2005 was a defining year for Okkervil River. The original Black Sheep Boy LP, the fourth studio album by the Texan folk rock outlet, was released on April 5. Immediately upon release, it was deemed as the next installment in an ongoing succession of higher critically-acclaimed records to be released by the band, and likely their most influential.
Based around the Tim Hardin song of the same name, Will Sheff and company maneuvered masterfully around the concept of a metaphorical “black sheep boy” traversing through a life of befuddlement and wanderlust until he eventually becomes a full-fledged ram. Along the way, Okkervil River became the official cool “emo” group of the era in a time where other bands were first commercializing the genre. They kept in a steady, calculative field somewhere between the mercantile emo rock movement of the decade and the noir country-slash-Americana style set into place by Neko Case a little less than a decade prior.
It’s arguable that bands like Blind Pilot, the Decemberists, Bon Iver, whose songs oftentimes focus upon the downtrodden, contemplative, and obscene, found future relevance based around the trend that Okkervil River had popularized within their lane. In this overarching industry play, it was arguably Black Sheep Boy that set the whole tune in place, following shortly behind the influence of Elliott Smith to become some of the next great, pensive songwriters thankfully to be recognized by a strong enough portion of society.
Okkervil River’s latest release takes these fond memories of their most influential set-piece and runs with them through the form of a complete box set; not only are you obtaining the original 10 Black Sheep Boy tracks, but the Black Sheep Boy Appendix, as well, which helps fill in some holes in the original storyline for the titular character whilst holding its own as a stellar EP. Finally, the three-LP set comes complete with a brand new set of acoustic covers, ranging in variance from Lead Belly to the Louvin Brothers, Roscoe Holcomb, and beyond.
The original Black Sheep Boy and its Appendix still stand as absolutely essential listening for the music appreciator. This stands especially true for those that find pleasure in the development of a brooding, prodigal mythos so incredulously authoritative within its lane that the band literally wrote a song onto the Appendix from their point of view that destroys the reflection of the black sheep boy and sends it back from whence it came to comfortably bring its era to an end. With lyrics as impeccably raw and human as what’s largely present on this mythological compendium, there is no guessing behind the “why” as per its tremendous reputation among most of its listeners. The band is at their peak, here, and it shows at their unabashed best from the opening Hardin cover all the way through to its unhinged unraveling of the sheep boy saga in “Another Radio Song”.
The cover album, There Swims a Swan, is a meaty bonus for anyone in the business of picking up the Black Sheep Boy set. Anyone that hasn’t kept up with the band since their big release can keep at ease knowing that Sheff and company haven’t missed a beat with being able to create an emotional and individualistic atmosphere, even when performing other peoples’ songs. The selection of covers is strong and varied, playing out sonically, in some ways, like an even further extension of the black sheep boy’s odyssey; just maybe, perhaps, these are some of the radio songs that inundated the titular beast’s journey.
Okkervil River’s tale of the Black Sheep Boy is one worth revisiting, and is especially one worth visiting for the first time for the uninitiated. These songs are representative of an incredibly well-received band’s full-on cream of the crop and absolutely must be heard, whether it’s for the thousandth or first time. Representing the truants and refugees, the wanderers, the abused, the accused, the adrift, the hopeless, the damned, and now, an eclectic mix of folk, country, and blues stars of yesteryear in their shiny new covers collection, this isn’t just among the best of Okkervil River’s work; it’s the best of Okkervil River’s work.