Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy

I’ve been wanting to post this review for a week now, but server problems were preventing it. It’s a good thing, too, because the more I explored this release, the more I discovered, and the richer my experience has become. Let me start by saying this is a concept album. You’ll find from my previous reviews that I have a thing for concept albums. If you’re going to release an album, a collection of songs, why not find or invent a theme to tie them all together at the same time. It’s not that hard. Black Sheep Boy, aside from being quite possibly one of the best albums of its decade, is a concept album which used as its source a Tim Hardin song from the late 60s which was also covered by Scott Walker back in 1968. Part indie, part folk, part Appalachia, this release digs deep lyrically and musically. “Although my heart started to race, now it has slowed, I’ll let it go.” Give it a listen, and tell me if I’m full of crap.

Author: listener | Category: Music Reviews | June 2007