Magnetic Fields - Charm of the Highway Strip
List Price:
Our Price: $8.38
You Save: $3.60 (30%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $3.96 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more CD details
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
CD Details
Artist: Magnetic FieldsEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 1994-04-18
Music Label: Merge Records
Soundtracks:
- Lonely Highway
- Long Vermont Roads
- Born On A Train
- I Have The Moon
- Two Characters In Search Of A Country Song
- Crowd Of Drifters
- Fear Of Trains
- When The Open Road Is Closing In
- Sunset City
- Dust Bowl
Music reviews of Charm of the Highway Strip
Music Review: REALLY Alt Country
Rating: 5 Stars
I'm in a Magnetic Fields month, or maybe a Magnetic Fields six months, who knows? Haven't dipped into 69 Love Songs, yet. And that's probably a six month project itself. But of I, The Wayward Bus/Plastic Trees, and Charm of the Highway Strip, Charm is my current favorite. Like the work of Handsome Family, Giant Sand, and Hank Dogs, this country is not going to be crashing into the mainstream any time soon. Made up of equal parts electronic, synth mixes, cello, and something that sounds like a harpsichord (personally I hear more Phil Spector than Abba in the music), every one of these nine vocal songs -- the tenth, Dust Bowl, is an instrumental that can be skipped -- trades on the classic country themes of trains and highways. Only in Merritt's hand they are neither appealing nor romantic, but obsessions that promise escape and deliver only more pain and loneliness. Which, of course, is exactly what defines Merritt. Lonely Highway, with its references to Jackson, might be the fate that awaited Lee and Nancy, Johnny and June, after they got married in that "fever hotter than a pepper sprout." My two current favorites are I Have the Moon (though written eight years or so earlier, it's what Drusilla might have sung to Spike on Buffy after he became human) and Fear of Trains, where Merritt joins the Ramones in having the KKK take someone away, in this case the history of a Native American girl. Next week the favorites are likely to be different. What's certain is that Charm of the Highway Strip as a whole is going to be a very long-term favorite.
Description of Charm of the Highway Strip
Originally released in 1994, this was The Magnetic Fields' Merge debut and fourth full-length. Presented here on HQ 180-gram vinyl with beautiful artwork and full art euro-sleeve insert, this marks the classic record's first appearance in LP format. Ten gothic country-pop road songs; kind of like if Yaz were from Oklahoma. It continues to be one of the band's most popular records and is one of the best selling releases in the Merge catalog. Includes a coupon for an MP3 download of the entire record.Sweet and sour, incurably romantic, and deeply misanthropic, Magnetic Fields' mastermind Stephin Merritt is a one-of-a-kind voice in modern lo-fi pop. This 1994 outing is a bit of a departure, with Merritt taking his trademark ABBA-styled Casio-pop for a spin in the country--literally. Awash in lush, Nashville-ready production, songs like the doleful "Lonely Highway" (which encompasses snatches of the Lee Hazelwood classic "Jackson") and "Born on a Train" are nothing short of thrilling. But much of this particular stretch of the Fields is lacking in charm, since Merritt's wry stance chafes a bit too hard against the guileless melodies. Completists may feel compelled to take a ride, but novices should probably stick to the more urbane journeys offered by Holiday and Distant Plastic Trees. --David Sprague
Alternative Rock CDs
Music Genres
Bestsellers in Alternative Rock CDs
Bouncing Souls - Maniacal LaughterRelease date: 1996-01-26; Music CD
Best price: $30.00
Blondie - Parallel LinesRelease date: 1994-07-29; Music CD
Best price: $149.98
Doors - L.A. WomanRelease date: 1993-04-09; Music CD
Best price: $99.99
Amon Duul - Phallus DeiRelease date: 1997-04-08; Music CD
Price in other shops:
Tangerine Dream - MelroseRelease date: 1990-10-02; Music CD
Best price: $74.98
Tangerine Dream - Private Music of Tangerine DreamRelease date: 1992-11-10; Music CD
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops:
![Ska Explosion [VHS] Image](/images/Ska-Explosion-VHS-6303381014-X.jpg){kind=small}
Ska Explosion [VHS]Cleopatra; Release date: 1995-02-28; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $14.99
Price in other shops:
![Little Earthquakes [VHS] Image](/images/Little-Earthquakes-VHS-6302488664-X.jpg){kind=small}
Little Earthquakes [VHS]Atlantic / Wea; Release date: 1992-11-10; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $12.50
Price in other shops:
Exileby Geoffrey Oryema
Music CD
Best price: $4.95
![Louder Than Live [VHS] Image](/images/Louder-Than-Live-VHS-6301627865-X.jpg){kind=small}
Soundgarden - Louder Than Live [VHS]A&M Video; Release date: 1991-07-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $192.68
Similar CDs
Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs 1MAGNETIC FIELDS; Release date: 1999-09-07; Music CD
Best price: $10.43
Price in other shops:
Magnetic Fields - House of TomorrowRelease date: 1999-01-12; Music CD
Best price: $6.03
Price in other shops:
The Magnetic Fields - RealismRelease date: 2010-01-26; Music CD
Best price: $5.21
Price in other shops:
Magnetic Fields - IRelease date: 2004-05-04; Music CD
Best price: $6.89
Price in other shops:
Magnetic Fields - DistortionRelease date: 2008-01-15; Music CD
Best price: $5.91
Price in other shops:
Magnetic Fields - Wayward Bus & Distant Plastic TreesRelease date: 1995-01-23; Music CD
Best price: $7.82
Price in other shops:
Magnetic Fields - Love at the Bottom of the SeaRelease date: 2012-03-06; Music CD
Best price: $6.99
Price in other shops:
Magnetic Fields - Get LostRelease date: 1995-10-24; Music CD
Best price: $7.48
Price in other shops:
Magnetic Fields - 69 Love SongsRelease date: 1999-09-07; Music CD
Best price: $32.98
Price in other shops:
Magnetic Fields - HolidayRelease date: 1999-01-12; Music CD
Best price: $7.90
Price in other shops: