Can a live set be called "stripped down" when it has a 16-minute folk- rock opus, a yodeling drummer and nautical themed audience participation? In the case of a band as overweeningly theatrical as the Decemberists can be, the answer is...  kinda. This is a surprisingly crisp live LP, even at two discs: taut and driving, full of Celtic and country flourishes, held together by richly melodic tunes. Even grandiose moments have kick; the 10-minute "I Was Meant for the Stage" goes from ballad bonhomie to guitar wailing and free-jazz fanfare – a sweet explosion to singe your sweater vest.

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• Photos: Random Notes

“I'm Yours”

Jason Mraz re-emerged after his disappointing second album with this lead single, a Jack Johnson-esque ditty about giving yourself fully to someone else. The success of the reggae-tinged song (it earned two Grammy nods and a spot on the Billboard singles chart for well over a year) was something the folk-pop singer never predicted when he wrote it in 15 minutes at home. "I played a happy-hippie chord progression that would probably work without 50 different Bob Marley songs," he told Rolling Stone. "I thought, 'It's too novelty. This is a nursery rhyme,'" concluding that "you can never guess what's gonna be a hit."