Saturday, February 28, 2009

The Decemberists - The Crane Wife (2006) Blue Skies For Black Hearts - Serenades and Hand Grenades (2008)

Part: 1 : The Decemberists - The Crane Wife (2006)
Password: sharedmp3.net
ARTIST: The Decemberists
TITLE: The Crane Wife
LABEL: Capitol Records
GENRE: Indie
BITRATE: 207kbps avg
PLAYTIME: 1h 00m total
RELEASE DATE: 2006-10-03
RIP DATE: 2006-09-25

Track List
----------
1. The Crane Wife 3 4:18
2. The Island:/Come And See/The 12:26
Landlord's Daughter/You'll Not
Feel The Drowning
3. Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home 4:18
Then)
4. O Valencia! 3:47
5. The Perfect Crime #2 5:33
6. When The War Came 5:06
7. Shankill Butchers 4:39
8. Summersong 3:31
9. The Crane Wife 1 & 2 11:19
10. Sons & Daughters 5:13

Release Notes:

http://www.decemberists.com/
http://www.myspace.com/thedecemberists
http://www.capitolrecords.com/

"I'm a poor, drunken orphan with nowhere to go but the grave," wailed a waifish
and non-plussed Mr. Chris Funk as he lay supine by the railroad tracks. The
crate of records he had been cradling in his nubile appendages now lay in pieces
on the ashen ground, his complete collected recordings of sixties psychedelic
luminary Rick "Paisley Dave" Rigmore scattered hit her and yon like so many dead
leaves beneath a diseased elm. Noting his neglect to accredit this phrase to its
rightful owner, chief engineer Jenny Conlee, her accordion neatly strapped to
her back, stepped lightly from the caboose and corrected his negligence with the
aplomb only an immigrant Hungarian could muster: "Dylan Thomas, sir! Please move
along!" But it was too late: an indelible bond had been soldered in that moment
of recognition. A few hours later, in a Turkish bath, they revealed their
stories to one another between sips of a strange, tangerine liqueur. Not far
from that spot, however, two young military dignitaries (John Moen, Nate Query),
appropriately lathered, overheard our two heroes' stories. Was it chance, then,
that lead the four unsuspecting bathers to seek to return their soiled
undergarments at the same kiosk where worked the poor, bespectacled Colin Meloy?
One can surmise all one wants, but the truth should be known that, after
adopting the moniker The Decemberists, these five wan vagabonds began playing
their peculiarly styled pop music in various concert-halls and brothels all
across the globe.


Part: 2 : Blue Skies For Black Hearts - Serenades and Hand Grenades (2008)
Password: sharedmp3.net
- Release Info -------------------------------------------------------------- -

Artist: Blue Skies For Black Hearts
Album: Serenades And Hand Grenades
Label: King Of Hearts Records
Playtime: 40:28 min
Genre: Rock
URL:
Rip date: 2008-03-25
Street date: 2008-05-20
Size: 63.61 MB
Type: Advance
Quality: 209 kbps / 4410kHz / Joint Stereo

- Release Notes ------------------------------------------------------------- -

"We're making pop music the way it should be made," lead singer and
songwriter Pat Kearns says casually as he returns to the board to mix
"Siouxsie Please Come Home", the premier track off Serenades and Hand
Grenades, the brand new 12 song LP from Blue Skies For Black Hearts. Release
is scheduled for May 20, 2008.

This, the band's fourth full-length release, began with mudding sheetrock,
painting walls and hanging baffles, turning the back rooms of local guitar
shop, Centaur Guitar, into PermaPress Recordings, a modern-day Brill Building
and Kearns' new studio. The paint on the walls had barely begun to dry when
Kearns, bassist Kelly Simmons, lead guitarist Michael Lewis and drummer Paul
Noel began clocking in nightly, working up arrangements to songs that Kearns
had often written earlier the same day. Within two hours of a song's
introduction, it was hashed out, rehearsed and basic tracked.

With the advent of digital, today's artists frequently pile their computers
with hundreds of tracks and takes, hoping time, reflection and deft editing
will produce a masterpiece. Blue Skies, while embracing the functional
advantages of modern recording technology, self imposed many of the
limitations that fueled the creativity of rock and roll for the last half
century. Decisions were made on the spot, focused primarily on feel and
melody. Instruments were recorded live with ambiance and real plate reverb
instead of relying on digital plug-ins later. Harmonies were worked out
around the piano, moments before the entire band gathered around a single,
tube microphone to sing the takes together. Nothing was ever added to tracks
that needed to be "worked out later in the mix" - a common method of the
digital generation. From the first time this record spins, you will feel the
same intimacy and attraction that fans have longed for since the Brits
invaded America (both times), Stiff Records scoured the pubs for talent and
Creation Records saved rock and roll.

That album opener, "Siouxsie Please Come Home," is a contemporary love story
that could only occur in the new millennium. Through melody and words, Kearns
paints a picture of a lovelorn composer whose girl has been sent off to war
while he remains at home, writing heartbroken love songs while surrounded by
her boxed possessions.

"Ambition" weighs integrity against success, an age old question that has
become particularly complex and poignant in today's music industry. It
features a horn arrangement reminiscent of those heard on the great southern
soul recordings of the 60s and '70s, while also belying the band's obvious
adoration of Costello and even Badfinger.

"Someday There Will Be Better Days" is an optimistic look at the frivolity of
divorce, taking a dark, comedic view on exes waging war through their
lawyers, and featuring a full-blown string arrangement that would make even
Phil Spector turn green.

- Track List ---------------------------------------------------------------- -

01. Siouxsie Please Come Home ( 3:46)
02. A World Without Love ( 2:55)
03. Jenny & Steve ( 4:02)
04. Won't You Please Stay ( 4:01)
05. She'll Follow Me ( 3:17)
06. Little White Lies ( 3:46)
07. Ambition ( 4:09)
08. Sweet Valentine ( 3:38)
09. I Still Wish That You Were Around ( 2:48)
10. If I Wanted You Back ( 2:17)
11. Pretty People ( 2:36)
12. Someday There Will Be Better Days ( 3:13)

- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -


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