Black Sheep Boy is Okkervil River's third album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

, released on April 5, 2005. The title is inspired by the song "Black Sheep Boy" by '60s folk

Folk music

Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

 singer, Tim Hardin

Tim Hardin

James Timothy "Tim" Hardin was an American folk musician and composer. He wrote the Top 40 hits "If I Were a Carpenter", covered by, among others, Joan Baez, Bobby Darin, Johnny Cash, Ramblin' Jack Elliot, and Robert Plant, and "Reason to Believe", covered by many, including Rod Stewart, as well...

, and the album, which is loosely based around Hardin's struggle with heroin addiction, opens with Okkervil River's cover of the song. The album cover

Album cover

An album cover is the front of the packaging of a commercially released audio recording product, or album. The term can refer to either the printed cardboard covers typically used to package sets of 10" and 12" 78 rpm records, single and sets of 12" LPs, sets of 45 rpm records , or the front-facing...

 features the work of Providence

Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...

 artist William Schaff

William Schaff

William J. Schaff Jr. is a Providence, Rhode Island-based artistand musician, who has created the detailed art for all of the Jagjaguwar releases of Okkervil River and artwork for other music albums, including for the bands Songs: Ohia and Godspeed You! Black Emperor.-Art:Much of Schaff's art...

.

Background

Most of the songs for the new record were written in February 2004 in Bloomington, Indiana

Bloomington, Indiana

Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....

 by Will Sheff

Will Sheff

Will Sheff is the frontman for the Austin, Texas-based indie band Okkervil River . Originally from Meriden, New Hampshire, he is also a founding member and co-songwriter for Shearwater , another Austin band...

. Sheff describes the album theme in a 2005 interview.

"The Black Sheep Boy is a fantastical character that crops up here and there on the album. In the lyrics pretty much anything in quotes is the voice of the Black Sheep Boy. I think a lot of the dirtier, rougher, more obtuse songs are the product of the Black Sheep Boy."

Track listing

Musicians

• Will Sheff - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Wurlitzer
• Howard Draper - Lap Steel, Pump Organ, Mandolin, Bass, Synthesizer
• Jonathan Meiburg - Vocals, Piano, Wurlitzer, Pump Organ, Casio SK-1, Electric Guitar
• Travis Nelsen - Vocals, Drums, Tambourine
• Zachary Thomas - Vocals, Bass, Mandolin
• Seth Warren - Electronics, Drums, Vibraphone, Whirlies, Shaker
• Amy Annelle - Harmony Vocals
• Brian Beattie - Bowed Bass, Sampler, Field Recordings
• Rebecca Browne - Violin
• Alison Derrick - Viola
• Michael Kapinus - Trumpet
• Caroline Slack - Violin
• Ben Westney - Cello
• Victoria Wolff - Cello

Reception

Black Sheep Boy has received very positive reviews. On the review aggregate site Metacritic

Metacritic

Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...

, the album has a score of 86 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim."

The album was ranked #22 on Amazon.com

Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...

’s Top 50 Albums of 2005 list. The music online magazine

Online magazine

An online magazine shares some features with a blog and also with online newspapers, but can usually be distinguished by its approach to editorial control...

 Pitchfork Media

Pitchfork Media

Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...

placed Black Sheep Boy at number 174 on their list of top 200 albums of the 2000s.