Review Summary: "To the Singer/Songwriter of Illinois, I Have a Review Concerning Your Album, and It Involves Glowing Praise, Tears, and a Classic Rating."
I feel that listening to Illinoise is, to me, what drugs are to many other people; entertaining, kinda psychedelic, a great trip and ungodly addictive. No matter my mood, time of day, or location, Illinois has never lost a touch of poignancy to me. And it’s going to be really difficult to explain why.
Talking about the music is a real challenge here. I feel if I was more knowledgeable in chord progression, meter and the technicalities of music, I could go on for hours. But in my present state I am limited to what I can hear, and what I can hear is generally indescribable. (In my opinion) Never before has an indie album had such lush and gentle orchestration. Sufjan himself said that "I was pretty nearsighted in the construction of Illinoise. I spent a lot of time alone, a few months in isolation working on my own and in the studio. I let things germinate and cultivate independently, without thinking about an audience or a live show at all”, and I feel this really shows in the piece as a whole. There is no concession that he makes in order to play these realistically, instead relying heavily on double recording upon double recording, many instruments and a shed-load of ambition. In fact, most of the aforementioned instruments were recorded, edited and produced by Stevens himself within his recording studio (I cried when I found out this fact) and I believe it shows in the music, everything is almost too perfect, every note on every horn and harp and violin is played with exactly the right emotions and tone in mind for every single moment in every single track. But when Stevens recognizes the need for a quieter/more introspective moment he knows to tone it down: Album highlights John Wayne Gacy. Jr. and Casimir Pulaski Day are much more stripped down affairs that focus more on Steven’s voice (more on that later), but when a larger moment is called for the orchestration never loses it’s intimacy or emotion (see Out of Egypt, in my opinion one of the best album closers ever made, right next to Soon from Loveless, Eclipse from Dark Side of the Moon and Two Headed Boy pt 2 from In The Aeroplane Over The Sea). As I write, To The Workers of the Rock River Valley Region… just came on. Guess who’s crying again!
On to Stevens himself, vocally and lyrically. I can see many people being turned off of the record because of Stevens’ whisper-y and light vocals not really gelling (many of my friends are metal-heads, imagine going from listen to Satan to the prettiest fairy ever), but to me that lightness of his voice is the perfect compliment to the lush and flowing orchestration AND the smaller scale piano/guitar ballads. One thing that always amazes me is how Stevens never misses a note yet still perfect encapsulates the mood and emotion of any track. John Darnielle of Mountain Goats fame is a good counterpoint for this, being perfectly in the moment for every beat but not always hitting the required notes; Stevens does the impossible in combining both disciplines and not lessening the impact of either. And onto the lyrics; Illinoise is the most fun you’ll ever have learning. Throughout the album Stevens includes many references to the history of the state, obscure and well known. Look out for Come On! Feel the Illinoise! Part 1: The World’s Fair for the most obvious example of this, pairing real historical content with ingenious rhyming couplets and changes in the meter (“Cannot conversations cull united nations? If you got the patience, celebrate the ancients”). But this doesn’t stop Stevens from making some extremely personal, heartfelt and gut-wrenching lyrics, such as The Predatory Wasp (“There on the wall in the bedroom creeping/ I see a wasp with her wings outstretched”). But in my opinion the lyrical peaks of the record come when the introspective poetry of Stevens is paired, juxtaposed and used as a foil to the absolute fetishism that he seems to have with the state of Illinois. Will I ever forget the first time I heard Chicago, and Stevens’ uplifting refrain of “I fell in love again/All things go, all things go/Drove to Chicago/All thinks know, all thinks know”? Probably never. But to talk about the man behind the music without talking about the music is a gross task in undermining him; this is overwhelmingly Stevens’ album and every note, every lyric, every voice, every layer belongs to him. Out of Egypt is on and I’m crying for the second time today.
There are many albums I will push on people. “LISTEN TO LOVELESS” I scream, “MY BEAUTIFUL DARK TWISTED FANTASY WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE” I holler into your ear at an uncomfortably close distance, but I tend to keep Illinois close at hand. It’s got a personal touch, made with so much love and skill, that the passion obviously put into the project rubs off upon first listen and it immediately feels extremely close and almost handmade to tailor to your sensibilities. Though it’s not my favourite album, I often cite it as the album that’s closest to perfect, from the hundreds I have listened to in my lifetime. It’s that good.
