In the Reins

( 1 )

Editorial Reviews

All Music Guide - Tim Sendra
Musical collaborations can be a dicey proposition. The blending of two styles and sounds can lead to the cancellation of the aspects of each that make them interesting and unique in the first place, which in turn leads to an inferior record. Iron & Wine and Calexico decided to tempt fate and hook up in 2004 and In the Reins is the result. The record manages to blend the best aspects of the two groups and comes off a winner in all respects. You get Iron & Wine's melodicism, emotional depth, and literary grace backed by Calexico's desert-bleached C&W orchestral splendor. The record is probably pitched more in the I&W camp as Iron & Wine's Sam Beam wrote all...
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Editorial Reviews

All Music Guide - Tim Sendra
Musical collaborations can be a dicey proposition. The blending of two styles and sounds can lead to the cancellation of the aspects of each that make them interesting and unique in the first place, which in turn leads to an inferior record. Iron & Wine and Calexico decided to tempt fate and hook up in 2004 and In the Reins is the result. The record manages to blend the best aspects of the two groups and comes off a winner in all respects. You get Iron & Wine's melodicism, emotional depth, and literary grace backed by Calexico's desert-bleached C&W orchestral splendor. The record is probably pitched more in the I&W camp as Iron & Wine's Sam Beam wrote all the songs and sings his moody miniature portraits of desperation in a breathy, shivers-down-your-spine croon. Calexico color in his compositions with pedal steels, vibraphone, and meandering trumpets, and lead them out of the insular Florida swamp and into the wide-screen West. None of Beam's songs feel like between-album throwaways and in fact a few rate among his best the aching and staggeringly beautiful "Dead Man's Will," "He Lays in the Reins.". They almost all sound wonderful; the wider range of musical colors opens up his songs and brings in some moods and sounds you might not expect on an Iron & Wine record. Case in point is "A History of Lovers," which comes equipped with a boogie beat, a glittering Vegas horn section, and actually rocks out very convincingly. Calexico really pulls a rabbit out of the hat there as Beam is about the last person in the music biz you would expect to rock out convincingly. The only place where the pairing falters is on the slick and facile "Red Dust," which starts off as an intimate blues ballad with just Beam and guitars, then shifts to a barroom bluesy stomp featuring some very clichéd harp soloing. Luckily, it is a brief misstep that doesn't wreck an otherwise excellent record. Fans of both bands will want to get In the Reins because it rates favorably with their best work and on a couple of songs "A History of Lovers," "Dead Man's Will" the sum of their collaboration creates music greater than their parts. A rare and wonderful occurrence that; don't let it slip past you.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 9/13/2005
  • Label: Overcoat Recordings
  • UPC: 036172612826
  • Catalog Number: 28
  • Sales rank: 33,473

Tracks

Disc 1
  1. 1 He Lays in the Reins - Iron & Wine (3:43)
  2. 2 Prison on Route 41 - Iron & Wine (4:10)
  3. 3 A History of Lovers - Iron & Wine (3:09)
  4. 4 Red Dust - Iron & Wine (3:31)
  5. 5 Sixteen, Maybe Less - Iron & Wine (4:49)
  6. 6 Burn That Broken Bed - Iron & Wine (5:06)
  7. 7 Dead Man's Will - Iron & Wine (3:13)
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Album Credits

Performance Credits
Iron & Wine Primary Artist
Calexico Primary Artist
Joey Burns Track Performer
John Convertino Track Performer
Craig Schumacher Track Performer
Paul Niehaus Track Performer
Nick Luca Track Performer
Sam Beam Track Performer
Jacob Valenzuela Track Performer
Martin Wenk Track Performer
Volker Zander Track Performer
Salvador Duran Track Performer
Ryan Roscoe Track Performer
Natalie Wyants Track Performer
Technical Credits
Craig Schumacher Engineer
Chris Schultz Engineer
Nick Luca Engineer
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 5
( 1 )
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Sort by: Showing 1 Customer Review

  • Posted October 1, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    Like a whisper..

    A gift from my son which has turned into one of my favorite, never tiresome CDs. Its beautiful to listen to on headphones as it is as intimate as a whisper.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Sort by: Showing 1 Customer Review