Sufjan Stevens - Come On Feel the Illinoise
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Music Reviews of Come On Feel the Illinoise
Music Review: Get In On The Ground Floor
Rating: 5 Stars
I saw Sufjan Stevens (pronounced soofyahn) perform live last night in Phoenix and was simply blown away. I have to mention that I only discovered him about 2 months ago while browsing Amazon for a new Iron and Wine release. Stevens was recommended and an "If You Like... You'll Like.." artist. I listened to some samples, bought "Seven Swans" and played it about 30 times! Then I purchased the all the rest of his CD's including this latest one "Illinois"
Sufjan Stevens is on his way to becoming a major artist. Think - a mix of Iron & Wine, Simon & Garfunkel, early Beck, early CS&N, with a healthy dose of Phillip Glass. Stevens manages to expand the boundries of each of those artists. Just as Beck experimented with sampling, Stevens experiments with time signitures, instrumentation, structure and harmonies. He'll take the long repeating chorus which is usually at the end of a song (ala Hey Jude) and put it at the beginning of the song instead. Paul Simon's poetry is rooted in Grenwich Village; Stevens' is rooted in Flint, Chicago, Detroit. He uses brass that sometimes sounds like a Salvation Army Band. He'll switch from a plaintive banjo to a blistering electric guitar. The music is not spit-polished with 28 overdubs to get 1 note right - it is recorded in churches, basements, livingrooms... It's raw, its real and it is intoxicating. Stevens' music is INTERESTING, FRESH and UNIQUE!
His live show was a real trip... back in time. I felt like I was in a 1st period high school assembly/pep rally and the drama club was putting on a musical presentation! As cheesy as that may sound, It's NOT. The music is inspired, played by inspired musicians. His poetry is patriotic, unpatriotic, biographical, sad, inspiring. "John Wayne Gacy Jr" sends chills up my spine.
SUPPORT THIS ARTIST!!!! BUY HIS CD's!!!! You will be getting in on the ground floor of a major musical force.
Music Review: Bloated but often brilliant
Rating: 4 Stars
It would appear that Come On Feel the Illinoise would be more aggravating than wondrous from the outset. For one, it came with a blitzkrieg of tearfully joyous reviews as if it was the greatest thing in alternative music, and who wants to hear that? For another, many of the song titles absolutely reek of pretentiousness, often existing more as run-on sentences than anything else (a nineteen second interlude called "A Conjunction of Drones Simulating the Way in Which Sufjan Stevens Has an Existential Crisis in the Great Godfrey Maze?!").
So it is with some surprise that it is one of the more thrilling, evocative, playful and beautiful records of the year. It's layered simplicity rings of the modern swells from the likes of Arcade Fire and Broken Social Scene, but the key is in the storytelling. It's strong enough on the first listen when the lyrics frequently fade in the midst of the musical expression, but when the tales being told are examined, the experience becomes richer. If there is a lacking, it's that at seventy minutes and twenty-two tracks, there's really only about forty-five minutes of true songs on here; the rest are intros, interludes, overtures and the like. Does it enhance the record? Sure. But is it really necessary? Probably not. But even though there aren't too many true standouts that will have you hitting repeat (except the amazing "Chicago" and the towering title track), it's designed as a complete experience, warts and all, and the facade of ostentation quickly melts away.
Best cuts: "Chicago," "Come On! Feel the Illinoise!" "The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts," "John Wayne Gacy, Jr." "They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From the Dead!! Ahhhh!!" "Decatur, or, Round of Applause For Your Stepmother!" "The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us!" "The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders," "Casimir Pulaski Day"
Music Review: Bland?
Rating: 2 Stars
Sufjan Stevens "Illinoise" is not worth the price of admission to this so called tour of Chicago. His main strength is his musicality and for that he gets 2 stars since he decided to start singing along with the music. By the time I got to the song about the crazy killer clown the world knows as gacy I had already formed my initial opinion, which is: Bland Music, uneventful, and certainly not cutting edge! Dedicating a song to this clown somehow made me think less of Mr. Stevens, his lyrics a little muddled, who cares where he drew his inspiration for this particular tune when in the end it sucks big oranges! Let's just say that is not one of those albums that you proudly play to everyone you know! There are far too many Hotties out there that Mr. Stevens is gonna have to sit this one out. And I hear he is going around the country picking different locales for his concept albums? Good Luck with that plan but I must go, Sam, where the grass is greener and the sun shines above the pounding waves. Give me music with Soul anytime of the day, is what I say! For those who treasure Sufjan Stevens, and of course everyone is entitled to their own opinions, may I suggest not rated so high next time? Just kidding! I bought it therefore is a keeper and will listen to it again when it gets mixed with a 1,000 other songs and who knows? Maybe the Blandness will reveal itself to be something more complex and appealing but at this juncture 2 stars for Sufjan Stevens. Why did I ever think it would even compete with the best out there? Probably by the so many kind reviews it received! PS: Today is February 2008 and even though this might mean very little I have to say that upon further listening to this CD I have changed from 2 Stars to 4 Stars. Yes, it did get to me and since fair is fair I rate it now 4 Stars, even if no one else notices this revision or cares, for that matter. Not too Shabby, not too shabby....Music Review: One of the Best Albums Ever Made
Rating: 5 Stars
Each time I listen to this album, I'm left speechless. Every single selection is so carefully crafted, and no matter how unconventional, the entire album has matchless originality, sincerity, and musical integrity. It is really unlike anything I've ever heard.
I feel like Sufjan is directly communicating with the listener throughout every song. He has pushed me to research almost every aspect of the state of Illinois throughout the CD. His incorporation of both personal and historical elements is masterful. For example, the content matter of "Casimir Pulaski Day" seems to have nothing to do the title holiday unique to Illinois, until I noticed one of the last lines of the song, where he discreetly references remembering his lost friend "on the holiday". But he makes that subtle reference the title of his song, and it is nothing but appropriate. And "They Are Night Zombies!! . . ." seems like the most bizarre, far-out, self-indulgent piece of music, and it is, but it mentions a huge range of cities in the title state throughout the song, as well as some goosebump-worthy lyrics of a man speculating about death.
The instrumental songs somehow also incorporate the same elements as the songs with lyrics. How could I bring myself to skip over "A Short Reprise for Mary Todd. . .", a tribute to Lincoln's wife, when the chords just hauntingly melt into one another?
Sufjan Stevens' uses a very effective minimalist approach, where he spells out a simple if unusual musical theme as many times as he can with appropriate variations within each song. Therefore, his music feels comfortable and appropriate to the listener. I have never heard another artist so capable both technically and musically. I hope that every one who listens to this album can feel what I feel, because no album that I have ever listened to has spoken to me like this album has.
Music Review: How about an album on the State of Truthiness?
Rating: 3 Stars
While I lambaste the professional critics that touted this work as "album of the year", I commend the numerous Amazon reviewers that laid down the truth on this album's merit. I had never heard of Sufjan Stevens prior to reading the write-ups... in no less then five "Best of 2005" articles.
Based on what I'd read I had prepared myself for the second coming of Beck! With phrases like "new standards for ambition", "Stevens' gift for crossing the grand with the intimate", "it's pop-art of the highest caliber" and finally "...cements Stevens as one of the most vital voices in music today." If Stevens is one of today's most vital voices, then my worst fears for today's music have been validated. Come on music press, this is your freaking job! Is this the best you can do?
Ultimately and unfortunately it took be about six listens before Illinoise started growing on me. I rarely have time to give a CD two, let alone six chances before I make a decision, but being from Illinois and thinking I must be missing something the critics were hearing, I trudged through.
There are a lot of influences I took away from this CD although Brian Wilson wasn't one of them. What I did hear was Jimmie Spheeris, Simon & Garfunkel, The Polyphonic Spree, Violent Femmes, The Flaming Lips and Philip Glass/Steven Reich. And is it me or does the trumpet in The Man of Metropolis sound reminiscent of the closing bars of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno?
At the end of the day the CD is good, but not great. If your music shekels are limited, I'd suggest Extraordinary Machine by Fiona Apple, Amadou and Mariam's - Dimanche & Bamako or Employment by Kaiser Chiefs.
Btw if you bought the Illinoise CD/Album with Superman it may be a collector's item. Apparently there was a copyright issue with using the Man of Steel.