Iron and Wine is excited to announce the May 19, 2009 release of Around the Well, a 2-CD/3-LP collection of rare tracks ranging from out-of-print to never-before-released. Around the Well spans Iron and Wine’s earliest sessions which yielded the band’s debut (2002’s The Creek Drank the Cradle) through material recorded for 2007’s The Shepherd’s Dog. The double-disc Around the Well collection is broken up into two sections. The first half is an assortment of hushed home recordings, unedited and raw, and the second highlights moments captured in the confines of proper studios with the help of other musicians, friends and engineers. The album’s title comes from a line in the song “The Trapeze Swinger,â€

I liked The Trapeze Swinger pretty well despite its length but Iron & Wine need to shake up their languidity a bit. Over the span of the albums it's getting to blur some. Still, I'll get this.

is it good?

it depends...do you like his entire output? this covers the gamut from solo lo-fi creek drank the cradle to his latest full-band fleshed out shepherd's dog periods.

i personally think it's awesome...but admittedly i am a fan-boy.