Colin Meloy (born Colin Patrick Henry Meloy on October 5, 1974, in Helena, Montana) is an American musician. He is lead singer and songwriter for The Decemberists and has released three EPs consisting entirely of the works of Morrissey, Shirley Collins, and Sam Cooke (in 2005, 2006, and 2008 respectively).

Colin Meloy Sings Sam Cooke is a tour-only EP by Colin Meloy, lead singer of The Decemberists. It is the third in a series of EPs of covers of influential artists, which include works of Morrissey (Colin Meloy Sings Morrissey) and Shirley Collins (Colin Meloy Sings Shirley Collins). The EP was released to accompany his 2008 solo tour, and has five covers of songs previously performed by the American gospel, R&B, soul and pop singer Sam Cooke. Four songs were written or co-written by Cooke; one, 'Summertime', is a pop standard that Cooke had performed in 1957. The artwork of the EP was designed by Carson Ellis, who has done much of the artwork for The Decemberists, and all of Colin Meloy's solo work. The EP includes vocals by Laura Gibson.^[1][2]

Track listing[edit]

1. 'Cupid'
2. 'Summertime'
3. 'That's Where It's At'
4. 'Good Times'
5. 'Bring It On Home To Me'

References[edit]

1. ^'Colin Meloy Announces Solo Tour Dates'. Glide Magazine. February 4, 2008. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
2. ^'Meloy is just so darned comfortable on stage'. OnMilwaukee. April 23, 2008. Retrieved April 2, 2019.

Colin Meloy Sings Live! is the first live album released by Portland musician Colin Meloy, frontman for the Decemberists. The album was released in April 2008, and is a collection of live recordings from various nights on the artist's solo tour in early 2006.^[12] It includes stripped down versions of songs by the Decemberists, a song that dates back to Meloy's college band Tarkio ('Devil's Elbow'), live banter and covers of The Smiths, R.E.M., Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, and Shirley Collins. It includes two previously unreleased songs, 'Dracula's Daughter' and 'Wonder', the latter of which makes reference to Meloy's first—and recently at the time—born son.^[13]

The arrangements are simply Meloy's voice and guitar throughout. Some reviewers have noted problems with Meloy's guitar during the recording and one refers to the resulting sound quality as 'disappointing.'^[2][14] Meloy says the experience of playing Decemberists' songs without the full band was 'liberating,' at least initially: '...I can kind of start and stop songs, I can screw up without throwing everybody off, I can talk as much as I like without worrying about people getting antsy to move on to the next song. I guess those are the more obvious differences. But then it always gets a little lonely after I’ve done a handful of shows. I’m sure by the end of this tour I’ll be ready to get everybody on stage again with me.'^[13]

Meloy supported the release with another solo tour during April and May 2008. The opening act was Laura Gibson.^[13][15]

Track listing[edit]

1. 'Devil's Elbow' - 4:17
2. 'We Both Go Down Together' - 3:10
3. 'Evoking a Campfire Singalong' - 0:48
4. 'The Gymnast, High Above the Ground' - 6:43
5. 'Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect/Dreams' - 4:55
6. 'Dracula's Daughter' - 2:41
7. 'Wonder' - 3:01
8. 'A Brief Introduction to Shirley Collins' - 1:46
9. 'Barbara Allen' (traditional) - 3:28
10. 'The Engine Driver' - 3:54
11. 'On the Bus Mall' - 5:59
12. 'A Skull, a Ship, and a Sheep' - 1:54
13. 'California One/Youth and Beauty Brigade/Ask' - 12:22
14. 'The Bachelor and the Bride' - 4:10
15. 'A Cautionary Song' - 3:43
16. 'Red Right Ankle' - 4:17
17. 'Bandit Queen' - 6:45

'Blues Run The Game' - 3:11 (bonus on vinyl version)

'Shiny' - 5:52 (bonus MP3 with download of album from insound.com and play.com)

'Grace Cathedral Hill' - 4:47 (bonus MP3 with download of album from insound.com and play.com)

References[edit]

1. ^'Colin Meloy Sings Live! by Colin Meloy'. Metacritic. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
2. ^ ^abMonger, James Christopher, 'Review: Colin Meloy Sings Live!', Allmusic
3. ^Gordon, Scott (2008-04-07). 'Colin Meloy: Colin Meloy Sings Live!'. The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
4. ^Hughes, Rich (2008-04-07). 'Colin Meloy - Colin Meloy Sings Live!'. The Line of Best Fit. Archived from the original on 2008-04-08. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
5. ^Saunders, Chris. 'Colin Meloy - Colin Meloy Sings Live (Rough Trade)'. MusicOMH. Archived from the original on 2008-04-07. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
6. ^Howe, Brian (2008-04-08). 'Colin Meloy: Sings Live!'. Pitchfork. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
7. ^Fiander, Matthew (2008-04-10). 'Colin Meloy: Colin Meloy Sings Live!'. PopMatters. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
8. ^Zimmerman, Shannon (September 2007). 'New CDs'. Spin. p. 103. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
9. ^Kirby, Jeff (2008-05-01). 'Album Review'. The Stranger. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
10. ^Gonzalez, Erik (2008-04-17). 'Colin Meloy Sings Live'. Three Imaginary Girls. Retrieved 2019-10-10.
11. ^Nadelle, David. 'Music Review: Colin Meloy - Colin Meloy Sings Live!'. Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 2019-10-10.
12. ^Ayers, Michael D., 'LATEST BUZZ', Billboard, 120:11, March 15, 2008, p.34
13. ^ ^abcMaddux, Rachael, 'Catching Up With... Colin Meloy', Paste Magazine Online, April 2, 2008 10:20 AM
14. ^Maddux, Rachael, 'Review: Colin Meloy - Colin Meloy Sings Live!', Paste, 42, May 2008
15. ^Phillips, Amy, 'Colin Meloy Sings Sam Cooke, Announces Solo Tour'Archived 2008-06-15 at the Wayback Machine, Pitchfork Media, Jan 31, 2008 at 6:49pm

External links[edit]

Colin Meloy Sings Sam Cooke Download Free

• Colin Meloy page at MySpace (streaming several tracks)

Colin Meloy Sings Sam Cooke Download Free

Colin Meloy Sings Live