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Zero 7
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
69 Love Songs
Universal acclaim
Based on 16 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 24 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Merge
Release Date: 07 September 1999
Discs: 3 discs
Genre(s): Indie, Pop, Rock
Summary
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.
Also By This Artist: Distortion i
Also On Metacritic
MUSIC: Stephin Merritt: Showtunes The Gothic Archies: The Tragic Treasury
Also On The Web: Official Artist Site
What The Critics Said
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...
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.
Read Full Review >Village Voice (Consumer Guide)
Even the "jazz" and "punk" cuts are good for a few laughs -- total losers are rare indeed.
Read Full Review >Village Voice
Like a great romance, it's consistently lovable even when stupid or frustrating, and its best moments are absolutely breathtaking.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >PopMatters
For its epic length, the collection occasionally (rarely) drags, but when it does, it doesn't for long.
Read Full Review >Q Magazine
A boundlessly entertaining expose of what happens when you mix fine words with excellent melodies to make great songs.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 9.8 (out of 10) based on 24 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Tracy M gave it a10:
Love this album! Did you see this blog where someone is reviewing each of the songs, in order? The blog does a great job describing each of these wonderful songs!
John P. gave it a10:
Lyrically brilliant and beautifully structured from start to finish. One of the most relevant and ambitious albums of the 90s, and a must-have for anybody who prides themselves as having good taste in music.
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
