Stevens is perhaps best known for his stated desire to record an album about every state in the union; so far, he's only done Illinois and Michigan, though The Avalanche is composed of outtakes from Illinois. In the meantime, he's done a private release of Christmas EPs every holiday since 2001 (except 2004) and for 2006, he's made a box set including this year's entry. Yes, I said a box set. Don't worry, it sells for about the price of a double-disc set. But five discs' worth of this quirky performer, especially in home studio demo mode, may be a bit much for most folks. It's a lower-fi version of what he's currently known for. It's educational in its way, since every song is lovingly annotated with its composer and lyricist, and there are lots of old carols, some obscure ones, hiding among which are some of the performer's originals. For that matter, hiding among the 42 songs are several repeats, including three versions of "O Come O Come Emanuel" and a few music-box renditions of such things as "Angels We Have Heard" and "Hark The Herald Angels." My inclination is to focus on the originals, of which there are 17 counting the instrumentals "Ding Dong" and "The Incarnation." They get more accomplished as he goes along, sounding willfully primitive on the 2001 disc and getting more arranged and intricate as he goes along. "Hey Guys! It's Christmas Time!" and "Come on! Let's Boogey To the Elf Dance!" may be the most fun, and "That Was the Worst Christmas Ever" may be the most affecting of the batch. The box offers a "singalong" conceit, in that there's a booklet that not only has lyrics but chords to all the songs. All told, I'm impressed with the sincerity and scope of this album, but I think a single disc of Sufjan's originals given the attention of one of his regular albums would have made a stronger artistic statement.
Songs For Christmas, Sufjan Stevens (Asthmatic Kitty)
Stevens is perhaps best known for his stated desire to record an album about every state in the union; so far, he's only done Illinois and Michigan, though The Avalanche is composed of outtakes from Illinois. In the meantime, he's done a private release of Christmas EPs every holiday since 2001 (except 2004) and for 2006, he's made a box set including this year's entry. Yes, I said a box set. Don't worry, it sells for about the price of a double-disc set. But five discs' worth of this quirky performer, especially in home studio demo mode, may be a bit much for most folks. It's a lower-fi version of what he's currently known for. It's educational in its way, since every song is lovingly annotated with its composer and lyricist, and there are lots of old carols, some obscure ones, hiding among which are some of the performer's originals. For that matter, hiding among the 42 songs are several repeats, including three versions of "O Come O Come Emanuel" and a few music-box renditions of such things as "Angels We Have Heard" and "Hark The Herald Angels." My inclination is to focus on the originals, of which there are 17 counting the instrumentals "Ding Dong" and "The Incarnation." They get more accomplished as he goes along, sounding willfully primitive on the 2001 disc and getting more arranged and intricate as he goes along. "Hey Guys! It's Christmas Time!" and "Come on! Let's Boogey To the Elf Dance!" may be the most fun, and "That Was the Worst Christmas Ever" may be the most affecting of the batch. The box offers a "singalong" conceit, in that there's a booklet that not only has lyrics but chords to all the songs. All told, I'm impressed with the sincerity and scope of this album, but I think a single disc of Sufjan's originals given the attention of one of his regular albums would have made a stronger artistic statement.
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