#365songs (109 / 365)

For some, The Crane Wife was where The Decemberists tipped over too far into self-indulgent progginess, but for me it was the just-right Goldilocks album between The Hazards of Love (which almost everyone agreed was Too Much) and everything that preceded it. The tripartite "The Island" was probably the make-or-break moment for almost everyone, and for me it fell decisively on the side of "make."

It's loosely inspired by The Tempest, I guess, and while I was probably more into Shakespeare in high school than most, that particular play is one that passed me by, so that part didn't mean much of anything to me. No, I just liked "The Island" because it rocks in multiple different ways. The stompy intro? The seriously prog-flavored middle section? The "La-haaaaaaaa" as the band goes nuts? The key change? I'm sorry. Maybe this is self-indulgent but it's like as hard as the bookish Decemberists have ever rocked. The last section is more of a classic Decemberists sound and not quite as thrilling but at minute 9, it's a nice come-down and it does feel earned. I think I had listened to the Decemberists before this, but opening with the gorgeous, straightforward "The Crane Wife 3" (I learned the term in medias res from reviews of this album) and rolling straight into "The Island" was where I really said, "Oh, I think this band has something here."

Bonus fact: my mom gave me this CD for Christmas. If memory serves, I did not receive it sealed because she had already listened to it a bunch of times before gifting it. Some might consider this a party foul but it's not like CDs wear out on that kind of timeline so I actually admired her chutzpah.