Vintage Review: Sufjan Stevens - Illinois

Sufjan Stevens – Illinois

Originally reviewed: 12 July 2005

Firstly, let’s get a few facts straight: Illinois is the best album I have heard so far this year; Illinois is the best album I’ve heard in a long time; and that’s not just my opinion either; many critics agree with me on this one. Also another fact: this could be the longest review I have ever written. Why? The album contains twenty-two songs, most of which are worth at least a page’s discussion. However, I plan to sum each song up in a few lines, because otherwise you’ll think this review is too long and won’t bother reading it. Another thing to make it easier on you is to shorten the song titles. It also makes it easier on me, and saves me typing out “The Black Hawk War, or, How to Demolish an Entire Civilization and Still Feel Good About Yourself in the Morning, or, We Apologize for the Inconvenience But You're Going to Have to Leave Now, or, 'I have fought the Big Knives and will continue to fight them until they are off our lands!'"

The album opens with “Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, IL” which features a piano melody that John Williams would be proud of. The music really does sound like flying saucers from the movies, however, this is not at all pretentious, and fits the song perfectly. The second track (and the one which has the longest title, mentioned above) “The Black Hawk War…” is a nice little instrumental song which leads perfectly into the outstanding “Come on! Feel the Illinoise!” The song has two parts (each in a different time signature, so musicians will easily know where one starts and the other begins). It does not feel like a two-part song though, just one seven minute masterpiece. Part 2 tells how the poet Carl Sandburg came to Stevens in a dream, and the listener will soon find themselves singing the line “I cried myself to sleep last night” at various times for the rest of their lives. Yes, the song really is that good.

Track four, “John Wayne Gacy, Jr.” is an attempt to get into the mind of a serial killer. It features some of Stevens’ greatest song writing, and perhaps his finest vocal moment when his voice soars for the line “Oh my God”. Stevens makes the listener feel the song, feel the terror. The last part of the song is Stevens’ bravest moment as he compares himself to Gacy: "And in my best behaviour, I am really just like him". However, Stevens is never sympathetic to Gacy, instead denigrating him with the contempt he deserves. “Jacksonville” is centred around a really catchy melody, and does not pale in comparison to what has gone before. Like many of the songs, “Jacksonville” is about an important Illinois figure – President Andrew Jackson. Other notable Illinois people feature on the album: Carl Sandburg, John Wayne Gacy, Frank Lloyd Wright, Mary Todd Lincoln, Casimir Pulaski, and many others.

Some of the songs such as “A Short Reprise for Mary Todd...”, “One Last ‘Woo-hoo!’ for the Pullman”, and “In This Temple…” are short songs which are mainly segues from the previous song into the next. “Decatur” is the song where Stevens must have pulled out the rhyming dictionary – it contains every possible word that can rhyme with “Decatur”. One line is “Abraham Lincoln was the great emancipator”. Who ever thought they would ever hear the word “emancipator” in a song? “Chicago” features a choir and brass section, which enhances Stevens’ usual banjo playing. It’s also one of the happiest songs he has ever written.

“Casimir Pulaski Day” vies for the title of the best song on the album. And there sure are a lot of songs vying for that title. Stevens questions God while remembering a lost loved one. The lyrics truly are beautiful. "Tuesday night at the Bible study, we lift our hands and pray over your body. But nothing ever happens" may even cause the listener to question things – it’s that damn powerful and moving. The album could even have ended here, and it still would have been perfect. But when you’re as ambitious as Stevens is, you just don’t know when to stop. And luckily for music-lovers everywhere, he doesn’t know when to stop.

“To the Workers of the Rockford River Valley Region…” is a nice jazz-infused instrumental, and leads into the rockier “The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts.” The verses and trashy guitar sections contrast perfectly with the all female choir of the chorus. The track is another inspired moment from the genius that is Sufjan Stevens. “Prairie Fire That Wanders About” is another hymn-like tune, which could have been sung eight hundred of years ago. “The Predatory Wasp…” is the biggest ballad on the album, and could well be a future single for Stevens. He might have to shorten the title of it a bit though!

“They Are Night Zombies!!...” features an overabundance of exclamation points in the title, but this is what we have come to know and love about Stevens – his love of bizarre titles to match his bizarre songs!!!!!!!! In Illinois there are a lot of ghost towns, and “…Night Zombies…” is “basically kind of dramatization of ghosts from old ghost towns being exhumed and coming to life and chanting their names” according to Stevens. The song itself is a successful attempt at a funky disco. “Let’s Hear That String Part Again…” is less a reprise of what’s gone before, and more a beautiful instrumental piece which combines with “In This Temple…” to lead into “The Seer’s Tower” – the name is a pun on Chicago’s famous Sears Tower. The song is very downbeat in tone and instrumentation – just Stevens and a piano, with those Night Zombies on backing vocals once again.

“The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders” will soon be a clap-along classic, as Stevens will need the audience to do all the clapping on his live shows. Come and visit Ireland, Sufjan, I’d be more than happy to clap along! The first section, “The Great Frontier” is a beautiful Polyphonic Spree type song, as it surely must feature as many people as the Spree in the chorus. The last song “Out of Egypt…” is the longest instrumental track on the album, and brings the album to a beautiful close.

Tracks to Download: Buy this album, download this album, steal this album, by whatever means get this album!

9.5 – The best album of the year so far. But somehow I doubt anything will better it. He has his work cut out if he plans to make another 48 albums as good. Both the first and second halves of the album would have been excellent albums in their own right. If Bright Eyes is the new Dylan, Sufjan Stevens is the new Neil Young. Now hopefully he’ll get the recognition he deserves.

List: Best Albums of the Decade 10-1

The final part of my countdown of the top 110 albums of the decade. Do you agree with some of the choices? Or do you think they stink to the high heavens? Please let me know, one way or another. You can find 110-101 here, 100-91 here, 90-81 here, 80-71 here, 70-61 here, 60-51 here, 50-41 here, 40-31 here, 30-21 here, and 20-11 here. Finally, here's the most important piece of the puzzle:

10. Joanna Newsom - Ys (2006)

The first time I heard this album, I couldm't get enough. I thought it was the best thing ever. The most gorgeous album ever made. I've lessened the hyperbole a little since, but I still love it. A fantastic album, but not for everyone. Features excessive harp playing and shrill vocals. Be warned!

9. The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America (2007)

The best bar band in America hit the big time with this album. It's a record by guys nearing forty who act like they are eighteen. Thus it appeals to the kid inside all of us. But it's the lyrics that get you to stay around. Intelligent stories that are much more than mere tales about getting wasted and going to parties. They feature excellent characters who live vividly exciting lives. We're all jealous.

8. Jason Isbell - Sirens of the Ditch (2007)

Jason Isbell's first solo album was recorded while he was still a Trucker, but it shone in so many ways. Who could argue with the blistering rock and the excellent lyrics? Take 'Dress Blues' for example. Has there been a better song written about the wars in Afghanistan or Iraq? Somehow I doubt it. Bitterly beautiful. It also helps that Jason himself is one of the best guitarists around.

7. The Strokes - Is This It (2001)

A lot was written about the Strokes when they first came on the scene. They've tried to repeat the success of this since, but neither their band albums or solo projects have matched the suckerpunch that was Is This It. Straight-up rock like this just can't be messed with.

6. Sufjan Stevens - Illinois (2005)

A concept album about the American state, this was so much bigger than Stevens' first attempt, Michigan. It features the slogan "Come on Feel the Illinoise" on the cover, which just lets you know what kind of album this is going to be. Fun and egotistical, it's Stevens' masterpiece.

5. Radiohead - In Rainbows (2007)

Forget about the method of payment (you downloaded it illegally even though you could get it for free, didn't you?). This album was so much better than anyone could have expected. It's probably their most accessible album, and as a result it's their best work since OK Computer. Some of the songs are a little overblown, but who cares? That's the Radiohead style. We love them all the more for it.

4. Ryan Adams - Love is Hell (2003)

Ryan Adams has never got on well with labels. They didn't even want to release this album, so he gave them the decent Rock N Roll instead. But it was this combination of two EPs, the first which came out in 2003 that was the real success. His best work so far, it's a gorgeous album of mellow, poignant tunes. Some may not stand out on first listen (some not all), but when you let them seep in, you'll realise the glory. Phenomenal.

3. The White Stripes - White Blood Cells (2001)

No, it doesn't have a single like 'Seven Nation Army'. Few albums do. What this has is much better: Sixteen urgent quickfire songs, each one a standout on a marvelous album. It was hard to believe that only two people were involved in this record, and that there was no bass guitar in sight, but when you're as fine a guitar player as Jack White is, you need little else.

2. Drive-By Truckers - The Dirty South (2004)

The best album to come out of the confederacy since... well, ever. It's a tribute to southern United States, and an absolutely magnificent one at that. It's full of marvellous stories and imagery, such as the splendid 'Carl Perkins Cadillac' and 'Danko/Manuel', which are touching songs about the legendary musicians. The album sealed the Drive-By Truckers status as modern American legends, and is a stunning collection of songs. Simply amazing.

1. Mic Christopher - Skylarkin' (2001)

My gorgeous other half, Gill, asked me why I love this album so much. I couldn't give her a decent answer. I don't think there are words strong enough to describe the connection I have to this album. I can't help but be captivated by its beauty every single time I put it on. Released after Mic's tragic death in 2001, this was the finest hour of one of Ireland's greatest ever songwriters. Together with his work with the Mary Janes, Mic was carving out a career up there with Van Morrison's. Sadly, following a show in Holland in 2001, Mic had an accident, falling down a flight of stairs and hitting his head. He never regained consciousness and died a few days later. It was the biggest loss to the music world since the death of Jeff Buckley four years earlier. Skylarkin is just as good as Grace, if not better. The best album of the decade.

List: Best Albums of the Decade 70-61

Part Five of my countdown of the top 110 albums of the decade, and we're not even half-way there. You can find 110-101 here, 100-91 here, 90-81 here, and 80-71 here. But for now, here's 70-61...

70. Bruce Springsteen - We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions (2006)

Bruce Springsteen's most outlandish album of his career is also one of his best. A departure from everything else he's ever done, his tribute to legendary folk radical Pete Seeger showed that he could turn his hand to anything and be succesful. A compilation of ancient traditional songs, this was one of the best folk albums of the decade, and made us wonder how great Springsteen could have been had he been a folkie all along.

69. The White Stripes - Icky Thump (2007)

After the darker Get Behind Me Satan, The White Stripes returned to a more punky fuller sound on Icky Thump. It included songs that sounded like White Stripes classics such as 'You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)' and newer, edgier stuff like the excellent mariachi cover 'Conquest'. These were just some of many highlights, alongside a brilliant title track and the wonderful 'Rag and Bone'. It's the most recent White Stripes album, and bodes well for the next decade.

68. Sufjan Stevens - Michigan (2003)

The first of his now eternally delayed Fifty States project, Michigan was one of two fantatsic albums released by Sufjan Stevens in 2003/04. The other Seven Swans was a slower, more melodic album. This one paved the way for his masterpiece Illinois, it was a series of magnificent tales about his home state, and has more references than wikipedia.

67. Warren Zevon - The Wind (2003)

The legendary Zevon's last album, released just two short weeks before his death, was also his best in a long time. Featuring a splendid duet with Bruce Springsteen as well as a tremendous cover of Bob Dylan's 'Knocking on Heaven's Door', this album featured one of the best ensemble casts of musicians ever. The fact that Zevon was able to get such respected artists as Jackson Browne, Emmylou Harris, Ry Cooder, Don Henley, Dwight Yoakam, and Tom Petty just proves how respected he was, and how much he's missed by the musical community worldwide.

66. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago (2007)

Forget about the backstory with the break-ups and log cabins, the music on here would be damn good regardless of anything surrounding it. The story gets you into it, but it's the music itself that keeps you listening. Again and again. Only nine songs long, but every one of them is hauntingly beautiful and immediately enchanting. The only problem with this is that Justin Vernon will probably never make a record like this again.

65. TV on the Radio - Dear Science (2008)

Sadly dropped the comma from the official release, Dear Science, is TV on the Radio's masterpiece. It's an album that should be played in clubs. It's increidbly danceable, but sadly never hit the mainstream heights it deserved. It also showed that band member Dave Sitek was one of the finest producers around. Not a blip or beep is wasted.

64. Arcade Fire - Funeral (2005)

This was Arcade Fire's first introduction to most of the world. Their self-titled EP had got a lot of good press, but with the release of Funeral, those wacky Canadians went from relative unknowns to worldwide superstars. It has sold millions of copies worldwide, and probably is the only alternative album to ever do so. You'll probably see it high on many decade-end lists, higher than on here, but it sadly never reaches the peaks of its many singles. A great album, but they may have better in them. Wait and see.

63. Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf (2002)

The album that confirmed Josh Homme as a superstar, Songs for the Deaf is probably one of the finest concept albums of the decade. It's easy to forget that aside from the splendid hard-rock singles such as 'Go With the Flow' and 'No One Knows', the album underneath was a commentary on listening to various radio stations while driving across the Mojave Desert to Los Angeles. It was clever, and brilliant, but mostly it rocked. Hard.

62. The National - Boxer (2007)

The National's fourth album is their best work so far. Singer Matt Beringer never sounded as good as he did on the dark melodies of 'Fake Empire', 'Mistake for Strangers' and the other ten fantastic songs here. It's bleakly beautiful, but most importantly: damned addictive.

61. Muse - Black Holes and Revelations (2006)

.Muse's 2009 album was a major disappointment. It's the worst thing they've done to date. Luckily, the rest of their career is far better. This, their fourth album was a change in direction, much more spacey and out-there than their previous work. This however was no mad-scientist/UFO-sighting nonsense, but instead was a fine collection of songs (apart from the awful always-skipped 'Soldier's Poem'). Each of the singles is incredible, with the lead 'Suppermassive Black Hole' the best of them. It was totally different than anything they had done before, but also one of the most sonically pleasing, danceable tracks of the noughties.

The Countdown continues tomorrow... If I can pull myself away from X Factor, of course!