Exile in Guyville

Exile in Guyville

by Liz Phair
Exile in Guyville

Exile in Guyville

by Liz Phair

CD(Anniversary Edition)

$17.99 
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Overview

If Exile in Guyville is shockingly assured and fully formed for a debut album, there are a number of reasons why. Most prominent of these is that many of the songs were initially essayed on Liz Phair's homemade cassette Girlysound, which means that the songs are essentially the cream of the crop from an exceptionally talented songwriter. Second, there's its structure, infamously patterned after the Stones' Exile on Main St., but not the song-by-song response Phair promoted it as. (Just try to match the albums up: is the "blow-job queen" fantasy of "Flower" really the answer to the painful elegy "Let It Loose"?) Then, most notably, there's Phair and producer Brad Wood's deft studio skills, bringing a variety of textures and moods to a basic, lo-fi production. There is as much hard rock as there are eerie solo piano pieces, and there's everything in between from unadulterated power pop, winking art rock, folk songs, and classic indie rock. Then, there are Phair's songs themselves. At the time, her gleefully profane, clever lyrics received endless attention (there's nothing that rock critics love more than a girl who plays into their geek fantasies, even -- or maybe especially -- if she's mocking them), but years later, what still astounds is the depth of the writing, how her music matches her clear-eyed, vivid words, whether it's on the self-loathing "Fuck and Run," the evocative mood piece "Stratford-on-Guy," or the swaggering breakup anthem "6'1"," or how she nails the dissolution of a long-term relationship on "The Divorce Song." Each of these 18 songs maintains this high level of quality, showcasing a singer/songwriter of immense imagination, musically and lyrically. If she never equaled this record, well, few could. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date: 05/04/2018
Label: Matador
UPC: 0744861111429
Rank: 79575

Tracks

  1. 6'1"
  2. Help Me Mary
  3. Glory
  4. Dance of the Seven Veils
  5. Never Said
  6. Soap Star Joe
  7. Explain It to Me
  8. Canary
  9. Mesmerizing
  10. Fuck and Run
  11. Girls! Girls! Girls!
  12. Divorce Song
  13. Shatter
  14. Flower
  15. Johnny Sunshine
  16. Gunshy
  17. Stratford-on-Guy
  18. Strange Loop?

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Liz Phair   Primary Artist,Piano,Guitar,Vocals,Handclapping
Casey Rice   Handclapping,Drums (Snare),Vocals (Background),Guitar,Cymbals
Brad Wood   Bass,Drums,Organ,Bongos,Drones,Guitar,Maracas,Percussion,Synthesizer,Handclapping,Drums (Snare),Vocals (Background)
Mark O.   Drums (Snare)
Tony Marlotti   Bass
Tutti Jackson   Vocals (Background)
John Casey Awsumb   Harp,Harmonica

Technical Credits

Casey Rice   Performer,Assistant Engineer
Lyn Taitt   Composer
Liz Phair   Design,Arranger,Composer,Producer
Brad Wood   Engineer,Feedback,Producer
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