Sufjan Stevens Illinois Double LP Superman Cover *RARE*
£
32
$
42
Favourite Auctions
To save auctions to your favourites, please login
If you don't have an account, please register
Description
Very rare first pressing featuring Superman which is not on later pressing due to copyright issues with DC Comics.
The second entry from sui generis singer/songwriter Sufjan Stevens in his absurdly ambitious project to make a record for every state in America outdistances even 2003's superb GREETINGS FROM MICHIGAN in scope and beauty. A sweeping paean to the Lincoln state, ILLINOIS weaves together history, personal confession, and detail-filled scenarios with chamber folk, expansive orchestral pop, and back-porch pastoral settings for a stunningly progressive indie gem that sound like Brian Wilson, Stereolab, and Neil Young holding hands in heaven. Remarkably, in its intricate, gorgeously crafted surfaces, ILLINOIS lives up to its aims. In addition to its symphonic grandeur, the album also showcases Stevens's heartland folk, and some of the album's most shimmering moments are its most spare. "John Wayne Gacy, Jr"., for instance, is an absorbing narrative that features Stevens's sweet tenor couched by guitar, piano, and backing vocals. "Casimir Pulaski Day", similarly, rides a rootsy banjo and guitar groove while Stevens unfurls image-rich lyrics over a lilting melody. Witty, audacious, and moving, ILLINOIS manages to be spiritual, entertaining, and educational all at once, resulting in an utterly unique conceptual and musical statement.
TRACK LISTING 1. Concerning The UFO Sighting Near Highland Illinois 2. Black Hawk War Or How To Demolish An Entire Civilization And Still Feel Good About Yourself In The M 3. Come On Feel The Illinoise 4. John Wayne Gacy Jr 5. Jacksonville 6. Short Reprise For Mary Todd Who Went Insane But For Very Good Reasons 7. Decatur Or Round Of Applause For Your Step Mother 8. One Last Whoohoo For The Pullman 9. Chicago 10. Casimir Pulaski Day 11. To The Workers Of The Rock River Valley Region I have An Idea Concerning Your Predicament And It Inv 12. Man Of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts 13. Prairie Fire That Wanders About 14. Conjunction Of Drones Simulating The Way In Which Sufjan Stevens Has A Existential Crisis In The Gre 15. Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us 16. They Are Night Zombies They Are Neighbours They Have Come Back From The Dead Ahhhh 17. Let's Hear That String Part Again Becuase I Don't Think They Heard It All Way Out In Bushnell 18. In This Temple As In The Hearts Of Man For Whom He Saved This Earth 19. Seer's Tower 20. Tallest Man The Broadest Shoulders 21. Riffs And Variations On A Single Note For Jelly Roll Earl Hines Louis Armstrong Baby Dodds And The K 22. Out Of Egypt Into The Great Laugh of Mankind And I Shake The Dirt From My Sandals As I Run
Catalogue number: RTRADLP250
Rough Trade Records Ltd. 2005
