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Last Active 01-09-23 1:15 am
Joined 04-20-15
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| The Decemberists Ranked
The Decemberists are one of my favorite bands. I feel they don't get enough discussion here, and I believe I have a somewhat different ranking than most, so I decided to post my ranking, that you may bask in its glory and discover the inferiority of your own rankings. | | 7 |  | The Decemberists
Her Majesty the Decemberists
The Decemberists' second album is generally considered one of their weakest, and I have to agree here. It is still a very good album, but some of the songs feel uncharacteristically lifeless for them, and it suffers from a lack of cohesion. A fun album, but the one I play the least. 3.3/5. Best song: "I Was Meant For The Stage" | | 6 |  | The Decemberists
The Crane Wife
Many people consider The Decemberists' major label debut to be their best work. For some reason, it has never fully clicked for me. Individually, most of its songs are great, from the gorgeous "Crane Wife" suite to the 12-minute re-imagining of Shakespeare's The Tempest. The band do overreach themselves on some songs; the proggy "The Perfect Crime #2" is annoying and the almost-metal "When The War Came" is ridiculous. But the strength of most of the other songs is enough to make the album a winner overall, even if weakened by the lack of cohesion. 3.9/5. Best song: "The Crane Wife 1 & 2" | | 5 |  | The Decemberists
What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World
The band's most recent album is a fun collection of rich Americana, stripped down folk, and some classic Decemberists indie pop. Its best songs aren't quite as good as those on The Crane Wife, but this album is more consistent overall, and shows that The Decemberists are still going strong. The contrast between the story-based songs and the more personal ones removes some cohesion from the album, but it is still wholly enjoyable. 4.0/5. Best song: "Make You Better" | | 4 |  | The Decemberists
Castaways and Cutouts
The Decemberists' debut album is probably the most overlooked of their catalogue, but it is a great example of a group with a unique vision. More lo-fi than their later efforts, this drew comparisons to Neutral Milk Hotel, but this applies mostly to the lyrical themes. This is a sometimes hilarious, sometimes serious collection of songs set in various historical locations and eras. The Decemberists hadn't quite learned how to evoke emotion as powerfully as on later efforts, but this is a consistently enjoyable and rewarding listen from a creative band. 4.2/5 Best song: "California One/Youth And Beauty Brigade". | | 3 |  | The Decemberists
The Hazards Of Love
The rock opera. Everyone knew The Decemberists were going to have to do it. Their previous albums had followed a progression of increasingly creative and epic storytelling. After The Crane Wife, with its two suites, this is really the only album the band could have made. A crazy story about a woman who meets a shape-shifting fawn in the woods, falls in love with him, and angers his mother the forest queen; with different singers and musical styles for each character, ranging from folk to prog to heavy metal, this is one of the most creative and best rock operas I've ever head. And, for all its seeming bombast, it manages to evoke emotion. "These hazards of love / never more will trouble us". 4.6/5. Best song: "The Wanting Comes In Waves/Repaid" | | 2 |  | The Decemberists
Picaresque
The Decemberists' third album saw them get fully theatrical: the cover presents the album as a play. This collection contains many of their best and most creative songs, from "The Infanta" to "16 Military Wives" to "The Engine Driver" and, of course, "The Mariner's Revenge Song". Simply put, there is not a single weak track here. Every member of the band is at their best. The only thing keeping this from being a full classic in my mind is its lack of lyrical cohesion. 4.7/5. Best song: "16 Military Wives" (though it could be almost any of them) | | 1 |  | The Decemberists
The King Is Dead
Here is probably the most controversial installment in this list. Yes, The King Is Dead is the best Decemberists album. Upon its release, it was called their most accessible (which is true), but some mistook that to mean it was their weakest. Here The Decemberists took on straight-up Americana, and ended up making their most easily enjoyable, most cohesive, and most powerful album. The themes here are work, seasons, nature, devotion, change, unity, and release. Every song here has something relatable. Colin Meloy decided to bring out the feels here. What makes this album so transcendent is its richness. The arrangements are all gorgeous and evocative, the melodies sweet and catchy. The Americana may throw some earlier fans off (there's pedal steel here!), and sure, this is The Decemberists' least original album, but let me ask you: Who cares about originality when they did almost everything here perfectly? 5/5. Best song: "June Hymn" | |
theBoneyKing
08.09.15 | Please bash me to bits now. | grannypantys
08.09.15 | 2-6-4-1-3 | Sowing
08.09.15 | Any Decemberists ranking is cool by me. My only question is how 1 and 5 can be so far apart when they're exactly the same. Also 5 > 1. | theBoneyKing
08.09.15 | I feel 5 draws a bit more from their earlier albums than 1 ("Cavalry Captain", "Philomena", "The Wrong Year"), and 5 has the few shorter tracks towards the end that have never really clicked for me. Also musically I just feel that 1 is more evocative, and more cohesive overall.
But it is just my opinion of course. | Sowing
08.09.15 | Fair enough. 1 is amazing so no qualms. My ranking would go: 6, 5, 1, 3, 4. 2, 7. | theBoneyKing
08.09.15 | At least we can agree on 7 being the weakest. | Sowing
08.09.15 | Yeah, I know some people that hold it in high regard because of its authenticity or something, but I've always found it lethargic to a fault; or in other words just flat out boring. | Capablanca
08.09.15 | I agree with you that The Perfect Crime is quite irritating and repetitive, but no way is TCW number 6. | theBoneyKing
08.09.15 | I mean I only have TCW ranked so low because I have the others rated so high. | Capablanca
08.09.15 | Maybe it's because I like my Decemberists in the epic, blown out side of things, the humble accessible songs are nice but don't resonate it with me that much. My list would go something like 3,2,6,1,4,5,7, TKID and C&C switching places depending the mood. | Sinternet
08.09.15 | 2,6,5,3,1,4,7 for me. | theBoneyKing
08.09.15 | Tbh I can understand pretty much any ranking that has Her Majesty at the bottom. | porcupinetheater
08.09.15 | Castaways and Cutouts has been my favorite of theirs for quite awhile now - the atmosphere on that one always sounds like something you would here walking down the wharf played some raggedy people huddled under an awning and wearing gloves with missing fingers. | PappyMason
08.09.15 | Great list. I definitely need to get into them. | theBoneyKing
08.09.15 | Do it. I suggest any of my top 4 as a starting point, depending on your tastes. | Sowing
08.09.15 | I agree with Boney, although I'd also include 6 as a good starting point. It's what got me into them and now I love all of their albums, no matter what style. | dimsim3478
08.09.15 | "Yes, The King Is Dead is the best Decemberists album."
NAH |
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