Album Review: Iron & Wine “Around The Well”
May 23rd 2009 02:04
Just picked up this record today (double CD for only $9.99 at Best Buy!?! – not bad at all. They also had Bon Iver “For Emma” on sale for only $7.99!).
Around The Well is collection of Iron and Wine rarities, demos, etc. spanning Sam’s entire career. More than just for I&W Completists, this is a pretty good collection of songs. Overall, It is a very enjoyable record for those into the folk-rock revival that we have been experiencing lately. For I&W devotees, this is a must.
I have loved Sam’s music since I first heard his Postal Service cover “Such Great Heights” on the Garden State Soundtrack (included on Around The Well). On the strength of that tune, I bought his record “Our Endless Numbered Days” – still one of my favorite records ever (at least of the last decade). With each successive record, he seems to add more instruments (for better or for worse). Around The Well gives one the full perspective. It gives a nice cross-section of what Sam does: from sparse acoustic numbers to sweeping percussive numbers.
I prefer the earlier, acoustic only type stuff, but your mileage may vary, of course. Either way, this is a really good record. On scale of 1 to 10, I give it a 8.5.
Sam will be doing some (free) in-store appearances to support the record:
http://www.ironandwine.com
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