The Decemberists "The Crane Wife"

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#156 in the Series) is The Decemberists, The Crane Wife.

The Decemberists are one of the more current bands that I’ve written up here on Cool Album of the Day. They have been a band since 2001 and actually began getting known about 2005. This coinciding with their move to a major label.

They hail from Portland, Oregon.  The band’s name refers to The Decembrists revolt in Imperial Russian.  Many, including band leader Colin Meloy view the 1825 revolt as a communist revolution.

The Crane Wife album was inspired by a Japanese folk tale.  And you thought Rock and Rollers were shallow people!

This was the band’s first album for Capitol Records.  It received a nice media push that included national appearances on shows like Late Night with David Letterman.

The Crane Wife, released in 2006, is a good old fashioned concept album.  I wish more bands would bring us back to that era.  The Decemberists have actually made a career out of that.  God bless ‘em!

Some of the highlights include The Crane Wife, Pt 3 (Which is actually the opening number), The Perfect Crime, Sons and Daughters and of course the superb, O’ Valencia!

The album peaked at #35 on the Billboard Album Charts.

The Perfect Crime #2 did well on the Billboard Dance Charts peaking at #3.

DECEMBERISTS OFFICIAL WEBSITE: http://www.decemberists.com/

Here’s their rock solid performance of O’ Valencia on the Letterman Show. Note to Dave: You need more room for acts this size!  (Dig the vibes! ) I actually hadn’t listened to this song for sometime.  While watching this video I’m reminded just how great a song this is. PLUS…As an added fun bonus.. Check out The Decemberists jammin’ on Heart’s Crazy on You. Check it out.