Colin Meloy: Sings Live!

Label: Kill Rock Stars

This is not an improvement on The Decemberists, from whose repertoire most of the songs come (two supplemented with allusions to old songs by Fleetwood Mac and Morrissey). But no matter how much intricate production and arranging is lost by stripping those songs down to just Decemberists leader Meloy’s voice and acoustic guitar, the songs still entertain, and the increased intimacy makes it an interesting tradeoff. And there is one previously unreleased song here, the charming “Wonder” (I’m not counting the snippet of “Dracula’s Daughter,” his self-proclaimed “worst song I’ve ever written”). At first it seemed like there were more, but research revealed them to be songs from EPs, but they do offer a welcome change-of-pace sprinkling of unfamiliar material (unless you’re a Decemberists completist). Plus there’s plenty of Meloy’s dry wit on display in between songs. Essential? No. Endearing? Absolutely. (Steve)