Illinois (CD) ~ Sufjan Stevens (Artist) Cover Art

Illinois (CD)

By: Sufjan Stevens (Artist)

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Also Available in: [Vinyl LP]
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Sufjan Stevens Artist Snapshot:

Seemingly every year since 1963, a singer-songwriter is heralded as "the next Dylan." It's a tough title to live up to, but since his 2000 debut, singer/songwriter Sufjan Stevens has certainly traveled the musical highways of Dylan's Old Weird America. The Michigan-born Stevens plays a style of folk music that captures the full scope of Americana sounds, not just those based on traditional forms. Stevens is an intriguing figure: his 50 States project (an attempt to record an album for each state in the nation) includes 2003's GREETINGS FROM MICHIGAN and 2005's lauded COME ON FEEL THE ILLINOISE.

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Track Listing

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DISC 1 for Illinois (CD) Album By Sufjan Stevens (Artist)
1   Concerning The UFO Sighting
2   Black Hawk War, The
3   Come On! Feel The Illinoise!
4   John Wayne Gacy, Jr.
5   Jacksonville
6   Short Reprise For Mary Todd, A
7   Decatur
8   One Last 'Woo-hoo' For The Pullman
9   Chicago
10   Casimir Pulaski Day
11   To The Workers Of The Rockford River Valley Region
12   Man Of Metropolis, The
13   Prarie Fire That Wanders About
14   Conjunction Of Drones, A
15   Predatory Wasp, The
16   They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!!
17   Let's Hear That String Part Again...
18   In This Temple
19   Seer's Tower, The
20   Tallest Man, The Broadest Shoulders, The
21   Riffs And Variations On A Single Note
22   Out Of Egypt
 

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Review

Spin (p.64) - Ranked #8 in Spin's "40 Best Albums Of 2005" - "[A] Chicago World's Fair of the ear -- a rebirth of wonder, discovery, and progress..."
Spin (p.105) - "[The album] sounds as informed by middle-American community theater, church choirs, and John Adams' American operas as any canonical 'folk rock' it may resemble." - Grade: A-
Entertainment Weekly (No. 829, p.71) - "...[F]inespun songs variously inspired by Carl Sandburg, John Wayne Gacy, Jr., and the 'Seer's' tower....ILLINOIS sounds quaint and even magical." - Grade: B+
Uncut (p.86) - 5 stars out of 5 - "ILLINOIS is an extraordinary achievement, all the more so as Stevens played most of the parts himself."
Magnet (p.52) - Ranked #5 in Magnet's "The 20 Best Albums Of 2005" - "[The album] continues his brave/insane quest to document the whole of our great nation's quilt of quirks..."
The Wire (p.41) - Included in The Wire's "2005 Rewind: 50 Records Of The Year."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.60) - Ranked #24 in Mojo's "The 50 Best Albums Of 2005" - "A boundless cornucopia utilising choir, woodwind and Vince Guaraldi-like piano..."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.98) - 3 stars out of 5 - "[W]hen focusing on life's minute joys or its mundane horror, Stevens' voice is as true and profound as an angel."

Title Note

Personnel: Sufjan Stevens (vocals, various instruments); Craig Montoro (vocals, trumpet); James McAlister (drums); Daniel Smith, Elin Smith (hand claps, background vocals); Matt Morgan, Shara Worden, Katrina Kerns (background vocals).

The second entry from sui generis singer/songwriter Sufjan Stevens in his absurdly ambitious project to make a record for every state in America outdistances even 2003's superb GREETINGS FROM MICHIGAN in scope and beauty. A sweeping paean to the Lincoln state, ILLINOIS weaves together history, personal confession, and detail-filled scenarios with chamber folk, expansive orchestral pop, and back-porch pastoral settings for a stunningly progressive indie gem that sound like Brian Wilson, Stereolab, and Neil Young holding hands in heaven.

Remarkably, in its intricate, gorgeously crafted surfaces, ILLINOIS lives up to its aims. In addition to its symphonic grandeur, the album also showcases Stevens's heartland folk, and some of the album's most shimmering moments are its most spare. "John Wayne Gacy, Jr.," for instance, is an absorbing narrative that features Stevens's sweet tenor couched by guitar, piano, and backing vocals. "Casimir Pulaski Day," similarly, rides a rootsy banjo and guitar groove while Stevens unfurls image-rich lyrics over a lilting melody. Witty, audacious, and moving, ILLINOIS manages to be spiritual, entertaining, and educational all at once, resulting in an utterly unique conceptual and musical statement.

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