lyrical content, and I like them a great deal. The Tull comparison exists in each of those attributes, but they do not sound alike.

  19. #19
    Member thedunno's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jerjo View Post
    I wish that they had done a live album off the Hazards of Love tour. I've seen excerpts and it looked very dynamic.
    They have.



    https://thedecemberists.bandcamp.com...-library-vol-i

  20. #20
    I'm here for the moosic NogbadTheBad's Avatar
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    Oh I'll have me some of that!
    Ian

    Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on progrock.com
    https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-a...re-happy-hour/

    Gordon Haskell - "You've got to keep the groove in your head and play a load of bollocks instead"
    I blame Wynton, what was the question?
    There are only 10 types of people in the World, those who understand binary and those that don't.

  21. #21
    I didn't know about that live album, thank you for the link, I am gutted to have missed the vinyl version. That is wish-listed for the next Bandcamp Friday.

  22. #22
    Member Jerjo's Avatar
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    That's an auto-download!
    I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart

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