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Sam Beam is not only one of America's best songwriters, he's also easily one of the most consistent.
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Iron & Wine
Around the Well
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AMG Review of Around the Well
Andrew Leahey
All Music GuideNamed after a lyric from "The Trapeze Swinger," Around the Well collects two discs' worth of B-sides, rarities, soundtrack inclusions, and discarded tracks from the Iron & Wine catalog. Such compilations can be tricky to assemble, but Around the Well is both comprehensive and conveniently presented, with each disc representing the two amorphous halves of Iron & Wine's career. Disc one is limited to the group's early days, featuring the soft bedroom whispers, homespun acoustics, and resolutely lo-fi production that fueled Sam Beam's home recording sessions. Material from those same sessions would later pepper the set list of The Creek Drank the Cradle, but Around the Well pays attention to the songs that were cut from the album, offering several gems amidst a constant dream of pleasing, stay-in-bed songcraft. Meanwhile, the second disc highlights Iron & Wine's shift from intimate solo project to collaborative indie folk affair, beginning with the Our Endless Numbered Days sessions and culminating in the pastoral psychedelia of The Shepherd's Dog. Some of these selections are already familiar to Iron & Wine's most fervent fans, including Beam's cover of "Such Great Heights" (heard on the Garden State soundtrack, as well as an oddly kaleidoscopic M&Ms commercial) and the gorgeous concert staple "The Trapeze Swinger." Nevertheless, the compilation does offer some surprising inclusions -- just listen to the piano-fueled barroom strut of "Kingdom of the Animals," or the vaguely Middle Eastern experimentation of "Arms of a Thief" -- and Around the Well serves as a helpful reminder that a discarded Iron & Wine song is still better than many fine-tuned cuts from similar bands.
Iron & Wine: Around the Well (Review)
Review: Iron & Wine - Around the Well (* * * 1/2)
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Rarities and b-side collections are tricky beasts. On the one hand, fans should be thrilled about new material from one of their favorite artists. On the other, nothing says 'avoid me' like a selection of tunes that didn't make the cut on previous records. The age-old conundrum is presented once again with Iron & Wine's latest release, a two-disc album spanning 23 songs and 90 minutes comprised...
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Iron & Wine - Around the Well, Album Review
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Iron & Wine Around The Well Sub-Pop Records Out May 19th [63] [Rating Scale] 6.3 out of 10 stars Samuel Beam, AKA Iron and Wine, has come a long way since waiting tables back home in Columbia, South Carolina. With a storied background in the arts, music and film, it was only a matter of time before his laid-back folk sound reached [...]
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Love Vigilantes (New Order cover) - Iron & Wine
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This beautiful image from photographer, Ross Honeysett, reflects the passion and the longing from Bernard Sumner's words in this heartfelt cover of Love Vigilantes by Iron & Wine.
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MOG it up!
Iron & Wine - Around the Well, Album Review
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Iron & Wine Around The Well Sub-Pop Records Out May 19th [63] [Rating Scale] 6.3 out of 10 stars Samuel Beam, AKA Iron and Wine, has come a long way since waiting tables back home in Columbia, South Carolina. With a storied background in the arts, music and film, it was only a matter of time before his laid-back folk sound reached [...]
More >
Iron & Wine Announce B-sides Collection, Tour
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That spaniel looking dude up there, in case you've forgotten, is Sam Beam, or as you better know him Iron & Wine. He hasn't released a new record in a while, it's true, but he has been working pretty hard on the road, and now he's got a big box of goodies he found cleaning out his closet for you.It's called Around the Well and it's a B-Sides collection: you know the drill, "rare, unreleased dem...
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[video] Iron & Wine - "Love Vigilantes"
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I’ve always thought Iron & Wine’s transformation of New Order’s longing wartime ballad “Love Vigilantes” from a reflective piece of synth-pop into a typically beautiful folk song was one of Sam Beam’s most effective reinterpretations. It was performed by the band last night on The Jimmy Fallon Show (along with the brand new song “Godless Brother In Love”, featured below). “Love V
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Listen To New Music: Iron and Wine - Around The Well
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Listen to More CDsListen to Musical Justice
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Review: Iron & Wine - Around the Well (* * * 1/2)
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Rarities and b-side collections are tricky beasts. On the one hand, fans should be thrilled about new material from one of their favorite artists. On the other, nothing says 'avoid me' like a selection of tunes that didn't make the cut on previous records. The age-old conundrum is presented once again with Iron & Wine's latest release, a two-disc album spanning 23 songs and 90 minutes comprised...
More >
Iron & Wine: Around the Well (Review)
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Sam Beam is not only one of America's best songwriters, he's also easily one of the most consistent.
More >
Sunday Cover Story: New Order
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Iron and Wine released an odds-and-sods collection, Around The Well, about a month ago. The two-disc set features material that stretches back to the home recording sessions that birthed singer-songwriter Samuel Beam's one-man band.Included among the 23 tracks are covers of The Flaming Lips, The Postal Service, and Stereolab, but the one that grabbed my attention was New Order's "Love Vigilant...
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 "Around the Well")
