Sufjan Stevens Albums - Illinois, the Avalanche: Outtakes and Extras from the Illinois Album, Seven Swans, Songs for Christmas, the Bqe (Paperback)

Commentary (music and lyrics not included). Chapters: Illinois, the Avalanche: Outtakes and Extras From the Illinois Album, Seven Swans, Songs for Christmas, the Bqe, Michigan, a Sun Came, Chicago, Hark Songs for Christmas - Vol. Ii, Ding Dong Songs for Christmas - Vol. Iii, Enjoy Your Rabbit, Noel Songs for Christmas - Vol. I, Peace: Songs for Christmas - Vol. V, Joy: Songs for Christmas - Vol. Iv. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 69. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Illinois is a 2005 concept album by American songwriter Sufjan Stevens, with songs referencing places and persons related to the U.S. state of Illinois. It is his second album based on a U.S. state, part of a planned series of fifty that began with the 2003 album Michigan. The album was produced between the autumn of 2004 and early 2005 and released on July 5, 2005, on Asthmatic Kitty Records domestically and the previous date through Rough Trade Records in Europe. Musical influences for the album cited by reviewers include Steve Reich, Neil Young, and The Cure. The album was well received by both critics and the public, being the first album by Stevens to place on the Billboard 200, and reaching number 1 on the Billboard "Heatseeksers Albums" list. Review aggregator Metacritic named Illinois the best reviewed album of 2005. Sufjan Stevens performing on stage during a tour for Illinois. Stevens and the band wore outfits modeled after those of the cheerleaders of the University of Illinois.In preparation for producing the album, Stevens read literature by Illinois authors Saul Bellow and Carl Sandburg and studied immigration records for the state. Stevens chose to focus on Illinois after his home state of Michigan because "it wasn't a great leap," and he liked the state because he considered it the "center of gravity" f...http: //booksllc.net/?id=1972785