Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy Appendix (2005)

What's this? The same album twice? Of course not. Don't get me wrong, I like it enough to write about it twice, however, I hardly assume that you have the time to read the same thing twice. Besides, you're either at work - and no one wants to use their brain at work, or at home - and there is probably some crap reality show starting in a couple of minutes. Black Sheep Boy Appendix is made up of songs recorded at the same time as the original album, that were not included on said album. So - you're thinking - another band cashing in by releasing a mini-album of second-rate songs that weren't good enough to make it on a real album. How wrong you are! I really have no idea how Okkervil River have managed it, but these songs are equal, if not greater than, those which are included on the album proper. The songwriting is full of amazing imagery, with the same themes carried across both releases. It is not just the songwriting that impresses, though, it is also the impassioned playing of those songs that blows me away every time. If you've got the funds, I would recommend doing as I did, and buying both the album and mimi-album at the same time. If you are lucky enough to live in England, Virgin/EMI will be re-releasing both in a single package.

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