Illinois (Sufjan Stevens album)

Untitled

Illinois is a 2005 concept album by American songwriter Sufjan Stevens, with songs referencing places and people related to the U.S. state of Illinois. It is his second album based on a U.S. state, part of a planned series of fifty, that began with the 2003 album Michigan. The album was produced between the autumn of 2004 and early 2005 and released in 2005 on Asthmatic Kitty Records domestically and through Rough Trade Records internationally. Musical influences for the album cited by reviewers include Steve Reich, Neil Young, and The Cure. The album was well received by both critics and the public, being the first album by Stevens to place on the Billboard 200, and reached number 1 on the Billboard "Heatseeksers Albums" list. Review aggregator Metacritic named Illinois the best reviewed album of 2005.

Background and recording

Sufjan Stevens performing on stage during a tour for Illinois. Stevens and the band wore outfits modeled after those of the cheerleaders of the University Of Illinois.

In preparation for producing the album, Stevens read literature by Illinois authors Saul Bellow and Carl Sandburg and studied immigration records for the state. Stevens chose to focus on Illinois after his home state of Michigan because "it wasn't a great leap," and he liked the state because he considered it the "center of gravity" for the American Midwest.

All of the songs on Illinois were written, recorded, engineered, and produced by Stevens. The album was primarily recorded in the studio The Buddy Project in Astoria, Queens as well as Stevens' Brooklyn apartment. Additional piano was recorded in St. Paul's Church in Brooklyn; strings and vocals were recorded in collaborators' apartments; electronic organ was performed in The New Jerusalem Recreational Room in Clarksboro, New Jersey; and vibraphone was recorded at Carroll Music Studios in New York City. Previous albums by Stevens had been recorded in varying locations. Stevens mostly produced the album by himself, without thinking of live performance.

I was pretty nearsighted in the construction of Illinois. 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.

— Sufjan Stevens, 2006

Stevens spoke with Michael Kaufmann and Lowell Brams of Asthmatic Kitty and decided against a double album, saying that that would be "arrogant". Ultimately, twenty songs were released on the follow-up album, The Avalanche: Outtakes and Extras from the Illinois Album, which features three separate versions of the song "Chicago". Two versions of the song appearing on The Avalanche were produced prior to the release of Illinois, while the "Multiple Personality Disorder Version" was produced during a subsequent tour. The "Adult Contemporary Easy Listening Version" of the song was originally supposed to appear on the Illinois album, but was swapped out at the last minute.

Musical style

Reviewers of Illinois have compared Stevens' style to Steve Reich, Vince Guaraldi, the Danielson Famile, Neil Young, Nick Drake, and Death Cab for Cutie. Most notable is Stevens' use of large orchestral arrangments in his music, much of it played by himself through the use of multi-track recording. Rolling Stone summarized the musical influences of Illinois, saying "the music draws from high school marching bands, show tunes and ambient electronics; we can suspect Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians is an oft-played record in the Stevens household, since he loves to echo it in his long instrumental passages". A review in the A.V. Club referred to some of the vocal work as "regressively twee communalism", but found Stevens' music overall to be "highly developed". The song "Come On! Feel the Illinoise!" utilizes a saxophone part from "Close To Me" by The Cure. Stevens found that the way in which he listened to music had changed after producing Illinois:

I think now I listen more as a technician and a researcher. I'm always hearing music in terms of what I can take out of it, and I think I've always listened like that. I have a hard time just listening for pleasure. I'm much less about instinct, and more of a utilitarian listener. Like, what is the use of this song? What is the usefulness of this melody for this theme or statement? What are they doing that's unusual sounding, and how can I learn from that?

— Sufjan Stevens, 2006

Stevens is a classically trained oboist. His knowledge of classical and baroque music influenced many of his arrangements. Stevens has noted the influence of composers Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Edvard Grieg, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Phillip Glass.

Artwork

The album artwork was created by Divya Srinivasan, depicting a variety of Illinois-related themes, including Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln, the Sears Tower, and Black Hawk. The album cover reads, in bold print, "Sufjan Stevens invites you to: Come on feel the Illinoise." This plays on the common mispronunciation of the state's name as "ill-i-NOYZ" and is also a reference to the song "Cum on Feel the Noize" by British band Slade. The text on the cover caused some confusion over the actual title of the album—it is officially titled Illinois, as opposed to Come on Feel the Illinoise or Illinoise. Paste Magazine listed Illinois as having the seventh best album art of the decade (2000-2009). The album also won the PLUG Independent Music Awards' Album Art/Packaging of the Year in 2006.

Comparison of the four different versions of the album art. From top, left to right: original artwork, balloon sticker covering, Superman image removed, balloon image added.

Shortly after the release of the album, reports arose that DC Comics issued a cease and desist letter to Asthmatic Kitty because of the depiction of Superman on the cover of the album. However, on October 4, 2005, Asthmatic Kitty announced that there was no cease and desist letter. The record company's own lawyers warned about the copyright infringement. DC Comics agreed to allow Asthmatic Kitty to sell the copies of the album that were already manufactured, but the image was removed in subsequent copies. On the vinyl edition released in November, Superman's image is covered by a balloon sticker. The image of the balloon sticker was also used on the cover to the Compact Disc and later printings of the double vinyl release.

Illinois references

Many of the lyrics in Illinois make references to people, places, and events related to the state of Illinois. "Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois" is a reference to an event near Highland, Illinois, where several people reported seeing a large triangular object, with three lights. "Come on! Feel the Illinoise!" makes references to the World's Columbian Exhibition, which took place in Chicago in 1893.

"John Wayne Gacy, Jr." documents the story of John Wayne Gacy, a serial killer during the 1970s in Chicago. One line of the song refers to event in Gacy's childhood, when a swing hit his head and caused a blood clot in his brain: "... when the swingset hit his head". The song alludes to the nickname given to Gacy, the "Killer Clown", with the lyrics "He dressed up like a clown for them / with his face paint white and red". Another line in the song alludes to Gacy's use of chloroform to subdue his victims: "He put a cloth on their lips / Quiet hands, quiet kiss on the mouth".

"Casimir Pulaski Day" interweaves a personal story with the state holiday, Casimir Pulaski Day. "The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts" makes references to Superman, who is also depicted on the original cover of the album. Jessica Hooper of the Chicago Reader noted that Ray Middleton, who was the first actor to play the comic book hero, was born in Chicago. Other allusions to the state's people, places, and events include the Black Hawk War, Carl Sandburg, Jacksonville, Decatur, Stephen A. Douglas, Abraham Lincoln, Sangamon River, the American Civil War, Peoria, the Chicago Cubs, Savanna, Caledonia, Secor, Magnolia, Kankakee, Evansville, Centerville, Metropolis, and the Sears Tower dubbed "Seer's Tower" (now called Willis Tower). In the tour following the release of Illinois, Stevens' band wore cheerleader outfits based on those of the University Of Illinois.

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	90
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
The A.V. Club	Favorable
Blender
NME
Pitchfork Media	9.2/10
PopMatters
Rolling Stone
Spin	(A-)

Public reception of Illinois was strong. Unlike Stevens' preceding albums, Illinois placed on Billboard's top album list, reaching place 121 with eight weeks on the chart. The album also placed number one on Billboard's Heatseekers Albums list and number four on the Independent Albums list, remaining on them for 32 and 39 weeks respectively.

Critical reception of Illinois was mostly positive. Andy Battaglia of The A.V. Club said that Stevens "has grown into one of the best song-makers in indie rock" with the album. Tim Jonze of NME called Illinois "a brainy little fucker", and described Stevens as "prolific, intelligent and – most importantly – brimming with heart-wrenching melodies". Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield criticized the song "John Wayne Gacy, Jr." as symbolizing "nothing about American life except the existence of creative-writing workshops", but ultimately praised Stevens' style of "going too far and trying too hard". Michael Metivier of PopMatters described "John Wayne Gacy, Jr." as "horrifying, tragic, and deeply sad without proselytizing". Amanda Petrusich of Pitchfork Media described Illinois as "strange and lush, as excessive and challenging as its giant, gushing song titles". Review aggregator Metacritic compiled 40 critic reviews of Illinois, and gave the album a 90/100 ("Universal Acclaim"), making it the best-reviewed album of 2005.

In the November 2009 issue of Paste Magazine, Illinois was named the best album of the decade, spanning from 2000 to 2009.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Sufjan Stevens

No.	Title	{{{extra_column}}}	Length
1.	"Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois"		2:08
2.	"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!'"		2:14
3.	"Come On! Feel the Illinoise!" (Part 1: The World's Columbian Exposition — Part 2: Carl Sandburg Visits Me in a Dream)	The World's Columbian Exposition	6:45
4.	"John Wayne Gacy, Jr"		3:19
5.	"Jacksonville"		5:24
6.	"A Short Reprise for Mary Todd, Who Went Insane, but for Very Good Reasons"		0:47
7.	"Decatur, or, Round of Applause for Your Stepmother!"		3:03
8.	"One Last 'Whoo-Hoo!' for the Pullman"		0:06
9.	"Chicago"		6:04
10.	"Casimir Pulaski Day"		5:53
11.	"To the Workers of the Rock River Valley Region, I Have an Idea Concerning Your Predicament"		1:40
12.	"The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts"		6:17
13.	"Prairie Fire That Wanders About"		2:11
14.	"A Conjunction of Drones Simulating the Way in Which Sufjan Stevens Has an Existential Crisis in the Great Godfrey Maze"		0:19
15.	"The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us!"		5:23
16.	"They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back from the Dead!! Ahhhh!"		5:09
17.	"Let's Hear That String Part Again, Because I Don't Think They Heard It All the Way Out in Bushnell"		0:40
18.	"In This Temple as in the Hearts of Man for Whom He Saved the Earth"		0:35
19.	"The Seer's Tower"		3:53
20.	"The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders" (Part 1: The Great Frontier — Part 2: Come to Me Only with Playthings Now)		7:02
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"		0:46
22.	"Out of Egypt, into the Great Laugh of Mankind, and I Shake the Dirt from My Sandals as I Run"		4:21

Bonus tracks

No.	Title	Version	Length
23.	"Chicago" (To String Remix by JonGalloway)	iTunes release	5:32
24.	"The Avalanche"	iTunes release and LP version of Illinois (as track 23)	3:14

Personnel

• Sufjan Stevens – acoustic guitar, piano, Wurlitzer, bass guitar, drums, electric guitar, oboe, alto saxophone, flute, banjo, glockenspiel, accordion, vibraphone, alto recorder, Casiotone MT-70, sleigh bells, shaker, tambourine, triangle, electronic organ, vocals, engineering, recording, production
• Julianne Carney – violin
• Alan Douches – mastering at West West Side Music, Tenafly, New Jersey
• Marla Hansen – viola
• The Illinoisemaker Choir – backing vocals and clapping on "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!'", "Chicago", "The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts", "They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back from the Dead!! Ahhhh!", and "The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders"

• Tom Eaton
• Jennifer Hoover
• Katrina Kerns
• Beccy Lock
• Tara McDonnell

• Maria Bella Jeffers – cello
• Katrina Kerns – backing vocals on "Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois", "Come On! Feel the Illinoise!", "Jacksonville", "Prairie Fire That Wanders About", "The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us!", "The Seer's Tower", and "The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders"
• James McAlister – drums
• Craig Montoro – trumpet, backing vocals on "They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back from the Dead!! Ahhhh!"
• Rob Moose – violin
• Matt Morgan – backing vocals on "Decatur, or, Round of Applause for Your Stepmother!"
• Daniel and Elin Smith – backing vocals and clapping on "Decatur, or, Round of Applause for Your Stepmother!"
• Divya Srinivasan – artwork
• Shara Worden – backing vocals on "Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois", "Come On! Feel the Illinoise!", "John Wayne Gacy, Jr.", "Casimir Pulaski Day", "Prairie Fire That Wanders About", "The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us!", "The Seer's Tower", and "The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders"

External links

• Asthmatic Kitty Records' page for Illinois