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THE DECEMBERISTS 'The King Is Dead' (Capitol)
With what sounds like the opening of a classic Neil Young album, the Decemberists make it known right away that they've stripped things back down after 2009's prog-rock concept affair "The Hazards of Love."
"Here we come to the turning of the season," Colin Meloy announces at the outset of "Don't Carry it All," and we're off with the Decemberists in their more jaunty, jangly, folk-flavored mode. The Portland, Ore., band sounds thrilled to be back in that comfort zone, spinning simpler songs with sweet melodies and stirring ensemble playing.
In this framework, the masterful Chris Funk shines on his arsenal of string instruments, from pedal steel to bouzouki, as does utility player Jenny Conlee. Peter Buck adds a heavy R.E.M. vibe to "Calamity Song" and the exquisite "Down by the Water," one of seven songs in which Mr. Meloy soars beautifully with alt-country diva Gillian Welch.
While the narratives are pared, Meloy in miniature sticks to his usual obsessions of love and war, offsetting "yellow bonnets" with "the reek of bones."
-- Scott Mervis
GREGG ALLMAN 'Low Country Blues' (Rounder)
Gregg Allman hasn't been distinguished by his solo work, but here, on his first album in 14 years, he gets the full T-Bone Burnett treatment, meaning some of it sounds like it was recorded on a porch near a swamp -- from a distance.
It supplies that air of richness and authenticity, as if he needed that, to a deep-bluesy set of obscurities from the likes of B.B. King, Muddy Waters and Magic Sam. Among those stirring the gumbo are session players Dr. John, Doyle Bramhall II, Jay Bellerose and Dennis Crouch.
First Published January 20, 2011 12:00 am
