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Music : ILLINOIS

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by: SUFJAN STEVENS

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List Price: $19.98

Amazon.com's Price: $18.98

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Binding: LP Record
EAN: 0656605892610
Label: Asthmatic Kitty
Manufacturer: Asthmatic Kitty
Number Of Discs: 2
Publisher: Asthmatic Kitty
Release Date: November 22, 2005
Sales Rank: 10186
Studio: Asthmatic Kitty

Disc 1:

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Editorial Review:

Album 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

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- An album for the head and the heart
I'd heard a great deal about Sufjan Stevens here on Amazon. What really hooked me was the album Illinoise, which features as its first song a tale of the UFO sighting in 2000 over Highland, Illinois. I live in Missouri, near St. Louis, so I remember the news reports. Anyways, curiousity rewards this listener with an entire album's worth of very fine music. To keep my review simple and not repeat what others have already said (and very well indeed), I'll just say Sufjan Stevens is a brilliant artist ... Read More

Rating:

- On the Music of Sufjan Stevens
Frankly, the music of Sufjan Stevens is a bit too twee and precious for my everyday tastes, but I'll be the first to admit that he comes close to touching something that exists in all of us -- that innate and intangible sense of "place" and "home" the likes of which famed authors John Steinbeck and Thomas Wolfe respectively attempted to dispel and recapture. This is more than simple reportage and anecdote; it's nothing less than a youthful attempt to get one's arms around the unifying spirit of, what seems ... Read More

Rating:

- A truly amazing piece of art
I would like to commend Sufjan Stevens here. This has to be one of the most creative albums I have ever heard, not only the 50 states project, but the vast scope of music he represents, throwing styles from folk to big band to electronica into the melting pot. The end result, (Come on Feel The) Illinoise, is a gorgeous banquet of indie/folk that appeals to all with its relaxing vibe. Illinoise covers, in only 25 or so songs, the state of Illinois and its history. This includes Mary Todd and Abraham Lincoln, ... Read More

Rating:

- Brilliant
I could provide a lengthy description here, talking about this and that song, style and technique and all that, but why bother? There's just one thing you need to know: this CD is extraordinary. "Jacksonville" is my favorite.
Glad I'm from Michigan, too.

Rating:

- Creative songwriting, good sound, I love it
As you may have heard, Sufjan Stevens wishes to come out with an album for each state and tailor the songs on each album to that particular state. I love the creativity of his songwriting, I love his voice and I love most of the songs on this album. "Chicago" has already gotten some play on the airwaves although the best track, in my opinion, is "Concerning a UFO Sighting Near Highland, IL".

Matt Zarnstorff

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