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''The Creek Drank the Cradle'' is the first full-length release from Iron & Wine (aka Sam Beam). It was released on September 24, 2002. The vinyl LP release came with a bonus 7" vinyl single. The promo CD for this album was released in a cardboard sleeve with alternate artwork. - Wikipedia

Iron & Wine singer/songwriter Sam Beam has laughingly suggested that hisdebut is the "cheapest record Sub Pop has ever made," and he'sprobably not too far off the mark. The Creek Drank the Cradle would soundlike it does whether it had found its way into the hands of Sub Pop head honchoJonathan Poneman or not—it's a record that's untouched by outsidehands and unencumbered by premeditation. Beam, a four-track enthusiast, wroteand recorded the bulk of the record in his own bedroom, accompanying himselfon acoustic guitar and switching to slide guitar or banjo whenever the moodstruck him.

Beam's overall approach is purposefully uncomplicated and quintessentiallySouthern: he's fascinated by the iconography (rusted train cars, dead bodies)of despair and decay, and he demonstrates a true flair for conjuring familiar,pastoral images. And like any good Southerner, he keeps one foot anchored inthe past at all times: memory plays a big role in his delirious visions on "WearyMemory" and "Bird Stealing Bread." Of course, Beam's songsare best when he directly engages the macabre, especially on the double-trackedghost story "Faded From the Winter" and a stripped-down folk number("The Rooster Moans") that suggests both Nick Drake and the CarterFamily. In a year where one-man bands Hayden, Badly Drawn Boy, Crooked Fingersand Pedro the Lion all released terrific records, Iron and Wine might end upflying lower on the critical radar—though The Creek Drank the Cradleis an astonishingly perspicacious record, and comparatively, a much greatertriumph.