User Score
Universal acclaim- based on 65 Ratings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 61 out of 65
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Mixed: 1 out of 65
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Negative: 3 out of 65
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- Most helpful
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CablesNov 25, 2007Overtime, it has revealed itself to be my favorite album of the year. Once you surrender yourself to the albums pacing and wordplay, allowing time to take its course and melodies to sink in, it never lets you go.
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DanMNov 1, 2007I'll just say "ditto" to Kasper S's excellent review. I'm just confounded on why the critics are only lukewarm on this CD.
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JoeAOct 15, 2007Fantastic album. great transition from stripped down folk music to full bodied sound. i love this man. p.s. paul c is a dick. no disrespect to sufjan.
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TheCriticOct 9, 2007Only heard 2 songs all the way through on Myspace and decided it was the best folk music in years... this guy knows his stuff (and ok, he does sound a LITTLE like Sufjan Stevens)
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ChristianW.Sep 26, 2007I haven't heard much by Iron & Wine... but this album and the former is absolutely great. I like the mix between experimental folk and the Ali Farka Touré-kind of sound. Certainly an album I could listen to a couple of times... if noget for weeks or months. Sam Beams voice is calm; like someone reading a bedtimestory... so grab the album as soon as you can.
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DKOct 11, 2007Awesome. Should be on most year end top-10 lists. Anyone who listened to "Woman King" could see this one coming.
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ToddW.Oct 5, 2007
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JoãoD.Oct 9, 2007This is perfectly crafted music by a genuine artist. And his live performances validate this great, great album, making it even better. In contrast with many other great studio albums that bands just can't deliver live.
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TrevorV.Sep 25, 2007A stunning and moving evolution of the closely-guarded seeds scattered 2 albums ago with The Creek Drank The Cradle. Sam Beam is an artist of our time, and this album is the final argument anyone should need for that.
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PaulCSep 26, 2007The best Sufjan Stevens album in years.
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DaveF.Nov 27, 2007Just gorgeous music. Rich, moving, original - please play South Africa one day senor Beam!
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KasperS.Oct 17, 2007
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GuyHDec 6, 2007Intriguing lyrics and a patchwork of different textures that blend perfectly over repeated listens. Innocent Bones and Resurrection Fern are stunning. A couple of slight lulls but with this level of experimentation that is what you expect.
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EdM.Sep 25, 2007Flawless. I love it. Sam has yet to create something that isn't catchy.
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MycroftW.Sep 27, 2007Can't fault this record. Even when he verges on New Orleans Meters-style funk he does it well.
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AaronBSep 30, 2007Sam Beam has finally married his complex lyrics and subdued vocal delivery to equal musical arrangements. His previous albums clearly displayed his vocal and lyrical prowess. His collaboration with Calexico showed the potential of having a full fledged band to steer his narratives. This album leaves the listener with a subdued joy after each listen.
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VincentH.Nov 11, 2007
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IsaacA.Nov 11, 2007Sheer glorious warm brilliance from start to finish. Only the second album of 2007 that my girlfriend and I can agree is brilliant (the first is Mr Hudson & The LIbrary, by the way).
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BenjaminC.Oct 11, 2007I'm not a man of many words, but in the case of this album who needs words! I'm more than happy to just sit and listen to what Sam has to say. Great Work!
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AshleyT.Dec 11, 2007By far the best Iron and Wine album to date.
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JordanH.Oct 26, 2007Beautiful album all the way through. Beam has a style and soul to his music that's all his own. Touchingly honest.
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ToddZ.Sep 25, 2007I think this record is very good. Its no Wilco, but very good.
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[Anonymous]Sep 25, 2007Outstanding album. Full of rich detail and lots of great imagery in the songs. Music is also varied alot which keeps the album from getting boring.
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JesseM.Sep 25, 2007
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JoeE.Sep 26, 2007I was taken aback at my first listen, but I've grown to absolutely love every track. He follows the trajectory he started with Woman King and now knows exactly how to manipulate his sound to fit his purposes. The last track is just so unbelievably perfect. . .
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Jw.Nov 24, 2007I can only disagree that the sound and lyrics are distinctly southern. Truth is, they sound right at home up here in the Pacific Northwest, too. It's a perfect album for fall, and specifically well-suited for cold college towns. Made me wish I was still in school. Top to bottom the best album so far this year - and it's getting late.
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Mar 17, 2013I disregarded this album for the longest time, But I must admit it's a solid folk/indie/rock record. The lyrics, the vocals, the production, all worthy of noticing. All In All, I'm not the biggest Iron & Wine fan but I do particularly find this record really well-made. B+
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Aug 4, 2019A departure from the stripped-down sound of his first two albums, 'The Shepherd's Dog' is full of luscious, imaginative arrangements, blending acoustic folk with electronic elements. There's not a song on the record which isn't interesting to listen to. The closing track, 'Flightless Bird, American Mouth', remains an Iron & Wine staple.
Awards & Rankings
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More definitive than ever, the rhythm and percussion complement Beam's voice, a lulling, almost eerie tone that occasionally recalls John Lennon's early solo work
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The result is a folk album so rich and intricate that, in scope, it's comparable to Van Morrison's "Astral Weeks."
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What really stands out is how …Dog literally hits the ground running from its opener, 'Pagan Angel And A Borrowed Car,' cutting a clear slice from the organic and distinctive junkyard percussion and deep-fried blues stomps of Tom Waits.