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 T**he 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.
The 2xCD set covers his career to date, from his earliest solo acoustic material to his later, blown-out productions with Brian Deck, who has a knack for appropriately housing the kind of hushed, ramshackle tunes Beam writes. The chosen tracks range from B-sides and compilation cuts to previously unreleased sessions, and all are out of print. Beam's quiet home recordings are housed on Disc One, while his studio creations are on Disc Two. Your favorite Iron & Wine album will likely determine which disc you spend more time with, but for me, Disc Two is where the greatest treasures lie.
Beam's more sonically adventurous period is well-documented on that disc, which features four outstanding tracks recorded for the film In Good Company. "Communion Cups & Someone's Coat" sports beautifully layered vocals, while "Belated Promise Ring" holds even with nearly any Iron & Wine album track with its softly ingratiating melody. They're appetizers for the nine-minute opus "The Trapeze Swinger", though, which is one of those songs that, in spite of all its finery-- the layered backing vocals, the steady, stomping rhythm, the memorable melody-- reminds you how simply powerful a well-chosen chord progression will be. Beam's casual conception of the graffiti on the gates of heaven-- "We'll Meet Again", "Fuck the Man", and "Tell My Mother Not to Worry"-- are the kind of rich lyrics that reward close listening.
Outside the tracks for that film, there's still plenty more to love. "Kingdom of the Animals" is a wonderful slow country number, with a two-step rhythm and vivid imagery: "Jenny was gone and the moon blooms all shining/ As we dragged our panic up and down the riverbed/ Sweating wild and weird in our Sunday clothes." The banjo-driven "Serpent Charmer" kicks up a dusty racket, while the vocals on "Carried Home" are so stretched out and lush that the song practically qualifies as ambient music. On his solo acoustic version of New Order's "Love Vigilantes", he actually captures the melody more powerfully than Bernard Sumner himself did.
Over on Disc One, there are three additional covers, as Beam takes on the Flaming Lips' "Waiting for a Superman", Stereolab's "Peng! 33", and the Postal Service's "Such Great Heights"-- alas, his most beloved song-- though none is particularly revelatory. His similarly styled cover of the Four Tops' "The Same Old Song" isn't included for some reason, but it's a better example of a cover that reveals something unexpected about the original. His originals fare quite a bit better. "Dearest Forsaken" has his trademark whisper falsetto with a bit of overdubbed slide guitar and banjo to heighten the atmosphere. One of Beam's earliest originals, "Sacred Vision", reveals him as a writer whose talent developed quickly. The simple melody and guitar picking are basic enough but create an intimate setting for lines like, "There's no way to grow that don't hurt."
Around the Well is a great retrospective that heps fans to a lot of difficult-to-locate material from one of this decade's finest songwriters. While there is some fairly flat stuff on the first disc, it really gives the listener the sweep of his development as a writer, musician, and arranger. It also works as a nice palate cleanser for wherever Beam takes his muse next. He's such a prolific writer and recorder that it seems likely he's already begun producing things for his next odds'n'sods comp. Hopefully it will be as good as this one.
