Well done

Every once in a while, listeners and fans are treated to a passionate musician who makes each new release better than his last.

Iron & Wine’s singer-songwriter, Sam Beam, evinces this lovely trait in each of his songs and albums. Iron & Wine’s latest release, “Around the Well,” perfectly chronicles Beam’s strengthening and maturing music career.

Besides, out-of-print and previously unreleased tracks fill Beam’s latest compilation, which spans two discs.

Each song documents Beam’s evolution as a musician, from his earlier sparse, stripped acoustic songs, to his later, produced tracks.
 
As such, fans will likely prefer one disc to the other, because the home recordings fill the first, and studio material packs the second.

Also, brilliant tracks featured in the 2004 trashy romance film, “In Good Company,” are also included, along with Beam’s covers of New Order and the Flaming Lips.

From “In Good Company,” “Communion Cups & Someone’s Coat,” features talented, layered singing, while “The Trapeze Swinger” stretches out nine minutes of impressive rhythms and catchy melodies.

Possibly Beam’s most successful and transforming cover, New Order’s “Love Vigilantes,” is anchored by staggered acoustic guitar chords. This technique leaves the burden of the song squarely on Beam’s soft, hushed voice, which takes the burden in stride.

Singing “I want to see my family / My wife and child,” and “I looked into her hand / And then I saw the telegram / Said that I was a brave, brave man / But that I was dead,” Beam’s voice drips with earnest sincerity and droops with maudlin wistfulness.
Yet, Beam’s major talent doesn’t lie in his voice or guitar melodies, but in his poetic lyrics.

Masterfully crafting and sculpting beautiful narratives and ballads, Beam’s talent can be heard from his early songs, such as “Sacred Vision,” to his later material, such as “No Moon.”

In “No Moon,” Beam sings a Faustian tale, verifying Beam’s ability to turn thick plots into light, easily digestible songs. Because “Around the Well” documents each of Beam’s stages as he matures in his career, the compilation lacks cohesion and joint vision. However, as a compilation, this minor flaw can be forgiven. 

By listening to “Around the Well,” one can literally hear Beam grow and butterfly into a bona fide indie folk star.