Advanced Search >
Help Me Search

Music

All-Time High (And Low) Scores
Best of 2009
Best of 2008
Best of 2007
Best of 2006
Best of 2005
Best of 2004
Best of 2003
Best of 2002
Best of 2001
Best of 2000
Best of the Decade

Upcoming &
Recent Releases

sort by namesort by score

75 2562
54 30 Seconds to Mars
62 50 Cent
71 AC/DC
70 The Album Leaf
52 Kris Allen
68 Tori Amos
66 Animal Collective
84 Animal Collective
77 Annie
57 Apse
63 Asobi Seksu
59 Bad Lieutenant
83 Julianna Barwick
82 Beach House
72 Beak>
72 Bibio
65 Justin Bieber
76 Biffy Clyro
74 Blakroc
75 Mary J. Blige
78 Blockhead
52 Bon Jovi
54 Susan Boyle
57 The Bravery
39 Chris Brown
64 V.V. Brown
70 Basia Bulat
79 Chew Lips
74 Citay
65 Clipse
66 Cold War Kids
75 The Cribs
58 Dashboard Confessional
81 Dave Rawlings Machine
70 Delphic
78 The Doors
58 Echo & The Bunnymen
73 Edan
59 Editors
69 Eels
80 Felt
74 First Aid Kit
69 Flyleaf
83 Four Tet
82 Ben Frost
82 Fucked Up
83 Charlotte Gainsbourg
63 The Gilded Palace Of Sin
68 Githead
65 Joe Goddard
58 Good Shoes
72 Gucci Mane
75 Holopaw
82 Jesca Hoop
79 Hot Chip
72 The Hot Rats
88 Ray Wylie Hubbard
54 Hurricane Chris
66 Allison Iraheta
59 Jay Sean
82 Freedy Johnston
57 Nick Jonas And The Administration
73 Norah Jones
49 Juvenile
58 Ke$ha
62 R. Kelly
66 Alicia Keys
68 Kid Sister
81 King Midas Sound
63 Lady Antebellum
76 Lady GaGa
71 Adam Lambert
78 Lawrence Arabia
61 Leona Lewis
74 Lightspeed Champion
36 Lil Wayne
82 Lindstrom & Christabelle
77 Lissie
78 Los Campesinos!
70 Lostprophets
73 Magnetic Fields
72 Massive Attack
64 John Mayer
71 Paul McCartney
58 Katherine McPhee
86 Memory Tapes
72 Midlake
88 Motion City Soundtrack
63 Mr. Hudson
53 Mudvayne
75 Oh No Ono
70 OK Go
72 Ola Podrida
61 OneRepublic
80 Owen Pallett
80 Pantha du Prince
90 Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
80 Phantogram
60 Pit Er Pat
63 Priestess
70 Radian
79 Corinne Bailey Rae
54 Rakim
79 Real Estate
77 Retribution Gospel Choir
76 Rihanna
64 Rjd2
65 Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
77 Sade
77 Gil Scott-Heron
72 Shakira
82 Shining
61 Snoop Dogg
62 Snow Patrol
71 The Soft Pack
80 Spoon
64 Ringo Starr
59 Stereophonics
76 Angie Stone
79 Surfer Blood
74 Switchfoot
75 Them Crooked Vultures
74 Robin Thicke
50 Timbaland
79 tUnE-YaRDs
80 Vampire Weekend
79 Laura Veirs
79 Tom Waits
78 Wale
65 The Watson Twins
66 Kanye West
76 The Whitefield Brothers
64 Robbie Williams
80 Yeasayer
62 Young Money
75 Neil Young
61 Rob Zombie

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

Showtunes

EMAILPRINTby Stephin Merritt

Stephin Merritt reviews
69
6.8 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 12 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 7 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >

Album Info

Label: Nonesuch

Release Date: 14 March 2006

Discs: 1 disc

Genre(s): Indie, Rock, Soundtrack

Summary

This 26-track set compiles works composed by the Magnetic Fields leader for three separate Chen Shi-Zheng operas.

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...

90

NOW Magazine

The album is absurd, confusing (the random sequencing can be a bitch if you're trying to follow individual plots), hilarious (only Merritt could pen a libretto titled What A Fucking Lovely Day!) and bloody brilliant.

Read Full Review >
88

Los Angeles Times

This suggests that a full focus on inventive musical theater may be where his talents will flourish. [19 Mar 2006]

80

musicOMH.com

Each of these tracks - the duelling-banjo Train Song; the elegiac And He Would Say - is really perfectly formed, beautifully satisfying in structure alone.

Read Full Review >
80

All Music Guide

Some will be left wondering just what the hell Merritt is up to -- those poor sad kids who hung on every post-rock word of the Magnetic Fields records as if Merritt's abandoned them. And then, of course, there are the rest of you who will be delighted, puzzled, and intrigued by the sheer originality of this recording.

Read Full Review >
75

Pitchfork

I'm not entirely convinced that this is the best way to present these songs; the live-sounding recordings don't always bring out the full force of the material, and create a sense of continuity that is only undercut by the album's sequencing.

Read Full Review >
75

Entertainment Weekly

DVD visuals would help, but it still beats Andrew Lloyd Webber. [17 Mar 2006, p.114]

70

Uncut

The overall tone is bracingly sour but surprisingly accessible. [Apr 2006, p.98]

60

Under The Radar

As a concept, this is an excellent work, filled with flashes of greatness. But as an album, Showtunes is often dragging and uneven. [#13, p.93]

60

Slant Magazine

There can be too much of a good thing, and making your way through all 26 tracks of Showtunes will definitely leave you with a tummy ache.

Read Full Review >
60

Mojo

Like Weimar cabaret Gilbert & Sullivan. [Apr 2006, p.104]

40

Q Magazine

Highly theatrical, camp and not a little shrill. [Apr 2006, p.116]

40

The Guardian

Merritt is a witty writer but, particularly after the frequently magnificent 69 Love Songs, that wit is becoming over-familiar.

Read Full Review >

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 6.8 (out of 10) based on 7 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

jeff b gave it a9:
These songs are MUCH better when integrated within their whole mini operas. iTunes has all three of them. Strange but beautiful stuff. Lots for the Merritt/Fields fan to grab to.

josh n gave it a3:
It's gets a three for "Shall We Sing a Duet" and it's reprise, otherwise I will never listen to any other song on this album. Reviews make it sound like listenable showtunes when actually it just pradles on to the point of irritation.

Chaz M gave it a1:
This album is utterly unlistenable, except for by critics hoping to make a point in the already frustrating spectrum of "Indie Rock." By the way, I do love 69 love songs

matt a gave it a7:
There are some beautiful moments, but, as Pitchfork pointed out, the way Merritt chose to release the songs feels wrong. Using just a few traditional Chinese instruments for the musical makes sense, but for this record it feels like something is lacking. Obviously, this is how Merritt wanted it to be, but I just can't help but wonder if he would have fused the style on the record with magnetic fields. That right there would have raised it to a nine in my opinion.

Popular on CBS sites: College Signing Day | Olympics | Lost | iPhone | Cell Phones | Video Game Reviews | Free Music

About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2010 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy (UPDATED) | Terms of Use