Liz Phair | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Growing out of the American underground of the late 80s, Liz Phair fused lo-fi indie rock production techniques with the sensibility and structure of classic singer/songwriters. Exile in Guyville, her gold-selling debut album, was enthusiastically praised upon its 1993 release, and spawned a rash of imitators during the following years, particularly American female singer/songwriters. For her part, Phair wasnt able to fully break into the mainstream, even with the support of the press and MTV. Whip-Smart, her second album, was heavily promoted upon its 1994 release, yet despite its relatively strong chart positions, it was viewed as a disappointment, and Phairs momentum declined steadily during the mid-90s, as she took several years to record her third album. Phair was born on April 17, 1967, in New Haven, CT. She was adopted by wealthy parents who raised her in the Chicago suburb Winnetka and later send her to Oberlin College in Ohio, where she studied art. At Oberlin, she became fascinated with underground indie rock and eventually became friends with guitarist Chris Brokaw, who would later join the alt-rock outfit Come. Following their college graduation, Phair and Brokaw both moved to San Francisco, where she tried to become an artist. Eventually, Brokaw moved out east and Phair headed back to Chicago, where she began writing songs in earnest. She also started releasing homemade tapes of these songs under the name Girlysound. While she supported herself by selling her charcoal drawings on the streets of Wicker Park, she became entrenched in various portions of the Chicago alternative music scene; in particular, she struck up friendships with Urge Overkill, a drummer named Brad Wood, and John Henderson, the head of the Chicago-based indie label Feel Good All Over. Henderson and Phair tried to re-record some of the Girlysound tapes with Wood, yet the pair had a falling out during the sessions, leaving Wood as Phairs only collaborator. Brokaw, who had by then joined Come, was still receiving Girlysound tapes, and he eventually gave a copy to Gerard Cosley, the head of Comes record label, Matador. By the summer of 1992, Matador had signed Phair and she began recording her debut album in earnest. Adapting its title from an Urge Overkill song, Exile in Guyville was released to strong reviews in the summer of 1993. Many articles focused on Phairs claim that the double album was structured as a response to the Rolling Stones classic Exile on Main St. Over the course of the year, the record slowly built a dedicated following in America, both among critics and alternative rock fans. At the end of the year, it topped many Best of the Year critics polls, including The Village Voice and Spin. With all the attention focused on Phair, many indie rock figures -- particularly members of the Chicago noise rock scene like Steve Albini -- were developing a resentment toward her and launching an attack at the singer and the heavy media attention Exile in Guyville received. The criticism couldnt halt Phairs progress, though, and in early 1994 she launched her first tour, which was plagued by her stage fright. Around the same time, MTV began airing "Never Said" and, as a result of all the hype, the album briefly appeared in the charts in February. By the spring of 1994 it had sold over 200,000 copies -- a remarkable number for an independent release. It eventually sold over 500,000. By that time, Phair had begun work on her follow-up record. Matador had signed a distribution deal with Atlantic Records in 1994, and her second album was going to be one of the first to be heavily promoted by the alliance. Indeed, Whip-Smart was released to a whirlwind of media attention -- including Phair, dressed only in negligee, on the cover of Rolling Stone -- and debuted at number 27 upon its fall 1994 release. "Supernova," the first single from the album, received heavy airplay on MTV and alternative rock radio, becoming a Top Ten modern rock hit. However, Whip-Smart received mediocre reviews and never developed into the hit that it was expected to be, although it still went gold. Phair didnt tour to support the album and was slow to deliver a second single. By the time the title track was released as a single in the spring of 1995, the album had disappeared from the charts. Phair quietly retreated from the spotlight during 1995, marrying Jim Staskausas, a Chicago-based film editor who had previously worked on Phairs videos. Later that summer, she released the Juvenilia EP, which was essentially the "Jealousy" single amplified with the first official release of Girlysound material. During the summer of 1996, she released "Rocket Boy," a single pulled from the Stealing Beauty soundtrack that received little attention. For much of 1996, Phair worked on her third album with producer Scott Litt, but she remained unsatisfied with their sound and had officially scrapped the sessions by the time fall came around. Toward the end of 1996, Staskausas and Phair announced she was several months pregnant. On December 21, 1996, Phair gave birth to her first child, James Nicholas Staskausas. Her long-delayed, much-anticipated third LP, whitechocolatespaceegg, finally appeared in mid-1998. Five years later, Phair returned with a controversial self-titled album. Liz Phair, which appeared in June 2003, and found her working with singer/songwriter Michael Penn and the Matrix, the latter of whom had risen to prominence in the pop world by launching artists like Avril Lavigne. Jimmy Chamberlin, Wendy Melvoin, and Pete Yorn also contributed to Phairs newly slick sound. When Liz Phair appeared, though, it was panned by purist rock critics and militant Liz nerds who felt shed sold them out with the records pop star sensibilities. Phair stood up for her work in typically brash fashion -- at times, it seemed like she even invited the fan boy ridicule -- and the album was a decent hit, with the leadoff single "Why Cant I" peaking at number 27 on the Billboard charts. Another album, Somebodys Miracle, appeared in fall 2005, but its relatively soft sound resulted in the slowest sales of Phairs career. After reissuing Exile in Guyville in 2008, Phair began working on a number of offbeat, highly unconventional songs, many of which dealt with her recent departure from Capitol Records. Tired of working with record labels, she chose to release the material herself. Funstyle was appropriately released on her own website in July 2010, with the bhangra-influenced "Bollywood" becoming the albums first single; a physical release of Funstyle, paired with an EP of Girlysound demos, appeared in the fall. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 13 Title: Exile in Guyville Released: 1993-06-22 Tracks: 18 Duration: 55:49 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 6′1″ (03:05) 2 Help Me Mary (02:16) 3 Glory (01:29) 4 Dance of the Seven Veils (02:29) 5 Never Said (03:16) 6 Soap Star Joe (02:44) 7 Explain It to Me (03:11) 8 Canary (03:19) 9 Mesmerizing (03:55) 1 Fuck and Run (03:07) 2 Girls! Girls! Girls! (02:20) 3 Divorce Song (03:20) 4 Shatter (05:28) 5 Flower (02:03) 6 Johnny Sunshine (03:27) 7 Gunshy (03:15) 8 Stratford-On-Guy (02:59) 9 Strange Loop (03:57) |
| Exile in Guyville : Allmusic album Review : 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 Phairs homemade cassette Girlysound, which means that the songs are essentially the cream of the crop from an exceptionally talented songwriter. Second, theres 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, theres Phair and producer Brad Woods 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 theres everything in between from unadulterated power pop, winking art rock, folk songs, and classic indie rock. Then, there are Phairs songs themselves. At the time, her gleefully profane, clever lyrics received endless attention (theres nothing that rock critics love more than a girl who plays into their geek fantasies, even -- or maybe especially -- if shes mocking them), but years later, what still astounds is the depth of the writing, how her music matches her clear-eyed, vivid words, whether its on the self-loathing "Fuck and Run," the evocative mood piece "Stratford-on-Guy," or the swaggering breakup anthem "61"," 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. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 13 Title: Whip‐Smart Released: 1994-09-15 Tracks: 14 Duration: 42:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Chopsticks (02:05) 2 Supernova (02:48) 3 Support System (02:58) 4 X‐Ray Man (02:13) 5 Shane (04:12) 6 Nashville (04:42) 7 Go West (03:17) 8 Cinco de Mayo (02:43) 9 Dogs of L.A. (02:21) 10 Whip‐Smart (04:18) 11 Jealousy (03:37) 12 Crater Lake (02:06) 13 Alice Springs (01:50) 14 May Queen (02:42) |
| Whip‐Smart : Allmusic album Review : Expectations ran extremely high for Liz Phairs follow-up to Exile in Guyville, one of the most critically acclaimed debut albums of all time. If there are flaws in this generally first-rate follow-up, they mostly arise in comparison with Guyville, a record of such unexpected impact that most anything Phair could have done may have been found lacking. She continues to explore sex and relationships with exhilarating frankness and celebration, employing her much-touted profanity to a conversational rather than a sensational effect. The sound is somewhat more produced, though still pretty basic, and the compositions are by and large tuneful and lyrically intriguing. Its not, after all is said and done, quite as striking as Guyville; like many sophomore efforts, it mines similar territory without making huge strides forward. Several songs are reprised from her widely circulated Girlysound demo tapes, and in some instances the more heavily produced, self-consciously ingenious arrangements here suffer in comparison to their blueprints. The title track, one of the highlights of those tapes, comes off as particularly gimmicky in its new incarnation, with the addition of all manner of superfluous animal noises. Theres no question that Phair is a major songwriter and artist, but this album is more a solidification of her talents than a breakthrough statement. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 13 Title: Juvenilia Released: 1995-08 Tracks: 8 Duration: 27:55 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Jealousy (03:37) 2 Turning Japanese (03:38) 3 Animal Girl (03:57) 4 California (02:41) 5 South Dakota (04:18) 6 Batmobile (03:06) 7 Dead Shark (03:23) 8 Easy (03:11) |
 | Album: 4 of 13 Title: whitechocolatespaceegg Released: 1998-08-07 Tracks: 16 Duration: 51:19 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 White Chocolate Space Egg (04:35) 2 Big Tall Man (03:49) 3 Perfect World (02:15) 4 Johnny Feelgood (03:22) 5 Polyester Bride (04:05) 6 Love Is Nothing (02:16) 7 Baby Got Going (02:02) 8 Uncle Alvarez (03:52) 9 Only Son (05:08) 10 Go on Ahead (02:53) 11 Headache (02:53) 12 Ride (03:04) 13 What Makes You Happy (03:36) 14 Fantasize (01:55) 15 Shitloads of Money (03:39) 16 Girls Room (01:46) |
| whitechocolatespaceegg : Allmusic album Review : Following the halfhearted reception to Whip-Smart -- good enough to retain her critical stature, not good enough to enhance it -- Liz Phair slowly retreated from view, marrying and having a child. Toward the end of 1996, she began to work on her third album, but it took her nearly a year and a half to compete it, due to a variety of reasons. When whitechocolatespaceegg (a reference to her baby boys shiny bald head) finally appeared in late summer 1998, it had been a full five years since Exile in Guyville, and nowhere was that more apparent than in Phairs third album itself. Certain familiar elements remained -- her plain vocals, strummed guitars, and character songs -- but this was a brighter, cleaner, more content Phair. There was none of the emotional turmoil that underpinned Exile and, to a lesser extent, Whip-Smart. Even if the songs concerned violent emotions, there is a studied distance between her and the songs here, whether its the character study "Uncle Alvarez" or "Johnny Feelgood," where the female narrator is beaten up and likes it. In other words, whitechocolatespaceegg is the work of a craftsman, not an inspired work of brilliance like Exile. And while that may alienate some hardcore fans, thats not necessarily a bad thing, especially since the best moments -- "Big Tall Man," "Baby Got Going," "Go On Ahead," "What Makes You Happy," "Johnny Feelgood," and the Girlysound leftover "Shitloads of Money" -- are tuneful and literate. Still, theres a distance, not only in the lyrics but in the overly polished music, that makes whitechocolatespaceegg difficult to embrace unconditionally, even if it may be a stronger record than Whip-Smart. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 13 Title: Liz Phair Released: 2003-06-24 Tracks: 14 Duration: 50:12 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Extraordinary (03:24) 2 Red Light Fever (04:52) 3 Why Can’t I? (03:28) 4 It’s Sweet (02:54) 5 Rock Me (03:20) 6 Take a Look (03:29) 7 Little Digger (03:35) 8 Firewalker (04:28) 9 Favorite (03:24) 10 Love/Hate (03:43) 11 H.W.C. (02:55) 12 My Bionic Eyes (03:52) 13 Friend of Mine (03:43) 14 Good Love Never Dies (02:58) |
| Liz Phair : Allmusic album Review : Who knew that all Liz Phair ever wanted was to be a pop star? Surely, her debut, Exile in Guyville, with its cinematic lo-fi production and frankness, never suggested as much, nor did its cleaner sequel, Whip-Smart, even if her appearance in negligee on the cover of Rolling Stone did imply she wanted a wider audience. In retrospect, perhaps the streamlined surfaces of Whitechocolatespaceegg were a bid for the big time, but it was undercut by songs of motherhood, marriage, and remnants of her time as an indie queen. All of that is a distant memory on her long-delayed eponymous fourth album, where she makes a long-delayed stab at superstardom, glamming herself up like a Maxim MILF of the Month and inexplicably pitching herself somewhere between Sheryl Crow and Avril Lavigne, on one side working with Michael Penn and adult alternative singer/songwriter Pete Yorn and on the other hooking up with 2003s hitmakers du jour the Matrix (not wanting to lose her aging core audience, she began her support tour for the album opening for the thirty-something darlings of the early 2000s, the Flaming Lips, even if her new music was a far cry from indie). As "Extraordinary" starts the album with a heavy guitar downstroke, its clear that Liz Phair has piled nearly all her chips on making it as a pop act, delivering music that not just fits comfortably with Lavignes, but follows her sounds and stance, right down to the insipid lyrics. This, to say the least, is disarming, not just to die-hard fans of Exile who could never have dreamed that, of all the directions she could have gone, she chose this, but because such sentiments sound painfully trite coming from a 36-year-old woman. Throughout the album, these sparkly banalities come fast and furious, sometimes interrupted by something a little deeper, sometimes sounding catchy enough to sound pleasant in passing if you overlook both the lyrics and the fact that theyre written by Phair, who used to be one of the sharpest writers in rock. Theres nothing wrong with a change of pace, but theres a startling lack of depth in either the words, which are entirely too literal, or the music, whose hooks are at once too obvious and not ingratiating enough. Then, theres the weird realization that Phair has so little to say on Liz Phair. While this very well could be her most directly confessional album -- nearly every song is in the first person, with many songs drawing parallels to her circulated life story -- theres no insight here, particularly when compared to, yes, her earlier work. Its not just that "The Divorce Song" details a messy breakup better than either of the divorce songs here (although thats an important, telling truth), its that the parenting song is confused and condescending, its that the endless songs about sleeping with twenty-something guys are littered with ridiculous lyrics ("Im starting to think young guys rule," "I want to play Xbox on your floor"), and its that she cant manage to write either a funny or sexy ode to her underwear on "Favorite." Its also that toward the end of this deliberate bid for the mainstream, she tosses in the embarrassingly "naughty" "HWC," where she extols the virtues of semen in the hair and on the skin ("Without you Im just another Dorian Grey"); sure, it might seemingly break taboos, but what good is explicitness if it is only smarmy, with none of the humor or candor of "Flower" or "Glory." Yes, lets not compare a new record to an LP thats ten years old (although she invites those comparisons with a song like "HWC"), but Exile in Guyville has such a lasting impact, its impossible to shake its memory when hearing her other, newer works. Liz Phair is running away from that shadow on Liz Phair, creating a record that is pretty much the polar opposite of that album, a shiny bright affair that wants nothing more than to be taken as a confection, even when it tries to dig deeper. It may be that Phair no longer has much to say -- three albums after Exile, thats looking more like an anomaly in her catalog -- but even so, the clothing and trappings of mainstream pop dont fit her well, and Liz Phair is a fascinatingly awkward, clumsy album. | ||
 | Album: 6 of 13 Title: Chicago Apple (Live): EP Released: 2004-03-23 Tracks: 3 Duration: 09:47 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Extraordinary (live) (03:15) 2 Why Cant I? (live) (03:52) 3 Supernova (live) (02:40) |
 | Album: 7 of 13 Title: Rolling Stone Original EP Released: 2005 Tracks: 5 Duration: 17:02 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 May Queen (live) (02:18) 2 Everything to Me (live) (03:18) 3 Soap Star Joe (live) (03:00) 4 Somebodys Miracle (live) (04:31) 5 Why Cant I (live) (03:55) |
 | Album: 8 of 13 Title: Somebodys Miracle Released: 2005-10-04 Tracks: 14 Duration: 58:16 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Leap of Innocence (04:22) 2 Wind and the Mountain (05:33) 3 Stars and Planets (03:54) 4 Somebodys Miracle (04:23) 5 Got My Own Thing (04:34) 6 Count on My Love (03:41) 7 Lazy Dreamer (04:55) 8 Everything to Me (03:19) 9 Closer to You (03:37) 10 Table for One (04:12) 11 Why I Lie (03:21) 12 Lost Tonight (04:02) 13 Everything (Between Us) (04:34) 14 Giving It All to You (03:44) |
| Somebody's Miracle : Allmusic album Review : Liz Phair alienated a large portion of her audience with her 2003 extreme pop makeover, where she didnt just go pop, she went teen pop, collaborating with the Matrix and winding up sounding something like Avril Lavignes aunt. It wasnt exactly what fans raised on Exile in Guyville either wanted or expected and they were vocal in their displeasure, yet Phair made it very clear in her supporting press for the album that she didnt care that they were upset: she was no longer the woman who made Exile, and had no interest in trying to write or sound that way anymore, which was pretty evident from the album at hand. She wanted to cash in that indie cred and become a star, and Liz Phair did indeed bring her success, including her first Top 40 hit with "Why Cant I?," which tended to diminish the sniping of her critics, even if it didnt necessarily dismiss their criticisms. Most of the criticisms were focused on the Matrix-fueled pop singles, since they were flashy, ostentatious examples of how Phair wanted to play on a bigger field, but apart from those singles, Liz Phair concentrated on tasteful, well-polished, sturdy adult alternative pop that was not dissimilar to work by such peers as Michael Penn and Aimee Mann. That, not the desperate teen pop, is the touchstone for Somebodys Miracle, her sequel to the 2003 affair. Now that shes made a clean break from indie rock, severing herself from her past to such an extent that she will never be judged alongside such 1993 peers as PJ Harvey, Tanya Donelly, and Stephen Malkmus, shes content to make a full-fledged, unabashed adult alternative album, one thats so scrubbed and polished, transitions between songs are nearly imperceptible. If the last album was her attempt to be Avril, this is her Sheryl Crow album, pitched halfway between the bright surfaces of Cmon, Cmon and the laid-back, classy Globe Sessions, and while thats a maturer vibe, it doesnt necessarily always fit Phair well. There are two main, interrelated problems here: the production, largely credited to John Alagía but there are four other producers here, is so smooth and polished, the album winds up sounding kind of dull, particularly because Phairs thin, reedy voice just isnt suited for big, overblown productions like this. As soon as "Leap of Innocence" kicks off the album, she sounds diminished by the immaculate recording and then she starts going flat toward the end of her phrases. She not only sounds overwhelmed by the music, but she cant command attention to either her words or melodies, so the entire album becomes a wash of sound. Since its well produced and professional, its a pleasing wash of sound, but its nevertheless kind of boring, which is unfortunate because Phair has a pretty good batch of songs here, ranging from the stark first-person tale of alcoholism "Table for One" to catchy pop tunes like "Stars and Planets" and "Got My Own Thing." These are good adult pop tunes and if they were given a production that wasnt so inflated, this would be quite an appealing record. But that record wouldnt be a mainstream album that would place Phair on a level with Sheryl Crow. It would be for a niche audience, and after her experience as a 90s indie rock queen, she is no longer interested in a niche audience, as this album and its predecessor make clear. But Phair isnt particularly good as an artist for a wide audience -- not only is her voice too small for this kind of production, her songs sound better when theyre not given inflated productions. Plus, her best material is either too risky or literary or quirky to be radio hits -- and theres no greater proof of that than the pleasant but dull Somebodys Miracle. | ||
 | Album: 9 of 13 Title: iTunes Originals Released: 2005-11-22 Tracks: 23 Duration: 55:13 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 iTunes Originals (00:08) 2 Everything to Me (03:23) 3 An Unlikely Rock Star (01:15) 4 Never Said (03:10) 5 The Catalyst for the Girlysound Tapes (02:46) 6 Gunshy (03:15) 7 Adopting My Own Identity (01:03) 8 Canary (03:19) 9 A Playful Expression (01:00) 10 Supernova (02:36) 11 Uncle Alvarez (03:38) 12 I Kinda Became a Housewife (02:13) 13 Headache (02:18) 14 A New Chapter (01:44) 15 Extraordinary (03:24) 16 A Pre-Write (01:01) 17 Why Cant I? (03:44) 18 A Very Personal Song (00:51) 19 Little Digger (03:35) 20 What I Was Striving For (02:01) 21 Somebodys Miracle (04:04) 22 The Best Stuff (00:31) 23 Table for One (04:12) |
 | Album: 10 of 13 Title: Funstyle Released: 2010-06-03 Tracks: 21 Duration: 1:18:59 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Smoke (03:12) 2 Bollywood (02:36) 3 You Should Know Me (02:56) 4 Miss September (04:26) 5 My My (03:32) 6 Oh, Bangladesh (04:39) 7 Bang! Bang! (03:38) 8 Beat Is Up (03:20) 9 And He Slayed Her (03:36) 10 Satisfied (03:34) 11 U Hate It (04:36) 1 Miss Mary Mack (04:30) 2 White Babies (03:03) 3 Elvis Song (04:54) 4 Valentine (04:14) 5 Speed Racer (01:40) 6 In Love With Yourself (03:56) 7 Wild Thing (03:40) 8 Love Song (06:19) 9 Dont Hold Your Breath (If I Ever Pay You Back) (03:57) 10 California (02:41) |
| Funstyle : Allmusic album Review : No other ‘90s indie rocker faced such scorn as Liz Phair for turning mainstream. The wrath was vicious and sustained, perhaps because Phair decided to go all-in, courting a crossover audience whod never even heard of Exile in Guyville, going so far as having the Matrix collaborate on her eponymous 2003 album -- a sell-out that sold only modestly and alienated scores of fans who had celebrated her perhaps a bit too vocally ten years earlier. Liz Phair caused a commotion but its placid, 2005 sequel Somebody’s Miracle was so uneventful it passed largely unnoticed. Funstyle, released suddenly on Independence Day weekend 2010 -- the timing a not so hidden celebration of her return to the minor leagues -- flips Somebody’s Miracle on its head: it’s unafraid of risk and embarrassment, an album that’s impossible to ignore even if it is easy to hate. Certainly, most of the initial reviews complained vociferously about Phair’s comically exaggerated white girl rapping on “Bollywood,” itself one of many direct attacks on a music industry that never figured out how to turn her into a commodity. Phair isn’t biting the hand that feeds -- she’s severed herself from Capitol and released Funstyle as a digital download on her own site -- so she’s free to attack, free to fall flat on her face (which she often does often but almost always knowingly); she’s smart enough to know rhyming “portfolio” and “dough you know” -- not to mention “I think I’m a genius/you’re being a penis” -- are silly, and she surrounds these with goofy, synthesized rhythms, the kind that are easy to knock out quickly on a computer. After years -- nearly a decade, really -- of slick calculation, it’s actually terribly refreshing to hear Phair so loose, even if it can induce cringes on occasion. Better still, the looseness carries over to the straighter moments of Funstyle -- the lazy lope of “Miss September,” the circular riffs of “Oh, Bangladesh,” the grinding power pop of “And He Slayed Her” (admittedly, the latter is another swipe at her former label) -- giving it a ragged, human messiness so missing in everything she’s made since Whip-Smart. Not everything here works, not by a long shot, but the overall impression is that Liz Phair has finally reconnected with the spirit of Girlysound -- which, contrary to popular opinion, wasn’t all serious -- and is on her way to once again being a compelling artist unafraid to take risks. | ||
 | Album: 11 of 13 Title: Icon Released: 2014 Tracks: 11 Duration: 39:11 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 F**k and Run (03:08) 2 Never Said (03:15) 3 Divorce Song (03:19) 4 Supernova (02:49) 5 Whip-Smart (04:19) 6 Polyester Bride (04:06) 7 Why Cant I? (03:28) 8 Extraordinary (03:26) 9 Somebodys Miracle (04:23) 10 Count on My Love (03:40) 11 Everything to Me (03:18) |
| Icon : Allmusic album Review : The first-ever compilation of Liz Phairs career, the 2014 budget-line set Icon is fairly even-handed in how it balances her acclaimed 90s indie records with her poppier new millennial material. Three songs from Exile in Guyville open up the set -- "F**k and Run," "Never Said," "Divorce Song" -- followed by the Buzz Clips "Supernova" and "Whip-Smart," along with "Polyester Bride," the only track from whitechocolatespaceegg. Then come the songs from her crossover: "Extraordinary" and "Why Cant I?," before wrapping up with smoother, softer cuts from Somebodys Miracle. This isnt necessarily Phairs best -- plenty of great songs are missing -- but it does give an idea of the trajectory of her career and contains the songs most fairweather fans would know. | ||
 | Album: 12 of 13 Title: The Girly-Sound Tapes Released: 2018-05-04 Tracks: 38 Duration: 2:34:31 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 White Babies (Girly-Sound version) (03:06) 2 Shane (Girly-Sound version) (04:46) 3 6 Dick Pimp (Girly-Sound version) (03:19) 4 Divorce Song (Girly-Sound version) (03:46) 5 Go West (Girly-Sound version) (03:28) 6 Dont Holdyrbreath (Girly-Sound version) (03:59) 7 Johnny Sunshine (Girly-Sound version) (03:50) 8 Miss Lucy (Girly-Sound version) (02:18) 9 Elvis Song (Girly-Sound version) (04:55) 10 Dead Shark (Girly-Sound version) (03:24) 11 One Less Thing (Girly-Sound version) (04:38) 12 Money (Girly-Sound version) (03:36) 13 In Love W/Yself (Girly-Sound version) (03:58) 1 Hello Sailor (Girly-Sound version) (05:56) 2 Wild-Thing (Girly-Sound version) (03:40) 3 Fuck and Run (Girly-Sound version) (04:31) 4 Easy Target (Girly-Sound version) (05:04) 5 Soap Star Joe (Girly-Sound version) (03:24) 6 Ant in Alaska (Girly-Sound version) (07:12) 7 Girlsgirlsgirls (Girly-Sound version) (06:56) 8 Polyester Bride (Girly-Sound version) (07:37) 9 Thrax (Girly-Sound version) (04:34) 10 Miss Mary Mack (Girly-Sound version) (04:32) 11 Clean (Girly-Sound version) (03:58) 12 Love Song (Girly-Sound version) (06:20) 13 Valentine (Girly-Sound version) (04:16) 1 Gigolo (Girly-Sound version) (03:25) 2 Flower (Girly-Sound version) (02:47) 3 Batmobile (Girly-Sound version) (03:09) 4 Slave (Girly-Sound version) (03:49) 5 Open Season (Girly-Sound version) (02:59) 6 Whip Smart (Girly-Sound version) (03:29) 7 Suckerfish (Girly-Sound version) (01:48) 8 California (Girly-Sound version) (02:50) 9 South Dakota (Girly-Sound version) (04:21) 10 Bomb (Girly-Sound version) (03:20) 11 Easy (Girly-Sound version) (03:15) 12 Chopsticks (Girly-Sound version) (02:00) |
 | Album: 13 of 13 Title: Girly-Sound to Guyville Released: 2018-05-04 Tracks: 56 Duration: 3:30:19 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 6′1″ (03:05) 2 Help Me Mary (02:16) 3 Glory (01:29) 4 Dance of the Seven Veils (02:29) 5 Never Said (03:16) 6 Soap Star Joe (02:44) 7 Explain It to Me (03:11) 8 Canary (03:19) 9 Mesmerizing (03:55) 10 Fuck and Run (03:07) 11 Girls! Girls! Girls! (02:20) 12 Divorce Song (03:20) 13 Shatter (05:28) 14 Flower (02:03) 15 Johnny Sunshine (03:27) 16 Gunshy (03:15) 17 Stratford-On-Guy (02:59) 18 Strange Loop (03:59) 1 White Babies (03:06) 2 Shane (04:46) 3 Six Dick Pimp (03:19) 4 Divorce Song (03:46) 5 Go West (03:28) 6 Dont Hold Your Breath (03:59) 7 Johnny Sunshine (03:50) 8 Miss Lucy (02:18) 9 Elvis Song (04:55) 10 Dead Shark (03:24) 11 One Less Thing (04:38) 12 Money (03:36) 13 In Love With Yourself (Combo Platter) (03:58) 14 Hello Sailor (05:56) 15 Wild Thing (03:40) 16 Fuck and Run (04:31) 17 Easy Target (05:04) 18 Soap Star Joe (03:24) 19 Ant in Alaska (07:10) 1 Girls! Girls! Girls! (06:56) 2 Polyester Bride (07:37) 3 Thrax (04:34) 4 Miss Mary Mack (04:32) 5 Clean (03:58) 6 Love Song (06:20) 7 Valentine (04:15) 8 Gigolo (03:25) 9 Flower (02:47) 10 Batmobile (03:09) 11 Slave (03:49) 12 Open Season (02:59) 13 Whip Smart (03:29) 14 Suckerfish (01:48) 15 California (02:50) 16 South Dakota (04:21) 17 Bomb (03:20) 18 Easy (03:15) 19 Chopsticks (02:00) |
| Girly-Sound to Guyville : Allmusic album Review : Girly-Sound -- the name of a series of three cassettes Liz Phair released after graduating from Oberlin in 1990 -- is essential to Phairs legacy, the music that led her to her 1993 breakthrough, Exile in Guyville. Despite its centrality, the songs were doled out slowly, either re-recorded for Exile or its sequels, Whip-Smart and Whitechocolatespaceegg, or appearing as B-sides or bonus tracks as late as the 15th Anniversary reissue of her debut in 2008. All of this makes Girly-Sound to Guyville -- ostensibly the deluxe 25th Anniversary reissue of Exile in Guyville -- such a noteworthy release. Available in a variety of packages, including CDs and LPs, Girly-Sound to Guyville presents remastered versions of Exile and the three Girly-Sound tapes: Yo Yo Buddy Yup Yup Word to Ya Muthuh, Girls! Girls! Girls!, and Sooty. Many of these tracks (but not all) have been bootlegged, and theyve certainly never sounded as good as they do here. Although the remastering is noteworthy, its not as noteworthy as the tapes themselves. When heard as a piece, Girly-Sound feels simultaneously alien and familiar, evoking the pre-Nirvana indie rock landscape of the early 90s when it was possible to hide away at home and indulge in an art project such as this. Whats striking about the Girly-Sound tapes is how affectless they are: Phair certainly is cracking wise and playing with pop culture (its striking how many songs here rework familiar melodies), but there is no sense of performance, no sense shes intending these songs for an audience larger than herself. Consequently, the Girly-Sound tapes almost carry a sense of outsider art, if it werent for Phairs astonishing songcraft and deliberate artiness, elements that keep this lo-fi music compelling decades later. Much of the spooky sparseness of Girly-Sound was stripped away on Exile in Guyville, which in this context feels big, bold, and colorful -- not the beginning of something, but rather the culmination of fearless bedroom exploration. When paired, its impossible to deny that both Exile and Girly-Sound retain their artful power: Whats amazing about this reissue is, it points out how distinct those two projects are. | ||