- Record Label: Asthmatic Kitty
- Release Date: Jul 11, 2006
User Score
Generally favorable reviews- based on 59 Ratings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 52 out of 59
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Mixed: 4 out of 59
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Negative: 3 out of 59
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MattStepAug 31, 2007Out-takes!!? OUTTAKES!?! Will Mr Stevens please stop hogging all the tunes! I thought this would be patchy at best but it turns out to contain many of the best things Sufjan Stevens has done (The Mistress Witch from McClure, Adlai Stevenson, The Henney Buggy Band etc.). I really don't need three more versions of Chicago though, no matter how good they are.
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PhilipCSep 21, 2006Vastly overrated, even more so than the rest of his catalogue.
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ChadMAug 25, 2006Great album. Even if he released this as an actual album it would be incredible, but the fact that it is a compilation of outtakes makes this all the more remarkable.
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mattaAug 3, 2006
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JakeM.Aug 1, 2006No...really, when will this eve end. Avalanche indeed! I mean, Illinois was bloated enough, but to think that we really need ANOTHER 75 minutes of this tripe... I guess he's starting to believe his own press.
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DaveAJul 28, 2006The Avalanche doesn't quite match that flair that Illinois embodies, but is still an outstanding album. The amount of work and effort that Sufjan has put into Illinois and The Avalanche is titanic. You can't help but cling to the void waiting to be filled by his next album!
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ShaunMJul 24, 2006This would have gotten higher reviews had it not been released under the stigma of "B-Sides Album". Not as good as Illinois (but what is?) Brillant nonetheless.
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JohnDJul 24, 2006Let's put this in perspective: this is a 21 song album of outtakes from a 22 song album. They're good, but honestly, Sufjan needs to look up the word "discretion".
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JohnKJul 23, 2006
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RandallFJul 18, 2006
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C.B.Jul 17, 2006Masterful for an outtakes album.
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danmJul 17, 2006
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JDJul 14, 2006This is for Illinois lovers only.
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ShaKJul 14, 2006
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JoeGJul 13, 2006Most other recording artists would kill for the tunes on these outtakes. Not quite the drama of Illinois but The Avalanche has a gentle charm of its own, and needs no apologies. The vocals keep reminding me of CSNY. And believe me, that's good!
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TimWJul 13, 2006The songs are expertly arranged, but you can't spin gold out of hay.
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EffEllJul 13, 2006Nice album. Most songs are nice (but few are great) and I'm pretty glad he got rid of the string section. What I like the most however is how he was able to mix what he did on his first two albums with what he did in his previous three: I really like the idea of having some wild electric guitar and electronic sounds every now and then.
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TanelJul 13, 2006
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FrankWJul 12, 2006
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AdamWJul 12, 2006While not the epic that Illinois was, more often than not I kept in mind that this was stuff that didn't make the cut. It's not supposed to be as good as Illinois, but only one or two would feel out of place or inferior if they'd been put on the original release. There isn't a wasted penny when you buy a Sufjan Stevens album. "No Man Land's" is solid evidence.
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RHJul 12, 2006I love how it plays like an album and how the tracks all feel completed, rather than being muddy sounding leftovers. There's definitely a few pieces that should've made the Illinois cut and I'm glad we're able to hear them.
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JohnPJul 12, 2006For an outtakes album, the Avalanche has surprisingly few throwaways. Half of these songs could easily have made the cut on Illinois. He's never going to get the 50 states thing done at this rate, though - he should have just cheated and called this one 'Indiana'.
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cablesJul 12, 2006Ummmm. of course its not as good as Illinois.... IT'S A B-SIDES ALBUM! It's still a pretty damn fine one though.
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kennybJul 12, 2006Not a very structured album but this is granted its just outtakes from the Illinoise album. But then to consider the quality of the music and it just being "outtakes" makes one realise how good the Illinoise album really was. I thought Avalanche was an amazing amalgamation of songs brought about by an amazing musician
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DaveSJul 11, 2006I agree...not as perfect as "Illinois", but damn close...a little more varried, a little more off-the-cuff, still absolutely essential... "This guy cannot make a bad record"...I agree!!!
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[Anonymous]Jul 11, 2006Last year's Illinois was good, but ultimately overrated. This is just sadly underwhelming.
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ChristopherJul 6, 2006If this CD only contained "Dear Mr Supercomputer", "Adlai Stevenson", and "The Henney Buggy Band", I would still buy this record. This guy cannot make a bad record.
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DanielW.Jul 5, 2006Not as brilliant as Illinois, but still a very good record, populated by many great songs. Less coherant than Illinois, but still worth listening to, with some very good moments.
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Under The RadarWhat Stevens does most successfully here is expand the notion of American song. [#14]
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Avalanche,... is all over the place musically but never loses the singer-songwriter's jaw-dropping vision.
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There's a difference between a damn fine song and the brilliance that made up Stevens's previous two releases, Illinois and Seven Swans. Unfortunately, The Avalanche clunks through track after track of damn fine songs while only rarely hitting these moments that make your body tingle in euphoria.