Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
Critic Score
Based on 26 reviews
2005 Ratings: #1 / 512
User Score
2005 Rank: #1All Time: #24
Liked by 1,048 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

100
Slant Magazine

Perhaps most remarkable about Illinois is that Stevens's exceptional lyrics are surpassed by his diverse, ambitious compositions.

100
The Irish Times
Stevens creates songs of rare visceral force and emotional complexity. Breathtaking.
100
The Independent

Makes most other albums seem small-minded and, ironically, rather parochial.

100
God Is in the TV

It's incredibly diverse, both in its exploration of Illinois and in its exploration of music ... This is truly incredible music to immerse yourself in, an absolute essential.

100
NOW Magazine

It's an ambitious and unwieldy experiment that could've gone terribly wrong but Stevens pulls it off with grace and gusto.

100
Uncut

Illinois is an extraordinary achievement, all the more so when one considers that besides researching and writing the album, Stevens also played most of the parts himself.

100
Clash

It’s easy enough to let the heavyweight themes wash over you, so marvellous are some of these tunes. But really sink into ‘Illinoise’ and its depth is evident.

100
Alternative Press
It's ridiculously ambitious--and consistently surprising.
100
Paste
If the value of individual compositions is a bit lost, the landscape is open, a flowing anthology of stories whose characters’ dreams and morals reflect freely off one another from across county lines.
94
Coke Machine Glow

It’s all true. Everything that made Michigan great is here, but the layout of Illinois is more focused.

92
Pitchfork

Musically, Illinois is strange and lush, as excessive and challenging as its giant, gushing song titles.

91
SPIN
Stevens dissects civic character, questions an appropriately merciless God, and tells lean stories like the literary fiction writer he studied to be.
90
Drowned in Sound
There's a conviction and a reverence that fluidly runs through these songs - there are so many minute nuances to pick through and convince you that this is not a project taken on lightly.
90
No Ripcord
These are adventurous pop songs with intricate arrangements and sophisticated chord structures.
90
Prefix

Vast in scope and breathtaking in its beauty, Illinois may very well be the album that heralds Sufjan Stevens as one of this young century’s most talented artists.

90
Tiny Mix Tapes

Most of the songs on Illinois are meticulously put together and well thought out, resulting in some very gorgeous music.

90
PopMatters

The bittersweet twists and turns of a lifetime eloquently described in a folk-pop song—it really doesn’t get much better than this; these songs that must be heard to be believed.

90
Sputnikmusic

It doesn’t matter where you’re from, you’ll find a lot of yourself in Illinois.

83
Entertainment Weekly

Thanks to Stevens' penchant for illustrative instruments like glockenspiel, flute, and sleigh bells, his Illinois sounds quaint and even magical.

80
NME
It’s his masterpiece so far; a staggering collection of unspeakably precious music.
80
AllMusic
There's a distinct community theater vibe to the whole affair... but the majority of Illinois is alarmingly earnest.
80
The Guardian

Come On ... is a remarkable album that manages to pack in a state full of instruments (flugelhorns, choirs, presumably at least one watering-can solo) and sounds as simultaneously vast yet intimately detailed as Polyphonic Spree produced by Brian Eno.

80
Rolling Stone
For a musician like Stevens, going too far and trying too hard is the point, the way to get beyond where a more austere songwriter could get with a more naturalistic pose. So the most pleasurable music here is the most ambitious.
80
Q Magazine
Stevens's love for the region, its people and legacy is palpable and infectious enough to send the curious scuttling straight towards the bookshelves to discover more.
80
Under the Radar
Illinois is not nearly as Schoolhouse Rock as it sounds, and the songs themselves are sincere, inventive and messily joyful.
60
Mojo

When focusing on life's minute joys or its mundane horror, Stevens' voice is as true and profound as an angel

morningsbell
100

I just cannot find anything wrong with this album man

KIDWITHGUNs
40

Ladies and gentlemen... I present to you my first controversial score

Craigold
100

We are living in an oppressive, anti-drug society. The way the government prohibits the use of narcotics is simply dictator-like, and if you don't believe me, then we'll take a closer look. As you can see, projected on the wall behind me, there is clear evidence of drugs actually boosting creativity, and happiness. Further, if we look at more graphs and lines, you can clearly see that people who are on drugs are considerably more sociable. If you still don't believe the benefits of drugs, then ... read more

csx78
88

casual listen - 8.8

denkirena
95

Sufjan stevens is a musical genius

royalthreadfin
90

1. 16 - They Are Night Zombies
2. 19 - The Seer's Tower
3. 1 - Concerning the UFO

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Track List

1Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois
2:08
95
2The 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!"
2:14
91
3Come On! Feel the Illinoise!
6:45
98
4John Wayne Gacy, Jr.
3:19
96
5Jacksonville
5:24
95
6A Short Reprise for Mary Todd, Who Went Insane, But for Very Good Reasons
0:47
88
7Decatur, Or, Round of Applause for Your Stepmother!
3:03
90
8One Last "Whoo-hoo!" for the Pullman
0:06
85
9Chicago
6:04
98
10Casimir Pulaski Day
5:53
96
11To the Workers of the Rock River Valley Region, I Have an Idea Concerning Your Predicament
1:40
90
12The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts
6:16
95
13Prairie Fire That Wanders About
2:11
90
14A Conjunction of Drones Simulating the Way In Which Sufjan Stevens Has an Existential Crisis In the Great Godfrey Maze
0:19
86
15The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us!
5:22
97
16They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back from the Dead!! Ahhhh!
5:09
94
17Let's Hear That String Part Again, Because I Don't Think They Heard It All the Way Out In Bushnell
0:40
88
18In This Temple, As In the Hearts of Man for Whom He Saved the Earth
0:35
88
19The Seer's Tower
3:53
93
20The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders
7:02
95
21Riffs and Variations On a Single Note for Jelly Roll, Earl Hines, Louis Armstrong, Baby Dodds, and the King of Swing, to Name a Few
0:46
88
22Out of Egypt, Into the Great Laugh of Mankind, and I Shake the Dirt from My Sandals As I Run
4:21
92
Total Length: 1 hour, 14 minutes

Year End Lists

#1/No Ripcord
#1/Pitchfork
#7/NME
#8/SPIN
#9/Rolling Stone
#23/Gigwise
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