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Illinois
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Product Details/SpecificationsRecording label: Asthmatic Kitty EAN: 0656605892627Binding: Audio CDRelease Date: 2005-07-05Universal product code (UPC): 656605892627Number of discs: 1Album Description
Subtitled Come On Feel The..., Sufjan Stevens & The Michigan Militia have moved to Illinois (dubbing themselves the Illinoisemakers) but this new album is the same Sufjan we know and love. Fingerpicked ballads of delicate twang, tasteful orchestration, and titles that are murder on the ID3 tags. While this album unmistakably owes its inspiration to the sound of Michigan, Sufjan has managed to take his orchestra-like folk template and expand on it, tapping into unexpected genres and bringing unexpected instruments like strings and woodwinds to the forefront, all while relating tales of the state's history as well as possibly fictional stories about its residents. To sweeten the deal, Sufjan's vocals have also improved some: he's managed to make his thin, meek vocal presence a little more noticeable, and while that doesn't stop him from using members of the quirky Danielson Famile as his own personal choir, it's nice to hear him sound more assured on some of this album's mellower moments. Rough Trade. 2005.
Amazon.com
Illinois sounds like The Sea and Cake collaborating with the high-school band from a Wes Anderson film on banjo-driven, pulsing meditations on Vince Guaraldi's music for Peanuts. Sufjan Stevens, the singer-songwriter behind the endeavor, is an earnest and whimsical young man who aims to record an album based on every state in the union, though this is just his second attempt since 2003's Michigan. Lavish praise has been heaped upon this precocious twenty-something, who weaves personal recollections, historical narratives, and strange facts together to create lush portraits of Midwestern life. It's not maudlin stuff, and the atypical instrumentation (strings, choirs, trumpets, vibes) is beyond gimmick. Halfway through "John Wayne Gacy, Jr.," when Stevens has you feeling true empathy for a serial killer, it's clear that he really is an artist of the highest order. These are weird and lovely middlebrow ditties; we eagerly await the Broadway adaptation. --Mike McGonigal
GreatReview Date: 2010-02-27 Rating: 8 out of 10Sufjan Stevens is a bona fide songwriting machine. Stevens released a new album every year from 2003-06, the pinnacle of which was 2005's 'Illinois.' Strangely enough, it's also his only album to feature tracks that aren't actually songs, as 6 out of the 22 tracks are snippets of sound under a minute long. Some help connect songs, some are just fun, and a couple are simply unnecessary filler, which is not something the already 74-minute long album needs. Regardless, the actual songs here are superb examples of refined, affecting writing that combine to create one hell of a concept album, and perhaps the most influential musical work since The Strokes' 2001 debut 'Is This It.'
Standout tracks: Casimir Pulaski Day, Come On! Feel The Illinoise!, Chicago
ReviewsDon't buy another album until you have stolen this oneReview Date: 2010-02-26 Rating: 10 out of 10
I was first introduced to this album in a college class when John Wayne Gacy Jr. was played in a discussion of media and meaning. So masterfully crafted the listener is able to not only emotional identify with a serial killer and the frantic violent pleasure and guilt he felt, but also captured the horror and despair of the community. The last line where he identifies with the killer I thought was redundant because he already succeeded in emotional tying me to the serial killer.
The album is a beast to be conquered. Almost overwhelming in its scope I dropped probably 100 hours before I fully appreciated the album. At first 'Chicago' stood out to me- the most pop-radio worthy song on the album, and soon was caught with the simply folksy banjo of Decature, Jackson, and especially the beauty and sadness of Casimir Pulaski Day. After listing to the album a number of times the incredible structure of songs like "The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades..." was so moving. This may seem morbid, but Sufjan Stevens captures death more artfully and in a way that is emotionally present than any other musical artist out there. His use of quiet instruments to show the dissonant, frantic helplessness in the midst of a sweet and smooth melody is entrancing. Last I developed a real taste for his almost repetitive musical phrasing in the songs like Come on Feel the Illinoise.
On many songs his backup singers, the "Illinoise-makers" sing words that do not directly communicate storyline, but create atmosphere. Like a Freudian ink-blot test the word salad they project brings out associations and emotional responses that create so much texture within his music. He is a master story-teller and makes his stories emotionally eminent. Many songs take a few times listening to before you understand the story but as it unfolds itself to you, you will probably shed a few tears along the way.
Beware, if you listen to much Sufjan Stevens, other music tends to look more bland and feel more emotionally flat.It took a REALLY long time for this to get to me.Review Date: 2010-02-10 Rating: 6 out of 10It came 3 weeks after Christmas... I was not happy. Vinyl is in flawless conditionSufjan Steven's masterpiece!Review Date: 2009-11-11 Rating: 10 out of 10I'm going to keep this review pretty short and sweet. Many others have already said similar things here, but Sufjan Steven's Come on feel the Illinoise is quite simply one of the greatest music albums of the past decade. He's a brilliant songwriter, but also has such a great ear for interesting and original music compositions. Many of the tracks on the album end up with a very epic feel to them, but not in an overproduced manner. Sufjan poured his heart into creating this album and it shows.
Major highlights include: "Come on Feel the Illinoise!", "Chicago", "Decatur, or, Round of Applause...", "The Predatory Wasps...", "John Wayne Gacy, Jr.", "Jacksonville", "Casimir Pulaski Day", "They are Night Zombies!!...", "The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders...". 22 tracks in total. What are you waiting for, hit "add to cart" already. Great RecordReview Date: 2009-09-26 Rating: 10 out of 10Amazing record. Sound quality is beautiful, crystal clear. In my opinion, the only way to enjoy this music.
Disc 1 Tracks: 1. Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois2. Black Hawk War, Or, How to Demolish an Entire Civilization and ...3. Come on! Feel the Illinoise!: Pt. 1: The World's Columbian Exposition4. John Wayne Gacy, Jr.5. Jacksonville6. Short Reprise for Mary Todd, Who Went Insane, But for Very Good ...7. Decatur, Or, Round of Applause for Your Stepmother!8. One Last "Whoo-Hoo!" for the Pullman9. Chicago10. Casimir Pulaski Day11. To the Workers of the Rock River Valley Region, I Have an Idea ...12. Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts13. Prairie Fire That Wanders About14. Conjunction of Drones Simulating the Way in Which Sufjan Stevens ...15. Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is out to Get Us!16. They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back from17. Let's Hear That String Part Again, Because I Don't Think They Heard It18. In This Temple as in the Hearts of Man for Whom He Saved the Earth19. Seer's Tower20. Tallest Man, The Broadest Shoulders: Pt. 1: The Great Frontier/Pt. ...21. Riffs and Variations on a Single Note for Jelly Roll, Earl Hines, ...22. Out of Egypt, Into the Great Laugh of Mankind, And I Shake the ...Publishers: Asthmatic Kitty
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