Iron & Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days

Stereophile Recording of the Month, March 2004

Iron & Wine is the stage name for Samuel Beam, a Miami native who made his name with lo-fi recordings in his home area. After Sub Pop label head Jonathan Poneman heard some of that demo-quality material, he decided to release two full-length demos as is. Both were recorded in Beam’s home, and while the sound quality was a bit muted, the music was magical. Now, Iron & Wine has gone into the studio, and the result is Our Endless Numbered Days. The songs are still intimate and poignant but they’re now much cleaner and easier to listen to. The arrangements are subtle and leave Beam’s voice and lyrics as the focal point.

1. On Your Wings

2. Naked as we Came

3. Cinder and Smoke

4. Sunset Soon Forgotten

5. Teeth in the Grass

6. Love and Some Verses

7. Radio War

8. Each Coming Night

9. Free Until They Cut Me Down

10. Fever Dream

11. Sodom, South Georgia

12. Passing Afternoon

Customer Reviews (4.57 Stars) 7 person(s) rated this product.

Suprised me.. posted on 10/06/2007 4 Stars I love this album. It's really mellow with nice vocals and guitar work, and unlike the 'Sea and the Rythm' it's a good recording- and much more interesting!

An incredible soundstage posted on 06/27/2007 4 Stars Reviewer: thw This is a quality recording and the warmth of it in vinyl (and the increased soundstage) make it more than worthwhile. Highly recommended.

Tranquil and beautiful... posted on 08/21/2006 4 Stars Whisper soft voices, gorgeous harmonies and strong melodies. This album is perfect for anyone who loves melodic music to fill their mellow times. This is the material Sam recorded at home on a 4 track so the audio quality is wonderfully lo-fi. Wonderfully you ask? Yes! It's not yet another album striving for hi-fi perfection and becoming sterile in the process. You can hear tape hiss and ground hum yet somehow it just makes the music feel closer. I loved this album so much I bought Iron & Wine's whole back catalog.

This is a wonderful recording posted on 02/12/2006 5 Stars This is a wonderful recording. The music flows effortlessly with it's simple composition and heart felt playing. The recording quality is also quite good. I only wish that it were on 180 gram vinyl. It's too bad "Such Great Heights" hasn't been released on LP. That is a wonderful song as well.

A Pure Joy! posted on 12/17/2005 5 Stars Reviewer: Jon What a wonderfully happy and quality-recorded lp. Easy to listen to yet doesn't become boring or rote. I cannot believe the low price Acoustic Sounds is asking for this quality work on vinyl. IT'S A STEAL, GRAB IT!

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