Customer Reviews

The Shepherd's Dog

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

What a remarkable album. Sam Beam takes new steps with each song, pulling in new instruments and new styles without losing his soul or his signature whisper. From steel guitar to jazz piano, each new addition is incorporated with aplomb, and nothing feels forced.

For fans coming to this straight from the last "album," Our Endless Numbered Days, the changes may come as a surprise, but those who've heard Woman King or In the Reins, an EP collaboration with Calexico, will recognize this album as a logical follow-up to those efforts. Indeed, two members of Calexico appear here, contributing to the filling-out of a sound that is bigger and better than ever. Iron and Wine can still do introspective, soul-searing songs (like album-closer "Flightless Bird, American Mouth) better than almost anyone. Now the band can make you dance, too, on songs like "The Devil Never Sleeps."

If that seems unlikely, consider this: So far, every time I listen to the album, I end up playing it twice. Sam Beam has discovered new worlds of sound. Won't you explore them with him?

OK, so you loved "Creek Drank The Cradle", but didn't like "Woman King" as much, but then "Our Endless Numbered Days" grew on you, but still your favorite is "Sea & The Rhythm" (and really you just want to hear Sam cover more Postal Service songs because Garden State is your favorite movie of all time, and you saw it way before anyone else), so you took a listen to "In The Reins" with Calexico, but it was too Western or Spanishy or something, so you went ahead and bought "Shepherd's Dog" anyway and now you're not sure what to say about it because there's more instruments and stuff.

Jeez people, give it a rest. This is a great album, and easily one of the best of 2007.

PS: If you buy the album directly from SubPop.com, you get a bonus CD of two extra songs: "Arms Of A Thief" & "Serpent Charmer".

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.

I hate to say it, but I was a little disappointed with this album. They took away everything I had loved about this band, and left me with nothing discernibly or recognizably "Iron & Wine". This album captured none of the raw, bluesy, Southern melancholy of their previous albums, and instead sends us on a bizarre journey through experimental world folk rock.
No two songs seem to come from the same genre. Some of it has a very heavy Indian influence, even including the use of a sitar at the beginning of 'Pagan Angel', and the use of what sound like Tablas throughout the album. Some songs are downright country, such as 'Resurrection Fern', or 'The Devil Never Sleeps' which makes me feel like I'm in small town blues bar. Other songs are just a mish-mash of odd sounds; 'Carousel', for example, sounds like the love child of Sufjan Stevens's ambient melodies and Peter Frampton's voice changer.
All in all, I don't think this album is terrible. Sam Beam certainly has dreamt up some very intriguing rhythms and I applaude his willingness to branch out. However, in all honesty, this is just isn't the kind of thing I would expect or would like to hear from Iron & Wine.

I was a bit hesitant to purchase this CD. Not that I don't love Sam Beam's previous work; in fact I think he's one of America's best unknown musical talents. It's just that his inaugural CD, The Creek Drank The Cradle, was so overwhelming that I found his second release, Endless Summer Days, to be a slight letdown.

Grateful I am that I purchased this CD and it has stayed resident in my player ever since. This is music which can be listened to over and over again. I can imagine that some songs, such as "Carousel" and "Ressurection Fern" will be sung around campfires and during protest marches decades from now.

I understand this it's hard for many to appreciate this musician with a whisper of a voice. Sometimes it's almost as if he doesn't want to be heard. Ironic, then, that what he voices is a shout compared to the banal trivialities which populate today's popular music.

Of Iron & Wine's three full-length albums, I probably like this one least. I don't regret purchasing it in the slightest; you just have to admit it was up against some stiff competition. (In the interest of full disclosure, Woman King is my favorite I&W Recording) There are some truly groundbreaking things on here, particularly "White Toothed Man," "Flightless Bird, American Mouth," "Carousel," and "Boy With a Coin." Sam Beam is digging deeper into his bag of studio-experimentation tricks, leading me to wonder if it'll ever have a bottom. The instrumentation gets more varied and exotic (I believe I heard a pedal-steel guitar through a wah-wah on Boy with a Coin! Coupled with that flamenco-y beat, no less).

Even so, I won't name names, but I did find a few clunkers on here. Inevitable, I guess, given the wide amount of field he's covering. Maybe years on I will give 'em another listen and feel differently. I will say that each song has its own unique texture. And even the misses are not THAT bad. I will say that I think "The Devil Never Sleeps" would be great if someone else covered it. I love Sam Beam's voice, but he seems out of place amidst the rollicking piano and stompin' beat.

All in all, I liked it a lot. Worth picking up for just the four I mentioned, as well as several other solid tracks. Just keep an open mind, and don't expect the same old sam.

I've just listened to THE SHEPARD'S DOG again. WOW, tho I would call myself a pretty well established IRON AND WINE fan, yet this is a real step for him to take. The great music I've always loved, starts from the lyrical content, especially if the lyrical content is surreal, suggestive of a spiritual dimention, and difficult to cut thru with the logical facilities. The new IRON AND WINE work readily stands up next to some of the masterpieces of the 20th/21st Century of rock music, without embarrasment. This is music that deserves and demands undivided attention, a good stereo, and ears that are ready to be blown off your head. Hey, something else cool too, for the first time, Bean is giving us his LYRICS on the back of a poster that comes with the CD. I've been captivated by this IRON AND WINE project, not only by the intense voice, or the really well arranged guitar parts, the well chosen notes and the well chosen space around those notes, but by the poetry of the whole image. I"m sure on the new CD, it isnt just string parts, or bass parts, that you are hearing that stretch out the sonic pallet, but sitars, lavish percussion parts, dulicmers, slide guitar/steel guitar, pianos, and just about every sonic psychedelic garnish imaginable. On this album, that trap of overproduction, and too much instrumentation, is avoided by subtle, light textures, which force the ears to pay deeper attention, before the next sonic onslaught of depth of timbres. At times, its like I'm swimming thru the most colorful coral reefs, seeing new, exotic life forms, and then transported to the most beautiful old growth forest glen imaginable, near a waterfall. At a time when life can be so very ugly, I do think that we need to turn to the artists to give us a little preview of HEAVEN, since we are so immersed in hell. For those of you who have used music all your lives to give you some glimpse of the hope of cellestrial beauty, go ahead and buy this. I can only say, with all sincerity, that this ALBUM is UNDERRATED, even tho its getting unamious critical raves. Anything less than 5 stars is a sham. Listening to 30 seconds on the previews on line wont give you enough of an insight. Sometimes, you have to go by faith, and examine a new musician's vision based on what others say. Why wait for 10-20 years for music critics to unamiously aclaim the quality of this work? Get it now, and have an ear feast.

I've listened to a lot of Iron and Wine but nothing meets this album. It's my absolute favorite to listen to. Perfect to listen to in the fall.

... Ok so I realize we all have different tastes in music but this album is simply phenomenal. Everytime I hear Resurrection Fern or Flightless Bird I find that I have to pause for the entire song just to take it in. The beautiful melodies in Sam Beam's songs coupled with lyrics that paint such a vivid portayal of life (particularly in the American Southeast) immediately transport me to the rural backroads of the South Carolina lowcountry. Having such a specific and immediate response to these songs is something that doesn't happen often and there are only a few records I own (i.e., Lucinda Williams' 'Car Wheels on a Gravel Road' and Son Volt's 'Trace') where I can close my eyes and visualize the lyrics almost as if I was there. I also love Beam's earlier work, 'The Creek Drank the Cradle' and 'Our Endless Numbered Days' for this same reason and don't think the greater production and added instruments on 'The Shepherd's Dog' detract in any way from its charm. Quite the opposite, really. I think this album warrants greater attention and more repeated listens than his earlier work to capture the detail. Easily 5 stars.

Sam Beam, the once upon a time one-man band behind the Iron and Wine moniker, has finally and fully embraced the sound of a full band, perhaps spurred on by his collaborations with Calexia since the previous album, 2005's "In the Reins", that tipped its toes in this water and previewed this evolution. The departure from the band's early work heard here is quite dramatic, yet satisfying.

"The Shepherd's Dog" (12 tracks, 50 min.) starts off with an exuberant "Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car". "Lovesong of the Buzzard" is equally entrancing. Yes of course there are still 'quite' songs, such as the beautiful "Carousel" and "Resurrection Sound", but even in those songs you can feel a full band's embrace. Other highlights for me include "Wolves (Songs of the Shepherd's Dog)", which reminds me of Peter Gabriel's world music sound, just beautiful, and the brooding "Peace Beneath the City". In all, there really is no weak track on here, and it is (for me) the best album of Iron and Wine to date. Can't wait to see where these guys will go from here. If you are wondering where I hear their music, check out WOXY (BAM! The Future of Rock and Roll!), the internet-only but best source for indie-music in the country, bar none.

Iron and Wine was one of those bands that I had been wanting to see for a long time, particularly since this album came out last Fall. Well I finally did catch them last month at Bonnaroo, and they put on a fantastic 80 min. set, primarily bringing songs from "The Shepherd's Dog", and it was one of the best sets of Bonnaroo for me. (As an added bonus, my daughter bought a great Iron and Wine T-shirt for me for Father's Day while we were there!) Meanwhile, "The Shepherd's Dog" is highly recommended!