The Creek Drank the Cradle

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The Creek Drank the Cradle
Iron & Wine - The Creek Drank The Cradle.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 24, 2002
Genre
Length39:26
Label Sub Pop
Producer Iron & Wine
Iron & Wine chronology
The Creek Drank the Cradle
(2002)
The Sea & The Rhythm
(2003)

The Creek Drank the Cradle is the first studio album by the American musician Iron & Wine (aka Sam Beam). It was released on September 24, 2002. The vinyl LP release had a bonus 7" vinyl single. The promotional CD for this album was released in a cardboard sleeve with different artwork.

Contents

Background

The sparse lo-fi sound of the album is attributed to Beam recording the tracks at home on a four-track recorder, initially as demos. His intention was to pass these on to Joey Burns and John Convertino of the band Calexico who provided a rhythm section on the finished piece. However, the demos were released instead. [2]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 87/100 [3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [4]
The Austin Chronicle Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Drowned in Sound 8/10 [6]
Pitchfork 8.1/10 [7]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Stylus B+ [9]
Tiny Mix Tapes 4.5/5 [10]
Uncut Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [11]

The Creek Drank the Cradle has received widespread critical acclaim since its release. At Metacritic , which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 87, based on 14 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim". [3]

Pitchfork placed The Creek Drank the Cradle at number 137 on its list of the top 200 albums of the 2000s. [12] Tim Sendra of AllMusic called it "a stunning debut and one of the best records of 2002". [4]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Sam Beam.

No.TitleLength
1."Lion's Mane"2:49
2."Bird Stealing Bread"4:21
3."Faded from the Winter"3:17
4."Promising Light"2:49
5."The Rooster Moans"3:24
6."Upward Over the Mountain"5:56
7."Southern Anthem"3:54
8."An Angry Blade"3:48
9."Weary Memory"4:01
10."Promise What You Will"2:24
11."Muddy Hymnal"2:43
Total length:39:26
7" Vinyl Single
No.TitleLength
1."Her Tea Leaves"3:50
2."Carissa's Wierd[ sic ] [13] "2:07
Total length:5:57

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References

  1. Miller, Derek (September 25, 2007). "Iron and Wine - The Shepherd's Dog - Review". Stylus. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  2. Perlich, Tim (September 29, 2005). "IRON & WINE/CALEXICO". Now. 25 (5). Archived from the original on September 6, 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Reviews for The Creek Drank The Cradle by Iron & Wine". Metacritic . Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  4. 1 2 Sendra, Tim. "The Creek Drank the Cradle – Iron & Wine". AllMusic . Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  5. Lynch, David (March 14, 2003). "Iron & Wine: The Creek Drank the Cradle (Sub Pop)". The Austin Chronicle . Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  6. Robertson, Neil (April 27, 2003). "Album Review: Iron & Wine – The Creek Drank The Cradle". Drowned in Sound . Archived from the original on April 25, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  7. Kearney, Ryan (October 1, 2002). "Iron & Wine: The Creek Drank the Cradle". Pitchfork . Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  8. "Iron & Wine: The Creek Drank the Cradle". Q (200): 109. March 2003.
  9. Martin, Tyler (September 1, 2003). "Iron and Wine – The Creek Drank the Cradle – Review". Stylus . Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  10. Jean-Pierre. "Iron & Wine – The Creek Drank The Cradle". Tiny Mix Tapes . Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  11. "Iron & Wine: The Creek Drank the Cradle". Uncut (66): 121. November 2002.
  12. "The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s: 150–101". Pitchfork . September 28, 2009. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
  13. "Carissa Wierd". Iron and Wine. September 24, 2012. Retrieved June 30, 2013.[ dead link ]