ILLINOIS

Wow, what a great record. The first tune I'd heard from it (and the first Sufjan song I'd heard at all) was the title track "Come on, feel the Illinoise," which was probably a bit misleading; with its busy orchestration and 5/4 time signature, it's the most uptempo song on the album, evoking the baroque broadway stylings of Rogers & Hammerstein. Instead of an album full of such gems, it is rounded out by rustic folk balladry ("Casmir Pulaski Day," "John Wayne Gacy, Jr," "Decatur"), lush instrumental numbers (most of the ones with the really long song titles), and even an all-out rocker ("The Man from Metropolis Steals our Hearts"). Stevens's instrumentation is truly beatiful--a seamless integration of guitar, banjo, and various woodwind instruments that complement his angelic voice wonderfully. The soundscapes can alternately evoke heartbreak, paint pastoral images, dig into a groove, or even make you want to get up and dance. And then there's the lyrics--it's easy to just focus on the illinois-related subject matter, turning the album into a clever exercise of 'catch the reference' (or even more difficultly, 'explain the reference'--I have no doubt that stevens knows more about these illinois towns than most of their residents, myself included, as a former napervillain). Still, to do so is a disservice to sufjan's elaborate songcraft. Rather than simply a clever reference-dropping game, stevens uses illinois more as a context for his songwriting, then challenging himself to find someway to meld the ingredients into moving narratives on the human condition. In my opinion, he succeeds in every case. The song with the highest potential for novelty, "John Wayne Gacey, Jr," is instead probably the most touching on the entire ablum. Stevens finds a way to simultaneously reflect on the horror and tragedy in these senseless murders, yet also identify with the anti-hero, trying to imagine what could lead to such a course (here centering on urban legend that a young gacey was hit in the head by a child on a swingset), while also commenting on the fact that we all have our secrets to hide, some more awful than others. Anyway, this record is an amazing accomplishment of monumental proportions (not to mention monumental song title lengths). I'm interested to see if and how Stevens delivers on his promise to make a record for each state.

Is Sufjan Stevens insane? "Illinois" is only the second stop on a planned collection of 50 state-themed albums. It's the type of project whose sheer scale and mad ambition boggle the mind, calling forth a number of rhetorical questions: Is he really going to spend the bulk of his career on such a huge project? Given the fact that "Michigan" came out two years ago, shouldn't he pick up the pace a bit? Will he really make a separate album for, say, North and South Dakota? I hope so. Illinois is a great album, almost certainly the best of the year so far. It opens with a delicate and beautiful piano track entitled "Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois." From there, Stevens criss-crosses the state, heading to Jacksonville, Decatur and Chicago, creating a musical travelogue as thorough as any Rand McNally guidebook. Importantly, Stevens doesn't spend all his time going from point A to point B; he also stops to get to know people, writing about everyone from John Wayne Gacy to Superman to Abraham Lincoln to Carl Sandburg. Some of the references amount to little more than name-dropping, but the beautiful Superman song and the haunting Gacy track show that, most of the time, Stevens is really trying to understand how a place could be embodied by such disparate characters. Thematically, too, he covers a lot of ground. "Oh, God of progress, have you degraded or forgot us? Where have your walls gone? I think about it now," he asks in what is probably the only song that will ever be written about the Columbian Exposition of 1893. For good measure, he throws in a little religious imagery later in the album; though his observations here feel a little self-centered and angry, you have to give him credit for honesty and candor. Musically, Stevens borrows from a range of styles, from Iron and Wine's hushed folkiness to Philip Glass's bright string and flute and vibraphone arrangements. Somehow he pulls it all together, though; the album's tone ranges from the playful optimism of "Come On! Feel the Illinoise!" to the breathy atmospherics of "The Seer's Tower" but still feels like the creation of a single creative genius. "Are you writing from the heart? Are you writing from the heart?" the ghost of Carl Sandburg asks him on the third track; the next song, the chilling "John Wayne Gacy, Jr." answers with a resounding yes. I'd never heard of Stevens before hearing the glowing reviews for this album; now that I've heard it, I'm looking forward to catching up with a musical trip down I-94 to "Michigan." Hopefully by the time I'm done exploring his back catalog, he'll have the next state done, and hopefully it'll be as good as "Illinois"; even though I wonder how he can possibly finish this cross-country odyssey, I'm looking forward to riding shotgun.

Sufjan's latest album vacillates musically from soul-searching folk tunes to big, complex, multi-layered production numbers that would be perfectly comfortable in a broadway show. It is an entralling emotional journey that takes us to the depths of Sufjan's darkest moral nadirs to his most triumphant and hopeful epiphanies. Never before has an album struck me as being such a complete statement about the human condition. Perhaps it is Sufjan's Christian faith (which is slightly less of a focus on this album than on the two previous albums) that allows him to hold such an odd combination of despair and distress supplemented by boundless hope for the future. Take this as a lesson for the bland musical artists who market themselves to the evangelical Christian crowd, Sufjan's music is what you can do when you simply let your faith inform and inspire the music rather than just use the music as a cheap evangelization tool. (I should be sure to say that despite the obvious Christian influence, this is not preachy music and it can be -- and is -- enjoyed by persons of all faiths and no faith at all.) The songs are all loosely based on historical and geographical trivia of the state of Illinois. As with his previous album "Michigan", Sufjan uses these structures as a jumping-off point for a more complex exploration of the human experience. Musically, Sufjan employs a variety of styles. Some of the tracks are relatively simple acoustic folk arrangements. Other tracks, such as "Come on Feel the Illinoise", "Chicago", and the powerful almost-finale "The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders", exhibit compexity in layered arrangements supported by orchestra and horns and a full chorus. Syncopated rhythms and uncommon time signatures are employed to their fullest. The album cannot be described adequately in words, because so much of its power is in its undeniably magnificent emotional impact. It is pure beauty. It is not overstatement to say that it will surely be considered a candidate for greatest album of 2005, and I believe it may be the greatest album of the decade thus far.

There is a riot going on in popular music right now, something called "New Folk" or "Neo-Folk." The practitioners don't really sound alike-- Animal Collective, Iron & Wine, Devendra Barnhardt, Stevens-- but together these artists comprise an important school of contemporary music: organic yet lush, in some cases challenging traditional song form, borrowing from the sounds of traditional folk and folk rock but assembling them in wholly new ways, and managing to avoid evoking James Taylor or Dylan or any of their forebears from before 1990. This album is a masterpiece of the genre (if Neo Folk is indeed a genre as opposed to a scene), and it is a true gem that will only get better with age. You probably know Stevens intends to do an album about each of the 50 US states, and has already done one about Michigan. Come On Feel the Illinoise is difficult to pigeonhole with "sounds like" comparisons-- acoiustic guitar, gentle vocals, quirky vocals, woodwinds, odd keyboard tones and off kilter rhythms drift in and out. I'll try and define the epicenter of the sound by using these three points: Brian Wilson's grander, more orchestral work; Joni Mitchell; and Phillip Glass. But of course, that doesn't do the album, or the artist, justice. Illinoise is an album that demands to be heard in sequence, in its entirety. Songs flow into one another, and the work is a singular one, not a bunch of songs assembled and released. You can play this in the background while doing something else; for friends at a social gathering; or on headphones while listening intently to every nuance. It will reward in each setting. Indeed, this may not be the new folk at all. It is so grand, so shimmering, so compelling, that it may just be the new classical music.

I love it. It's the only purchase of the artist I've made so far but plan to research more material. I recommend this album.

This has always been in my "Vinyl want list" since I began collecting, but I've been hesitant because of the mixed reviews. Recently, I decided to just hit the "add to cart" button, and now I can confidently say that this is, sound quality wise, one of the best records of my collection. Yes, vinyl is a pain in the butt. I've received Pringles shaped warped discs, scratched surfaces, off center spindle holes. Sometimes is factory's fault, sometimes is transportation or wrong storage related. In the last 6 months I've bought some 20 vinyl and had to return 4, but you usually got a replacement or refund anyway. It's kind of a hassle, but I'm positive enough about this hobby to just keep going while I learn to enjoy the trip. I think this album is worth a try, especially if it's on your "Vinyl want list".

Sufjan Stevens and his toss-off-an-album-for-each-of-the-fifty-American-states gambit is like collecting stamps, baseball cards, fountain pens, or--say--old beer bottles. From a distance, you say 'Oh, yuck!' if in fact you get close enough to the enterprise to say anything at all. Then, in an unexpected moment, the sheer methodical, meticulous glory of it dawns on you like an epiphany. After that you pity the people who don't. Stevens and his ILLINOIS album were urged upon me by the two Murdy daughters of Medford, Massachusetts, two wildly intelligent young women who read and listen to all manner of off-the-track stuff, convinced that people who stay on the track have been sucked up by a pop culture flood that is fourteen miles wide and on a good day perhaps a quarter inch deep. It took me *many* listens until the beauty of it finally dawned. Prior that that moment, Stevens' voice seemed unappealing, his musical tastes lurching from one unfortunate corner of the room to another. It was hard, in truth, to find rhyme or reason. Then something happened and I stepped inside of his brain to take *his* look at Illinois--a state in which I once lived and which I now frequent on business--and *bingo!*. You can see what the man is doing. I suspect loyalty to the Sufjan Stevens-ian genre is going to be intense and spotty until he reaches a critical mass of, say, a dozen states. Then this thing is going to take off like a rocket and he's going to be receiving hand-written, death-bed missives from states he hasn't chronicled yet pleading with him to do so before the imminent you-know-what happens to the writer. One of those may come from Indiana ... He's not a fantastic singer and the music itself will not grab you by the aesthetic throat and drag you helplessly away. But once you look at *Illinois* or *Michigan* through this music. I'm tellin' you, you're gonna' be a collector.

It's really hard to put Sufjan's music into a category. I suppose folk music is close - but it has a unique cadence which is hard to really define. This is perhaps why I love this music so much. Sufjan's voice is incredibly sweet and clear, and the music is gentle without ever once being insipid or dull. The blend of instruments at times creates an almost magical feel - banjo, oboe, strings, horn. The chorus of voices on some of the tracks is also clear and cool, as in "They are the Night Zombies." This album is dedicated to the state of Illinois, and there has also been one of Michigan. I guess it was probably too ambitious to do one for each state, and I think he has abandoned that idea - but the concept works well on this one. It has a city feel and there is a twinge of nostalgia in some of the songs. Mostly, however, the lyrics are unsentimental but thoughtful. This is the kind of music to listen to late at night, or early in the morning when you get up and are fixing a cup of coffee. It goes with the chirping of crickets, or the early morning twitter of birds. Relax and enjoy it - it is therapeutic. I found it inspiring and would highly recommend it.

Il voulait écrire un album pour chacun des états américains ! Entreprise folle à laquelle il a vite renoncé, non sans nous avoir légué ce bijou dont le titre parodie une vieille scie de Slade, des mal-aimés des 70s (à juste titre d'ailleurs). La pureté, la grâce et un mélange de tristesse et de joie au service de mélodies inoubliables, voici les ingrédients d'un grand, très grand disque de pop céleste. Sufjan Stevens se hisse tout là-haut, avec les plus grands.

Otro excelente trabajo de este gran músico 💯

Excelente presentación, empacado, me llegó integro y super rápido buen precio, excelente álbum también. y ya creo es todo. gracias.

Came In perfect condition and packaged with a lot of care! It came right on time which is perfect because it was a birthday gift!

届いてから３日 もう何回もリピートしてます １曲 Concerning the UFO sighting near highland IllInois の麗美なピアノのイントロで幕を開け、２曲目のThe black hawk war ではショーの始まりのような展開を見せ、５拍子の楽しげな３曲目、 殺人鬼についての曲、John Wayne Gacy Jr. スフィアン得意のバンジョーのリズムが主体のディケーター そして名曲、シカゴ それ以降もワスプ〜など名曲が多いのですが、何せ曲数が多いので語りきれません（笑） とにかく買って損はないと思います。