iron and wine - around the well.

To this point in his career, Sam Beam has made progressively fuller, more musically complex, and, in this writer's opinion, better albums each time out. 2007's The Shepherd's Dog was a complete realization of the full-band sound he'd been building up to in his live shows, his collaboration with Calexico, and to a lesser degree on his recordings; as such, it felt like a milestone. So it seems like a good time to pause and look back at the old county road that runs parallel to the highway of Beam's albums and compile some rarities for the fans. "For the fans" doesn't necessarily mean hardcore types-- if you've liked any of Iron & Wine's albums so far, you'll almost certainly like this, but it's also probably not the first thing to buy.

elliott,