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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

69 Love Songs
by Magnetic Fields


9.8

based on 16 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 20 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

Distortion
i

MUSIC:

Official Artist Site

The title says it all. This 3-disc set indeed contains 69 love songs, all penned by Stephin Merritt (whose other projects include The 6ths, Future Bible Heroes, and the Gothic Archies). The Magnetic Fields have evolved into a real "band," including keyboardist Claudia Gonson (also Merritt's manager) and multi-instrumentalist John Woo, and Merritt alternates on vocals with Gonson and additional singers. Despite the almost encyclopedic variety of styles and huge volume of songs, there is surprisingly little filler here.

LABEL:	Merge
RELEASE DATE:	07 September 1999
DISCS:	3 discs
GENRE(S):	Indie, Pop, Rock

NOTES: The three CDs are sold separately in addition to being grouped together in a box set (with book).

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

The Onion (A.V. Club)

Alternately recalling the best work of Blondie, Leonard Cohen, Depeche Mode, and dozens more, 69 Songs About Love is a sprawling masterpiece of White Album-like proportions.

100

Entertainment Weekly

69 elegant observations by a pop master.

100

Village Voice (Consumer Guide)

Even the "jazz" and "punk" cuts are good for a few laughs -- total losers are rare indeed.

Village Voice

Like a great romance, it's consistently lovable even when stupid or frustrating, and its best moments are absolutely breathtaking.

CDNow

The merely wonderful arrangements pale next to the songs themselves.

Pitchfork

Each song contains its own small epiphany, but they never quite add up to the one big sweeping epiphany that you'd hope for.

All Music Guide

Stephin Merritt's most ambitious as well as fully realized work to date, a three-disc epic of classically chiseled pop songs that explore both the promise and pitfalls of modern romance through the jaundiced eye of an irredeemable misanthrope.

E! Online

There are plenty of throwaway tunes, and the sound quality is decidedly lo-fi, but what's most surprising about this three-CD collection is the number of good songs.

PopMatters

For its epic length, the collection occasionally (rarely) drags, but when it does, it doesn't for long.

Q Magazine

A boundlessly entertaining expose of what happens when you mix fine words with excellent melodies to make great songs.

New Musical Express

In the hands of someone less witty and schizoid, a near three-hour epic would be unforgivable, but Merritt at play is frequently magical.

Armchair DJ

Unabashedly beautiful tunes like "I Don't Believe in the Sun" and "Come Back from San Francisco" provide provide ample payoff for the arduous process of listening to the collection in total.

Sonicnet

By my count, you've still got 50 keepers out of 69, give or take a few songs. And about a third of those sound like classics.

Almost Cool

He jumps styles of music effortlessly, all the while managing to pull things together with touching and inventive lyrics.... One of the best releases of the year.

L.A. Weekly

After three discs, Merritt's mesmerizing display of sustained inconsequentiality starts to seem like one of those Guinness Book of World Records stunts, impressive but pointless.

Rolling Stone

Merritt's compositions have a tossed-off, barely produced quality and are held together by sturdily constructed melodies that hark back to Eighties synth poppers like Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark.

The average user rating for this album is 9.8 (out of 10) based on 20 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Jim gave it a10:
Rolling Stone is wrong again. A great album

Wayne W. gave it a10:
This album is just a fun album to listen to. Stephin Merritt writes incredible lyrics!

David C. gave it a10:
Completely amazing album. Probably one of the best pop album in the 90's. Very clever lyrics.

Gary O. gave it a10:
Absolutely supreme.

[Anonymous] gave it a10:
I need a cigarette! That's how good this album is

alex f gave it a10:
A wonderful album.

Raj S. gave it a10:
One of the top 5 albums of the 90's.

69 Love Songs by Magnetic Fields

69 Love Songs
by Magnetic Fields