soul was willing

Colin Meloy - We Both Go Down Together (Live) .

Sometimes a good track is great because of the moment in time it captured, sometimes a good tune in a record can never really be replicated again--either because of studio magic or some other special element that defies reproduction. One of the best ways to really measure a song is to hear it different ways and see how it holds up.

I've seen Colin Meloy perform this song with The Decemberists as their regular band, and with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and this solo version. And with each version, the song and the story are front and center. Whether there is a full section of strings or just six, the intensity of this ill-fated couple is there.

Meloy is perfectly suited to the intimate solo show, although they've certainly gotten bigger over the years--in DC it's quite a number of steps between the Iota Cafe and the 9:30 Club. When I saw him at Iota he had the audience completely enthralled the whole time with intricate stories about each song--a tiny bit of his theatricality comes out at the very end of this track but it's really just a hint of what's there. Full solo album out on April 8th on Kill Rock Stars