The Decemberists: Hazards Of Love

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The Decemberists

Hazards Of Love

Release Date: March 24, 2009
Label: Capitol

Table of Contents

Abstract
More The Decemberists on Prefix
Tracklist
User Ratings
Comments

Abstract

The Decemberists' Hazards of Love, their second album for major label Capitol, is something of a rock opera about a girl named Margaret, her lover William, a lecherous rake, and a scary forest queen. So, basically, it's only slightly weird for the Decemberists.

Hazards is the follow-up to the Portland band's The Crane Wife, an album based on a Japanese folk tale, and features 17 songs and guest appearances from Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond, Jim James, and Robyn Hitchcock. The band had initially hoped to stage the album as a play, but lead singer Colin Meloy decided it was unstageable. Instead, the band has mentioned doing a tour where they play the album front to back.

~ Andrew Winistorfer

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Track list

Disc 1

1	Prelude
2	The Hazards of Love 1 (The Prettiest Whistles Won't Wrestle the Thistles Undone)
3	A Bower Scene
4	Won't Want for Love (Margaret in the Taiga)
5	The Hazards of Love 2 (Wager All)
6	The Queen's Approach
7	Isn't it a Lovely Night?
8	The Wanting Comes in Waves / Repaid
9	An Interlude
10	The Rake's Song
11	The Abduction of Margaret
12	The Queen's Rebuke / The Crossing
13	Annan Water
14	Margaret in Captivity
15	The Hazards of Love 3 (Revenge!)
16	The Wanting Comes in Waves (Reprise)
17	The Hazards of Love 4 (The Drowned)

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Who rated this album?

18 Responses

November 4, 2008 at 2:10 a.m.

Elle

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

November 26, 2008 at 10:08 p.m.

Stoutwoman

The fans heard March 24 announced during the current tour.

December 23, 2008 at 2:40 a.m.

Noahm

I can't wait!!

March 12, 2009 at 8:36 p.m.

Ryan

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

March 12, 2009 at 8:48 p.m.

andross

Then that is unfortunate, my fine feathered friend.

March 13, 2009 at 2:43 p.m.

me	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.

March 13, 2009 at 3:10 p.m.

andross

Not really.

March 17, 2009 at 10:30 a.m.

rachelq

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

March 19, 2009 at 5:09 p.m.

Allison

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

March 20, 2009 at 2:21 p.m.

gordy

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

March 24, 2009 at 2:25 p.m.

Dave

Colin and Yim Yames? I love them both.

March 29, 2009 at 10:16 p.m.

james mcnaughton

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

March 30, 2009 at 5:57 p.m.

camille

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

March 30, 2009 at 6:29 p.m.

monaco

6.5 out of 10

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.

April 7, 2009 at 6:52 a.m.

lorris

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.

April 8, 2009 at 10:19 a.m.

Mike

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.

April 21, 2009 at 8:53 a.m.

Dr.J

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.

October 6, 2009 at 11:23 a.m.

Nick

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.