Songs LX: Sufjan Stevens' Illinois
Fresh from glowing reviews of his last two albums Greetings from Michigan: The Great Lakes State and Seven Swans, and an appearance on the soundtrack to The O.C. (!), Sufjan Stevens will release his new album Illinois on July 5th. I admit I've been a little apprehensive about the new album - it's part of a very ambitious plan to release a record for each of the 50 states (and I skeptically wondered if any artist could avoid sacrificing quality for quantity with that many remaining states to slog through - even if they know they might not actually pull off 48 more albums), and when I saw the tracklisting with incredibly long titles I wondered if he was wandering into some bat-shit-crazy Fionna Apple territory (Supposedly, they will be even longer on the album insert). And I really wanted to like it!
But Illinois is really, really good - more Michigan than Seven Swans, but more grand and, well, epic - and upon first listen seems no less personal. With over 30 instruments and what sounds like an occassional choir or chorus or two, it's best described by his PR man: "One person I've talked to said, 'It's like the music at the Hall of Presidents at Disneyland, like really big and kind of patriotic sounding.' Sufjan really wanted to make it sound a little bit more polished and professional..." I think it's his best yet, and here's the tracklisting with a few select favorites:
01 Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, IL
02 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!"
03 Come on! Feel the Illinoise!
-Part I: The World's Columbian Exposition
-Part II: Carl Sandburg Visits Me in a Dream
04 John Wayne Gacy, Jr. [as in the notorious Chicago serial killer]
05 Jacksonville
06 A Short Reprise for Mary Todd, Who Went Insane, But for Very Good Reasons
07 Decatur, or, Round of Applause for Your Step Mother!
08 One Last "Woo-hoo!" for the Pullman
09 Chicago
10 Casimir Pulaski Day
11 To the Workers of the Rockford River Valley Region, I have an Idea Concerning Your Predicament, and it involves shoe string, a lavender garland, and twelve strong women
12 The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts
13 Prairie Fire That Wanders About
14 A Conjunction of Drones Simulating the Way in Which Sufjan Stevens Has an Existential Crisis in the Great Godfrey Maze
15 The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us!
16 They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From the Dead!! Ahhhhh!
17 Let's Hear That String Part Again, Because I Don't Think They Heard It All the Way Out in Bushnell
18 In This Temple, as in the Hearts of Man, for Whom He Saved the Earth
19 The Seer's Tower
20 The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders
-Part I: The Great Frontier
-Part II: Come to Me Only With Playthings Now
21 Riffs and Variations on a Single Note for Jelly Roll, Earl Hines, Louis Armstrong, Baby Dodds, and the King of Swing, to Name a Few
22 Out of Egypt, into the Great Laugh of Mankind, and I shake the dirt from my sandals as I run