The Decemberists Hazards Of Love

I heard that Hazards of Love was going to come out in APRIL of 2009!?

The fans heard March 24 announced during the current tour.

I can't wait!!

it's the greatest thing i have ever heard. EVER.

Then that is unfortunate, my fine feathered friend.

Greatest ever? Perhaps not, but we've all experienced the pure joy of listening to something for the first, second, third time and being reminded this is exactly why we love music. With time it may 'merely' be considered a very fine album.

That would be no bad thing. It is fantastic.

Not really.

It took me a couple of listens but I really really love it :D

I would pay so much money to see this as a play... Colin is missing out on a huge opportunity here.

exceptional. took my breath away on first and repeated listening. repeated listens definitely required. soak it up...A+.

Colin and Yim Yames? I love them both.

this is as near perfect a pop album as you can get.
the bizarre story works a treat and the the hazards of love 4(i think)suicidal finale is one of the greatest love songs of all time.i was never a big steeleye span fan but i loved the good bits of jethro tull-it's all here.sandy denny meets pink floyd meets tolkein's accoustic led zeppelin.there's even hints of wings.go on enjoy something different it's brilliant

isn't it a lovely night it is the best!

i love the decemberists, but there just aren't enough high points for me to love this album. the best parts are those that feature shara worden, hands down.

I also love the Decemberists, but this album is a tough pill to swallow. I like the concept of a rock album, but the story is hard to follow. Who is the rake? He is narrator and Margaret's true love? What happens to Margaret's child?
True, the musical composing is wonderful, and Robyn Hitchcock is a bonus, but not being able to identify with any song is vexxing.
Their first album was their best.

Yeah, the story is a bit tough to follow, but does that make the music any less fantastic? Do people really listen to Metallica's lyrics? While Meloy is his usual self with his floral word choice, the music itself is the achievement. I think the fun comes in slowly unraveling the story through many listens: almost as if with The Sound and the Fury. take this one slowly.

As far as I can make it out, The rake captures margaret, and meloy singing all of the male voices doesn't help the clarity of the story. William is the shape shifting fawn from the second song, who is under the control of the queen. This is as far as I can make it out so far, but I could be wrong.

Hazards of love is a brilliant album. Echoboomers may be disappointed by the lack of a single to download and listen on iPods with their Brittany Spears and whatever crap Madonna has out now. Part of the fun is figuring out the story. I’m not loosing any sleep over what happened to Margaret’s baby, forget about it. I think if you are being distracted by stuff like that, you are probably missing the whole point. A rock album is not simply a concept, but rather it is an art form that has been nearly lost. Albums used to be cohesive works (sometimes telling a story i.e. PF The Wall, sometimes not i.e. Sgt. Peppers) and you spent time with them. The bottom line is this, if it engages you and moves you it is art and worth the $16 you spent on the CD. Hats off to the Decemberists for giving us another cohesive thought provoking album.

To better follow the story, I recommend finding the lyrics to all the songs and having a listen while following along. I found them on lyrics.wikia.com, which provides them in the form of a play script providing the characters' names for each part. This allowed me to distinguish the Rake from William (both sung by Meloy) and discover the Queen and the wonderful story of revenge against the Rake. Although much of the story is implicit and not contained in the lyrics, that only adds to the charm of the album. I had no problem following along with the entire storyline after getting the lyrics and think it is fabulous. The medieval northern european characteristics of the writing is excellent, and something I try to emphasize as much as possible when explaining some of the lyrics to my non-native english speaking friends. But above all the uncountable references to nature and especially water provide the conflict and embodiment for each of "the love" between the protagonists, "the wanting" and "the hazards of love". Unbelievably beautifully written and performed by a rock band that deserves much more credit than they are receiving from the typical indy rock critic media sources who don't seem to be able to dig very deep into anything. I agree with all of you who have said this is a brilliant album.

Colin aint no Roger Watters nor Ian Anderson, His medieval victorian lyrics dont work, He takes himself too seriously even the friking shakespeare droped a laugh once in a wile or not? so he should contact a good lyricist or drop that thing he does, Try Harder or quit trying.
If he wants to do music about a fairy tale there are plenty already written, if he just shut up and do musics, becaus their music is PRETY GOOD, a brilliant music and really, really, bad lyrics.

PD: the story is pretty good, but I repeat Colin is not a good lyricist or writter, Hazards of Love isnt The Wall, even if the story is more coherent