Album Reviews

A trademark dispute with National Periodic Publications (D.C. Comics) over the original cover art postponed the release of this record. Because Metropolis, Illinois is officially recognized by D.C. Comics as “the home of Superman,” Mr. Stevens references it in the lyrics and had the cover art show the man of steel flying in front of Chicago’s John Hancock Tower. D.C. Comics sued, in what definitely gets the company “dick move of the musical year” award from me. The legal problems delayed the release of the album. While it was originally in the November “In Heavy Rotation,” I’ve moved it here because of the delay.

If analog wasn’t limited to vinyl, this record would be more appropriately released as a colorful tapestry you could play on your turntable, or hang from your window on July 4th.

When you hear Sufjan Stevens show sympathy and compassion for child mass murderer John Wayne Gacy Jr. on track four of this extraordinarily beautiful, tender, literate and quintessentially American double LP, you will know the difference between a true and admirable Christian and the evildoers masquerading as such, currently running America and holding sway in the media.

How’s that for an opener? We all know about record cleaning, but how about a record that cleanses? Listen to Mr. Stevens and his friends on this uplifting, transcendent and quite remarkable album and you will come away believing in some kind of great unseen, even if you are an atheist. Take it from me.

All of this is done well outside the missionary position, believe me, as that’s something I will have no part of. Instead, this second album in Mr. Stevens grand plan to produce one album dedicated to each of the 50 states, pays tribute to what is good in the state of Illinois, and that includes the good in John Wayne Gacy and the bad in Sufjan Stevens. I come back to that song because of its visual power, and because the message it transmits through its back channels doesn’t easily shake from the mind.

Mr. Stevens travels through the state in both space and time, transforming a well-documented UFO sighting covering a wide swath of the state near Scott Air Force base (Stevens turns the UFO, said to be a football field sized triangle with a bright light at each corner, into a ghost), visiting the 1893 Columbian Exposition, having the ghost of poet Carl Sandburg pay a visit in a dream, traveling through Jacksonville, Illinois describing various landmarks such as Nichols Park, the state school for the Deaf, and imagining when the town was a stop on the underground railroad—all painted with the delicate brushstrokes of a sensitive, aware artist.

So much information, so much history, so many references, both obvious and oblique pass through Mr. Stevens’ lyrics, many listenings are required to grasp them all, and having an Internet connection handy wouldn’t hurt in getting the scoop on many of them.

At a time when dumbness is so in vogue, Sufjan Stevens is quite happy to let you know he’s been thinking, and he expresses his thoughts using wonderfully melodic turns that are sweet and sometimes delicate without becoming precious, and personal without ever becoming self-indulgent.

Not content to be the poetic observer and vocalist, Stevens also plays guitar, piano, bass, drums, flute, oboe, banjo, accordion, glockenspiel and many other instruments, but this is hardly a solo effort: he’s got a drummer, an accordionist, a trumpeter, back-up singers, and a string quartet to add tone and texture to his creations. He’s also a masterful arranger and a damn good engineer with a fine sense of sonic esthetics: he knows how to create space, layer instruments and produce colors and moods with great skill.

This is thoughtful, well-crafted, impressively arranged, cinematic music and a produced record that you will come home to again and again. The music will stay with you long after you’ve put the record away, but more importantly, the feelings will remain with you for longer, and they are particularly good and positive feelings at a time when many of us can’t see the use for them given what’s going on in the country right now.

This double LP set comes in a wonderfully illustrated triple-gatefold package and includes a lyric sheet as well. The sound and production, though digital, will surprise and please you with its warmth and complexity. You’ll find yourself exclaiming as I do after I play it, “Imagine if this guy had real money to produce a record?”

I paid under $15.00 at insound.com for my copy. If you’ve ever taken my advice and bought a recommendation and it’s proven to be a good one, do yourself a favor and pick up this album. It will take you through the next year with a smile on your face and some optimism in your heart. End of sermon (I made one, Stevens doesn’t make any on the record, rest assured.)