Our Endless Numbered Days

Iron & Wine

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 23, 2004)
• Original Release Date: March 23, 2004
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Sub Pop
• ASIN: B0001ENX54
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (132 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,148 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Florida’s brilliant singer-songwriter Sam Beam expands Iron & Wine from solo project to a gaggle of friends and family on slide guitar, percussion, and backing vocals on his second album. Fans need not worry--the hushed immediacy and rich melodies remain the focus--but new flavors abound. For instance, the strange "Cinder And Smoke" sounds like a collaboration (with banjos of course) between America, Robert Wyatt and Low. Meanwhile, "On Your Wings," "Free Until They Cut Me Down," and "Teeth in the Grass" showcase a brooding, earthy, Southern-rock-on-laudanum side that the band had previously only demonstrated in concert. It's rare when an artist who's become known for bedroom recordings makes the transition to the studio to produce work that's better--Daniel Johnston, Lou Barlow, and Liz Phair all made their defining moments crouched above a cassette recorder at home. But Beam is the exception to the rule, as he has easily bested himself on the second Iron & Wine album. --Mike McGonigal

Product Description
Listening to Our Endless Numbered Days makes plain Sam's deft touch with words and melody; one that allows him to turn out stories about love, loss, faith, or the lack of it that are at once personal and universal, set to music that is sweetly haunting and timeless.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

102 of 121 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bittersweet, expert songcraft straight from his heart to us, May 24, 2004

By	Soaring Heart - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I cannot begin to explain in words how much I Love this album. OUR ENDLESS NUMBERED DAYS is perfectly appealing to me in every way: lyrically, instrumentally, vocally, its unique style, right down to the cover. Ahhhh. It should be in every music lovers cd library. Every song can stand alone on its own merit yet, as a complete composition it is breathtaking with each song making the previous and next sound even better. So obviously, I love every track and my favorite is the last track, "Passing Afternoon."
There's a Force in OUR ENDLESS NUMBERED DAYS to be reckoned with. For me, it literally stops time and makes whatever I'm doing a joy while I feel peaceful, humble and thankful as it plays. OEND feeds my spirit as if to say, "Just live life, enjoy as much as possible and take it as it comes-- especially things out of my control." Music that speaks to me...what a gift. I only hope to keep coming across Music this great. Thank you, Sam.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Soar!

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Approximates Nick Drake musically..Lindsay Buckingham vocally, October 13, 2005

By	Greg Brady "columbusboy" (Capital City) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Sam Beam is the singer/songwriter behind Iron and Wine. Musically, you'll definitely be reminded of the spare acoustic folk sounds of Nick Drake, though Beam is apt to dust them with country influences quite often in the form of banjos and slide guitar. Vocally, he reminds me of a more hushed Lindsay Buckingham, especially when he utilizes layers of his vocals. ("Radio War" in particular made me think of a RUMOURS outtake..) Tempos and moods here vary between slow and melancholy to mid-tempo and subdued.

HIGHLIGHTS:
"On Your Wings" sinks it with its refrain "God, give us love in the time that we have" as it basks in mortality ("All these men that You've made/How we wither in the shade.."). "Each Coming Night" is another rumination about life's fragility. ("Will you say when I'm gone away/'I loved your son for his sturdy arms'...") "Free Until they Cut me Down" strides close musically to Johnny Cash's take on Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus" (at least during the intro section) but nicely diverges later into one of the more musically interesting bits. It's also one of the more cynical tunes here, seemingly placing Beam in the shoes of a rapist ("Papa, don't tell me what I could've done/She's the one who begged me/'Take me home'...") "Fever Dreams" has probably the most poetic take on love here ("I want your flowers/like babies want God's love/Or maybe sure as tomorrow will come") Don't ask me what "Teeth in the Grass" is about...don't ask me to stop hearing it in my head either. It just sticks there...

LOWS:
No particular tunes stick out as bad but there is a sameness of sound throughout the disc. Whether that strikes you as "boring" or "cohesive" is probably in the ear of the beholder. It's also a bit short on runtime (less than 45 minutes) if such things matter to you.

If you like clear-cut images in your lyrics, this ain't the CD for you. I suspect that in some cases Beam just thought the words "sounded good" and they don't have any meaning at all.

BOTTOM LINE:
The cheerleaders for this album are candycoating quite a bit. I don't hear any "new Dylan" here. However, I do find myself liking it after repeated listenings and see it as a nice piece of art. Nick Drake fans are advised to check it out, as are fans of folky pop in general.

3 1/2 stars

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, July 22, 2005

By	someguy (United States) - See all my reviews

Here I am, a grown man, who listens to everything from the Shins to Tool. I was listening to this album in my bed after I bought it that day. I was really tired, so I kind of drifted off (not because the album was boring, far from it - I was just tired). When "Fever Dream" came on I instantly became aware again. It's not like this song has a loud or startling beginning, either - no Iron & Wine song does. But the guitar line was so beautiful my mind must have said "wake up and hear this." I rarely hear a song that affects me so...so dramatically as "Fever Dream" did, and still does. I just layed there, captured by it's sheer gentle beauty. It aroused so many emotions inside that were lying dormant somewhere inside me. The fact is, I've been extrememly lonely lately, and there hasn't been anyone I felt could really sympathize with me. But this song captured my emotions so well I shed tears. You probably think I'm lame, but I just needed to share how deeply this song affected me.