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Recorded by Sam Beam (before he went as Iron & Wine) while he was still studying at Florida State University, these 1998–99 tracks amount to the first Iron & Wine album. Recorded with his house mate (and future band mate) E.J. Holowicki—who later became a sound designer for Skywalker Sound—these excellent-sounding recordings have a live-in-the-living-room feel and surprising confidence, given that these precede Sam’s Sub Pop debut "The Creek Drank the Cradle" by several years. And so here, on CD or vinyl, is the long-lost true debut of Iron & Wine: "Why Hate the Winter," "This Solemn Day," "John’s Glass Eye," "Elizabeth," "Valentine" and more! Sub Pop.