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Zero 7
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
Illinois
Universal acclaim
Based on 40 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 482 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Asthmatic Kitty
Release Date: 05 July 2005
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Indie, Rock, Folk
Summary
The folk singer-songwriter's ambitious attempt to chronicle all 50 states in song continues with this second installment, dedicated to the Prairie State.
Also By This Artist: Seven Swans Songs For Christmas The Avalanche: Outtakes & Extras From The Illinois Album The BQE
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...
Los Angeles Times
The tone of subdued romanticism is balanced by a fine, seductive sense of melody and arrangement. [3 Jul 2005]
Slant Magazine
From its framing gimmick and its anti-folk folk songwriting to its he-has-to-be-kidding song titles and its show-offy instrumentation, Illinois should reduce to a simple stunt performance. That it's pop-art of the highest caliber, instead, cements Stevens as one of the most vital voices in music today.
Read Full Review >Alternative Press
It's ridiculously ambitious--and consistently surprising. [Aug 2005, p.164]
Dot Music
Once you've taken in how wonderful it sounds, it'll be time to thrill at how much of it there is, then how dense it all is.
Read Full Review >Uncut
An extraordinary achievement. [Album of the Month, Aug 2005, p.86]
Paste Magazine
A unique, remarkably ambitious 22-song cycle. [Aug/Sep 2005, p.114]
cokemachineglow
What makes the album so gigantic is how intensely unique the state’s identity becomes filtered through one man.
Read Full Review >Pitchfork
Illinois is huge, a staggering collection of impeccably arranged American tribute songs.
Read Full Review >Spin
Sounds as informed by middle-American community theater, church choirs, and John Adams' American operas as any canonical "folk rock" it may resemble. [Jul 2005, p.102]
Village Voice (Consumer Guide)
This album radiates positive energy, and in today's alt, that's a precious thing.
Read Full Review >Filter
There is real joy and loss within these unwieldy song titles. [#16, p.88]
Dusted Magazine
Someday the Smithsonian will file this sprawling musical celebration into their collection between Van Dyke Parks’ Discover America and Norman Rockwell’s Saturday Evening Post covers -- joyous, generous Americana filtered through a singular sensibility.
Read Full Review >No Ripcord
These are adventurous pop songs with intricate arrangements and sophisticated chord structures.
Read Full Review >Billboard
A brighter, bouncier counterpart to its wintry predecessor "Michigan," "Illinois" contains some of the most beautiful pop you will hear all year long.
Read Full Review >Prefix Magazine
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.
Read Full Review >Lost At Sea
So much of Illinois feels magical, however, in much the same way as a large State Fair: there is commotion and wonder as the population is continually enchanted by progress, but to unknown purpose.
Read Full Review >Almost Cool
Stevens is simply one of the most talented artists creating music right now, period.
Read Full Review >Delusions of Adequacy
Exhausting, enthralling, disorientating, celebratory, and contemplative, Sufjan Stevens has delivered another album that will keep us listening and educated till Christmas.
Read Full Review >Drowned In Sound
This is a faithful and staggering tribute to a state executed with passion and originality, and it's one of the finest records you'll hear this year.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club)
It's easy to play a spot-the-Illinois-reference game, but it's just as easy to step back and marvel at the songs' musical range and sophistication.
Read Full Review >Tiny Mix Tapes
Illinois certainly isn't perfect, but it does do a couple important things: it proves that Sufjan has the skill and the talent to prove flexible and long-lasting, and that it's not much of a stretch to expect even better albums from him in the future.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle
The 22-song epic marries Stevens' personal history to that of the state, as well as knitting spare emotional lyrics with lush orchestral and choral arrangements, upping the ante for singer-songwriters everywhere.
Read Full Review >ShakingThrough.net
But if the album feels less personally tied to Illinois than Michigan was to Michigan, the cost is worth paying: The style and overall sentiment of the new album are more sophisticated than those of its predecessor.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly
Sounds quaint and even magical. [15 Jul 2005, p.71]
Stylus Magazine
It's a bit of Michigan redux, which works because it's so uniquely Stevens and so uniquely beautiful.
Read Full Review >All Music Guide
There's a distinct community theater vibe to the whole affair... but the majority of Illinois is alarmingly earnest.
Read Full Review >The New York Times
Even the most elaborate constructions come across as homemade, touched with an optimism that is by no means naïve. [10 Jul 2005]
The Guardian
A remarkable album that manages to pack in a state full of instruments... and sounds as simultaneously vast yet intimately detailed as Polyphonic Spree produced by Brian Eno.
Read Full Review >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. [Aug 2005, p.137]
Under The Radar
Illinois is not nearly as Schoolhouse Rock as it sounds, and the songs themselves are sincere, inventive and messily joyful. [#10, p.107]
Junkmedia
My only problem with the album is that it begins to devour its own tail about halfway through, at times sounding tedious, or worse, precious.
Read Full Review >Blender
A mesmerizing history lesson. [Aug 2005, p.114]
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.
Read Full Review >Flak Magazine
Take away the album's conceit, and Stevens' artful songwriting -- and voice -- still remain.
Read Full Review >New Musical Express
It’s his masterpiece so far; a staggering collection of unspeakably precious music.
Read Full Review >Mojo
A tendency to indulgence... undermines the album's overall potency. [Aug 2005, p.96]
Trouser Press
This song cycle is less about a particular state than it is about Stevens' elegant façade of cleverness.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 8.8 (out of 10) based on 482 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Brandon R gave it a10:
to Greg B, you are a moron. you rated a 10 on both Wes Anderson's movie, and kanye west's music. And you are downing this? None of those artists would even dream of writing an album as complicated as this. We are the stupid kids who rate this a masterpiece? You are the ignorant kid who can't appreciate it.
John M gave it a5:
Sufjan's arrangement ability is great, but he just can't write good melodies. Each song sounds a short simplistic and repetitive melody, forcibly stretched out to a 5 min full song. I think he'd be a great producer for somebody else who can write decent melodies, but his own songs are just too boring.
PJ Z. gave it a10:
This album has been a favorite of mine and will be for years to come. It is so universal in its lyrics and musical content, but it's so personal to Stevens, it's amazing. Illinois truly deserves all of the praise it receives.
Adam A gave it a10:
Simply the best album ever created. From start to finish, each piece is a beautifully composed masterpiece which will leave shivers running down your spine. Given the fact that it is 100% original (written, performed, and produced by Stevens himself), and the hauntingly amazing songs, Sufjan Stevens should be ranked among the classical composers in brilliance.
Chris M. gave it a10:
An amazing expansive album. You will be impressed by its rich production on first listen, and then a stupid grin on your face while enjoying the beauty on the following listens.
Matt M. gave it a10:
Easily the greatest album I've ever listened to. An bonafide masterpiece and an album that deserves to be put in a time capsule or museum. A true piece of American history.
Zac C. gave it a10:
The greatest musical work since the turn of the century and I think that it will stay that way for a time...
