The Crane Wife
Encyclopedia
The Crane Wife is an album by The Decemberists, released in 2006. It was produced by Tucker Martine
and Chris Walla
, and is the band's first album on the Capitol Records
label. The album was inspired by a Japanese folk tale, and centers on two song cycles, The Crane Wife and The Island, the latter of which was inspired by William Shakespeare
's The Tempest
. National Public Radio listeners voted The Crane Wife the best album of 2006.
The album cover was made by Portland artist Carson Ellis
, Colin Meloy
's wife, who has created artwork for each of their albums.
during WWII. During this siege, the German army surrounded the city entirely, preventing anything from going in or out. As a result, many died of starvation, and the final death-toll is estimated to be over one million dead. The song also has a political undertone to it; it is stated that despite the fact that people put their faith in the government which swore to protect them, they ended up being left unprepared and unequipped to fight the Germans off. The song references Nikolai Vavilov
, a Russian botanist who was murdered by Stalin, in the lyrics.
. The UVF is a Protestant paramilitary
organization. The Shankill Butchers split off of the UVF in the mid-70's and carried out a series of grisly murders. These are the basis of the song. The Butchers abducted 7 random Catholic citizens of Northern Ireland and killed them in the middle of the night by slashing their throats. They also carried out several other shootings and bomb attacks, killing as many as 30 people. The lines "The Shankill Butchers ride tonight//You better shut your windows tight" are a warning to protect yourself from being abducted and murdered by the Butchers.
. It was ranked #41 on Pitchfork Media
's list of the top 50 albums of 2006. JustPressPlay named it the second best album of the 2000s. Humorously, Jim DeRogatis
of the Chicago Sun-Times
called it "the best Jethro Tull
album since Heavy Horses
." The album has sold 284,000 copies in the United States up to December 2008.
"The Perfect Crime 2" was played on the popular television show Gilmore Girls in an episode entitled "'S Wonderful, 'S Marvelous" (Season 7, Episode 4).
"The Island: Come and See" was played during the first episode of New Amsterdam
.
Tucker Martine
Tucker Martine is an American, Grammy nominated record producer, musician and composer who has worked with artists such as My Morning Jacket, Mudhoney, Bill Frisell, The Decemberists, Sufjan Stevens, R.E.M., Laura Veirs, Spoon, and Tift Merritt...
and Chris Walla
Chris Walla
Christopher Walla is an American musician and music producer, most notable for being the guitarist for the band Death Cab for Cutie. He is also a former DJ of KCWU, 88.1 The Burg...
, and is the band's first album on the Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
label. The album was inspired by a Japanese folk tale, and centers on two song cycles, The Crane Wife and The Island, the latter of which was inspired by William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's The Tempest
The Tempest
The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,...
. National Public Radio listeners voted The Crane Wife the best album of 2006.
The album cover was made by Portland artist Carson Ellis
Carson Ellis
Carson Friedman Ellis is an artist living in Portland, Oregon. She is best known for her children's book illustrations and her album art.- Career :...
, Colin Meloy
Colin Meloy
Colin Patrick Henry Meloy is the lead singer and songwriter for the Portland, Oregon, folk-rock band The Decemberists. In addition to vocals, he performs with an acoustic guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bouzouki, harmonica, percussion and interpretive hand gestures.-Early life...
's wife, who has created artwork for each of their albums.
The story of The Crane Wife
The Crane Wife is an old Japanese folktale. While there are many variations of the tale, a common version is that a poor man finds an injured crane on his doorstep (or outside with an arrow in it), takes it in and nurses it back to health. After he releases the crane, a woman appears at his doorstep with whom he falls in love and marries. Because they need money, his wife offers to weave wondrous clothes out of silk that they can sell at the market, but only if he agrees never to watch her making them. They begin to sell them and live a comfortable life, but he soon makes her weave them more and more. Oblivious to his wife's diminishing health, his greed increases. He eventually peeks in to see what she is doing to make the silk she weaves so desirable. He is shocked to discover that at the loom is a crane plucking feathers from her own body and weaving them into the loom. The crane, seeing him, flies away and never returns.When The War Came
This song is a portrayal of the 900 day Siege of LeningradSiege of Leningrad
The Siege of Leningrad, also known as the Leningrad Blockade was a prolonged military operation resulting from the failure of the German Army Group North to capture Leningrad, now known as Saint Petersburg, in the Eastern Front theatre of World War II. It started on 8 September 1941, when the last...
during WWII. During this siege, the German army surrounded the city entirely, preventing anything from going in or out. As a result, many died of starvation, and the final death-toll is estimated to be over one million dead. The song also has a political undertone to it; it is stated that despite the fact that people put their faith in the government which swore to protect them, they ended up being left unprepared and unequipped to fight the Germans off. The song references Nikolai Vavilov
Nikolai Vavilov
Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov was a prominent Russian and Soviet botanist and geneticist best known for having identified the centres of origin of cultivated plants...
, a Russian botanist who was murdered by Stalin, in the lyrics.
- "The last great book I read was Hunger by Elise BlackwellElise BlackwellElise Blackwell is an American novelist, born in Austin, Texas and raised primarily in southern Louisiana. She studied creative writing at Louisiana State University before entering the MFA Program of the University of California, Irvine...
. It’s about the siege of Leningrad in World War II, and there was a botanical institute. During the siege, which lasted a long time, the entire population was starving, but all of the botanists in the institute swore themselves to protect the catalog of seeds and plants and things, from not only a starving population, but also from themselves. It’s pretty amazing. I actually ended up writing "When the War Came", a song on the new record, about that." - Colin MeloyColin MeloyColin Patrick Henry Meloy is the lead singer and songwriter for the Portland, Oregon, folk-rock band The Decemberists. In addition to vocals, he performs with an acoustic guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bouzouki, harmonica, percussion and interpretive hand gestures.-Early life...
Shankill Butchers
Shankill Butchers is a song about the splinter group of the Ulster Volunteer Force, the Shankill ButchersShankill Butchers
The Shankill Butchers is the name given to an Ulster loyalist gang, many of whom were members of the Ulster Volunteer Force . The gang conducted paramilitary activities during the 1970s in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was most notorious for its late-night kidnapping, torture and murder of random...
. The UVF is a Protestant paramilitary
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
organization. The Shankill Butchers split off of the UVF in the mid-70's and carried out a series of grisly murders. These are the basis of the song. The Butchers abducted 7 random Catholic citizens of Northern Ireland and killed them in the middle of the night by slashing their throats. They also carried out several other shootings and bomb attacks, killing as many as 30 people. The lines "The Shankill Butchers ride tonight//You better shut your windows tight" are a warning to protect yourself from being abducted and murdered by the Butchers.
Track listing
- "The Crane Wife 3" – 4:18
- "The Island" – 12:26
- "Come and See"
- "The Landlord's Daughter"
- "You'll Not Feel the Drowning"
- "Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)" (duet with Laura VeirsLaura VeirsLaura Pauline Veirs is an American singer-songwriter.Veirs was raised in Colorado, studied geology and Mandarin Chinese at Carleton College, worked as a translator for a geological expedition in China, and now lives in Portland, Oregon.While growing up, she heard folk-country, classical, and pop...
) – 4:18 - "O Valencia!O Valencia!"O Valencia!" is the fifth single by indie rock band The Decemberists, and the first released from their fourth studio album, The Crane Wife....
" – 3:47 - "The Perfect Crime #2The Perfect Crime No. 2"The Perfect Crime #2" is a song on American indie rock band The Decemberists' fourth album The Crane Wife. The song is a sequel to "The Perfect Crime #1", a song which did not appear on The Crane Wife and was later released as a bonus track....
" – 5:33 - "When the War Came" – 5:06
- "Shankill Butchers" – 4:39
- "Summersong" – 3:31
- "The Crane Wife 1 & 2" – 11:19
- "Sons & Daughters" – 5:13
Bonus tracks
- "After the Bombs" (iTunesITunesiTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
bonus track) – 5:04 - "Culling of the Fold" (Tower RecordsTower RecordsTower Records was a retail music chain that was based in Sacramento, California. It currently exists as an international franchise and an online music store....
bonus track) – 4:24 - "The Perfect Crime #1 + The Day I Knew You'd Not Come Back" (StarbucksStarbucksStarbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
bonus track) – 15:17 - "Hurdles Even Here" (StarbucksStarbucksStarbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
bonus track) - 4:31
Reception
The album was well received by critics, earning an 84% positive out of all reviews culled by MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
. It was ranked #41 on Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
's list of the top 50 albums of 2006. JustPressPlay named it the second best album of the 2000s. Humorously, Jim DeRogatis
Jim DeRogatis
James "Jim" DeRogatis is an American music critic and co-host of Sound Opinions. DeRogatis has written articles for magazines such as Spin, Guitar World and Modern Drummer, and for fifteen years was the pop music critic for the Chicago Sun-Times.He joined Columbia College Chicago as a full-time...
of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
called it "the best Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull (band)
Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...
album since Heavy Horses
Heavy Horses
Heavy Horses is the eleventh studio album by Jethro Tull, released on 10 April 1978. It is considered the second album in a trilogy of folk-rock albums by Jethro Tull, although folk music's influence is evident on a great number of Jethro Tull releases...
." The album has sold 284,000 copies in the United States up to December 2008.
In popular culture
"The Crane Wife 3" has been featured in several commercials and television shows, including:- "We," a Mike MillsMike Mills (director)Michael C. "Mike" Mills is an American film and music video director and graphic designer. He is perhaps best known for his independent films Thumbsucker and Beginners.-Early life:...
-directed commercial for AT&TAT&TAT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
made in partnership with Team USA in the 2008 Summer Olympics2008 Summer OlympicsThe 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
. - An episode of the television comedy ScrubsScrubs (TV series)Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...
entitled "My Friend With Money." - An episode of SkinsSkins (TV series)Skins is a BAFTA award-winning British teen drama that follows a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England, through the two years of college. The controversial plot line explores issues such as dysfunctional families, mental illness , adolescent sexuality, substance abuse and death...
entitled Maxxie and AnwarMaxxie and Anwar"Maxxie and Anwar" is the sixth episode of British television programme Skins. It was written by Simon Amstell and Ben Schiffer and was directed by Chris Clough. It aired on E4 on 1 March 2007...
. - The trailer for the film Sunshine CleaningSunshine CleaningSunshine Cleaning is a 2008 comedy-drama film starring Amy Adams and Emily Blunt. Directed by Christine Jeffs and written by Megan Holley, the film premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2008. It was purchased by Overture Films for distribution and opened in limited release in...
. - Covered by Marianne Faithful on her album Easy Come, Easy GoEasy Come, Easy Go (Marianne Faithfull album)Easy Come, Easy Go is a studio album of cover versions by English singer-songwriter Marianne Faithfull, which was released in the EU on 10 November 2008. The album is produced by Hal Willner and features guest appearances from a variety of musicians...
. She performed it live when she appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, March 31, 2009, and on Later Live, presented by Jools HollandJools HollandJulian Miles "Jools" Holland OBE, DL is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer, and television presenter. He was a founder of the band Squeeze and his work has involved him with many artists including Sting, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, The Who, David Gilmour and Bono.Holland is a...
, transmitted on April 14, 2009 on the British BBC2 TV channel.
"The Perfect Crime 2" was played on the popular television show Gilmore Girls in an episode entitled "'S Wonderful, 'S Marvelous" (Season 7, Episode 4).
"The Island: Come and See" was played during the first episode of New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam (TV series)
New Amsterdam is an American television drama, which premiered March 4, 2008 on Fox, and ended after its eighth episode.-Premise and plot:...
.
External links
- When The War Came by The Decemberists
- Decemberists Push the Envelope on 'Crane Wife'
- Crane Wife Review and NPR interview with Colin Meloy on YellowSubterfuge.com
- NPR Listeners Pick the Best CDs of 2006 - The Crane Wife picked as #1