Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog
|
Music CD Cover Artist: Iron & Wine Edition: Music CD CD Release Date: 2007-09-25 Music Label: Sub Pop Soundtracks:
|
| Used | katie37392 | Used, mint Usually ships in 1-2 business days | $7.50 | |
| Used | gohastings | Used, verygood 100% GUARANTEED! Fast shipping on more than 1,000,000 Book, Video, Video Game & Music titles all in one location! Discover Your Entertainment at goHastings. Usually ships in 1-2 business days | $8.49 | |
| Used | voxnix | Used, verygood Usually ships in 1-2 business days | $8.49 | |
| Used | cdwarehouse_15 | Used, verygood Usually ships in 1-2 business days | $8.49 | |
| Used | stewart_brent3 | Used, mint Usually ships in 1-2 business days | $8.99 | |
| New | newbury_comics | New Brand new, factory sealed. Fast shipping! Usually ships in 1-2 business days | $9.99 | |
| New | ulrichbooks | New 2007. Fine/Fine. New retail CD in original case with insert in shrink wrap. Usually ships in 1-2 business days | $10.00 | |
| New | -importcds | New BRAND NEW Factory Sealed - Ready to be shipped within 24 hrs from California - Average 5 workdays delivery time - Excellent customer service - Buy with confidence! Usually ships in 1-2 business days | $10.94 | |
| New | cdwarehouseonline | New Usually ships in 1-2 business days | $10.95 | |
| New | Amazon.com | New Usually ships in 24 hours | $10.99 |
Your purchase is protected by the A-to-z Safe Buying Guarantee. Amazon.com automatically transfers your payment to the merchant so you'll never need to pay a merchant directly. Amazon.com A-to-z Safe Buying Guarantee covers both the delivery of your item and its condition upon receipt.
Free Music Notes for The Shepherd's Dog Album
Free Music Review: My mind, my ears, my body, my heart...
Hit: 4 Stars
Having just bought the album it hasn't had time to sink in yet like Sam Beam's other albums have, but seeing so few reviews on the page I figured I should contribute some first impressions. First off, if you're a fan of Iron & Wine already you shouldn't need to read a review, just purchase the CD now!
Iron & Wine (Sam Beam) has captivated listeners from his first album, "The Creek Drank the Cradle" (TCDTC) with his soft, restrained voice and simple, subtly perfect guitar work--and held them since. This album does not disrupt the slow transformation towards a more band driven, "fuller" sound, evident on each of his consecutive LP releases. The percussion is much more present in these songs than in, say, "Our Endless Numbered Days" or TCDTC (which really didn't have any). Lucky for us the percussion section really pulls it off, managing to become a solid "spine" for much of the album while remaining diverse, interesting, and spirited.
The lyrics are incredible as always, on par in my opinion with Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen, though not necessarily as direct, or dark as those two can be. Although the lyrics are consistently poetic and beautiful they don't quite reach the level of emotion as on his first album TCDTC, nor do they feel as thematically related as his EP "Women King."
At the moment, the stand out tunes for me are 'Wolves (Song of the Shepherd's Dog)' and 'Resurrection Fern.' The first is rhythmically intense; a perfect example of the evolution of Sam Beam's sound and perhaps a hint at a more experimental future for Iron and Wine. At times this song sounds like a Tom Waits from Rain Dogs, and at other times it reminds me of Bob Marley's later years. 'Resurrection Fern' on the other hand, is a throw-back to the "good old" sound of Sam's earliest songs...and it is a synergy of somehow both romantic and existential lyrical prowess and guitar picking simplicity. For me, this song alone was worth the purchase.
I'm very happy with this album, and will continue to support this amazing artist. If you're looking into Iron and Wine for this first time, I'd say this is a perfect starter to work your way back through their (his) discography. I give it 4.5 stars: it carries my mind, my ears, my body, my heart...but it doesn't carry my soul the way "The Creek Drank the Cradle" or "The Sea and the Rhythm [EP]" do.