Shirley Elizabeth Collins MBE is an English folk singer who was a significant contributor to the English Folk Revival of the 1960s and 1970s. She often performed and recorded with her sister Dolly, whose accompaniment on piano and portative organ created unique settings for her sister's plain, austere singing style.
Castaways and Cutouts is the first full-length album by The Decemberists, originally released on May 21, 2002, on Hush Records and reissued on May 6, 2003, on Kill Rock Stars. The album's title is taken from a lyric of the song "California One/Youth and Beauty Brigade".
"The Cherry-Tree Carol" is a ballad with the rare distinction of being both a Christmas carol and one of the Child Ballads. The song itself is very old, reportedly sung in some form at the Feast of Corpus Christi in the early 15th century. The versions eventually collected by Francis James Child are thought to be a combination of up to three separate carols that merged through the centuries.
5 Songs is a six-track EP by The Decemberists initially self-released in 2001. It is the first record the band released. The misleading title owes to the fact that the final track, "Apology Song", was written after the original self-produced CD was released. Meloy liked it so much that it was added to the album when it was re-released by Hush Records in 2003.
The Tain is an EP by The Decemberists released in 2004 by Acuarela Discos and in 2005 by Kill Rock Stars. The single 18-plus minute track, in five parts, is named after the Irish mythological epic Táin Bó Cúailnge, often simply called The Táin. With production help from Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie, the Decemberists recorded the EP over the course of four days in Walla's studio in Seattle, Washington. The album cover was designed by the Portland artist Carson Ellis, who is Colin Meloy's wife and has created artwork for each of the group's albums.
Colin Meloy Sings Morrissey was the first solo project released by Portland musician Colin Meloy of The Decemberists. The album was released in January, 2005 and was available exclusively on Meloy's first solo tour. Copies of it were later made available to raise money to benefit The Decemberists after their trailer with all their instruments was stolen in 2005.
No Roses is an album by Shirley Collins and the Albion Country Band. It was recorded at Sound Techniques, and Air Studios in London, in the summer of 1971. It was produced by Sandy Roberton and Ashley Hutchings. It was released in October 1971 on the Pegasus label.
Carson Friedman Ellis is an American artist known for her children's book illustrations and her album art. She received a Caldecott Honor for Du Iz Tak? (2016).
Tarkio was an indie rock band from Missoula, Montana which included Colin Meloy prior to his forming The Decemberists. Tarkio broke up in 1999, but found new popularity in a retrospective released by Kill Rock Stars in 2006.
"The Last Beat of My Heart" is a song written, produced and recorded by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was released in late 1988 as the third and final single from the band's ninth studio album, Peepshow.
Connect Sets is an EP by The Decemberists, released exclusively for Sony Connect on November 17, 2006. The EP also became available from the iTunes Store in November, 2007. It consists of three live versions of songs from their album, The Crane Wife, and a John Denver cover.
"Sister I'm a Poet" (2:44) is a song by Morrissey. It was featured as a B-side to the single "Everyday Is Like Sunday" as well as the live album Beethoven Was Deaf, compilation albums World of Morrissey, The CD Singles '88–91', The Best of Morrissey, and promotional film release Hulmerist. Though a fan favourite, the song was never released as an A-side.
"Cupid" is a song by American singer Sam Cooke, released on May 16, 1961. It charted at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 20 on the Hot R&B Sides chart; the track performed best in the United Kingdom, peaking at number seven on the UK Singles Chart. Cooke's producers had asked him to write a song for a girl they had seen on a Perry Como TV show — but once they heard her sing, they kept "Cupid" for Cooke himself. It was Cooke's idea to drop in the sound of an arrow being fired "straight to my lover's heart." Personnel on the recording included Cooke's session regulars Clifton White and Rene Hall on guitar, Clifford Hills on bass, Earl Palmer on drums and Joseph Gibbons on guitar and banjo.
Colin Meloy Sings Live! is the first live album released by Portland musician Colin Meloy, frontman for the Decemberists. The album was released in April 2008, and is a collection of live recordings from various nights on the artist's solo tour in early 2006. It includes stripped down versions of songs by the Decemberists, a song that dates back to Meloy's college band Tarkio, live banter and covers of The Smiths, R.E.M., Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, and Shirley Collins. It includes two previously unreleased songs, "Dracula's Daughter" and "Wonder", the latter of which makes reference to Meloy's first—and recently at the time—born son.
Colin Meloy Sings Sam Cooke is a tour-only EP by Colin Meloy, lead singer of The Decemberists. It is the third in a series of EPs of covers of influential artists, which include works of Morrissey and Shirley Collins. The EP was released to accompany his 2008 solo tour, and has five covers of songs previously performed by the American gospel, R&B, soul and pop singer Sam Cooke. Four songs were written or co-written by Cooke; one, "Summertime", is a pop standard that Cooke had performed in 1957. The artwork of the EP was designed by Carson Ellis, who has done much of the artwork for The Decemberists, and all of Colin Meloy's solo work. The EP includes vocals by Laura Gibson.
The King Is Dead is the sixth studio album by The Decemberists, released on Capitol Records on January 14, 2011. Described as the "most pastoral, rustic record they've ever made" by Douglas Wolk of Rolling Stone, the album reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart for the week ending February 5, 2011. The song "This Is Why We Fight" reached number 19 on the U.S Alternative Songs Chart, while the song "Down by the Water" also charted in the United States. In November 2011, the band released an EP of album out-takes, entitled Long Live the King.
Long Live the King is an EP by the American indie rock band The Decemberists, released on November 1, 2011, on Capitol. The release is composed of out-takes from their sixth studio album, The King Is Dead. The titles of both combine to create the traditional proclamation, "The king is dead, long live the king!"
Wildwood: The Wildwood Chronicles, Book 1 is a 2011 children's fantasy novel by The Decemberists' singer-songwriter Colin Meloy, illustrated by his wife Carson Ellis. The 541 page novel, inspired by classic fantasy novels and folk tales, is the story of two seventh-graders who are drawn into a hidden, magical forest, while trying to rescue a baby kidnapped by crows. They get caught up in an epic struggle, and learn of their connection to a magical parallel world while confronting adult authorities who are often cowardly or dishonest. The natural beauty and local color of Portland, Oregon, features prominently in the book.
