Customer Reviews

69 Love Songs

5 star:		(101)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I suspect a certain worldview is required to fully enjoy this album, the major component of which is an almost preternatural attraction to the weird and excessive. Fortunately I have that in spades, so when a drunken friend (in whose tastes I have great faith - he reccomended Pulp and Six Feet Under, after all) mentioned this doozy, I was intrigued enough to go out and buy it.

First of all, this album achieves two reasonably important things: it delivers exactly what it promises, and it does so with an almost frightening consistency. Any album with just shy of three full hours of music is bound to have some filler, but there's almost nothing here that doesn't work on at least some level, and a good third of the songs are actually great. That's more than some bands achieve in an entire career.

Musically speaking, this is a low-fi, indie pop album (read: it sounds like it was recorded in a basement - and that's a virtue). That said, it runs the gamut. 'Fido, Your Leash is Too Long' is an odd, synth-drenched, funky jam; 'A Chicken With Its Head Cut Off' is a sweet and lowdown number that draws on classic country influences; 'My Sentimental Melody' sounds like something They Might Be Giants would record in one of their softer moments (at least to me), 'Absolutely Cuckoo' is a four-part harmony vocal dubbed over a ukelele - and that's just a scratch on the surface of disc one.

From a lyrical point of view, these are all love songs, true. But love is a many splendored thing, isn't it? There are happy love songs ('Papa Was a Rodeo', for example, seems to expect rejection until it finds a shared experience), sad love songs ('I Don't Believe in the Sun' asks why everyone else seems happy when it's miserable after the loss of a lover), abstract, emotional love songs ('The Book of Love' is a rumination on the nature of the emotion itself), lustful leerings ('Underwear' claims there's nothing better than either sex in their ... well, underwear), etcetera, etcetera. To dissect every song would take a very LONG time, but you get the idea.

While each song has the same identifying overall aesthetic, a distinct variety is well achieved. It's this diversity that gives the album it's part of it's substantial appeal. Part of the joy of listening to this is just hearing each unique point of view back to back, trying to expect what's going to come next.

Stephen Merritt covers all this in a pleasant, ever-so-slightly slurred croon and with a pervasive sense of wry, somewhat self-depricating humor. The other vocalists all do a good turn when they come around, which happens often enough, but Merritt is the driving force, and he carries the project.

So, conclusions: I watch a lot of tv, and I listen to a lot of music. The former has miniaturized my attention span to that of a hyperactive squirrel and the latter has made me that much harder to impress. Yet I was not only able to sit down and listen to this entire album in one sitting, I was singing along (or trying to) by the second song on disc one. While it's true that this may not sit quite as comfortably on someone else's palate, odds are if you like pop music at all, you'll find at least a handful of tracks you'll like. And that's kind of the point - there's something for everyone. It's worth paying the price even if you end up distilling it down to one mixtape after a few listens.

By the way, this record can be purchased as three seperate discs, but I'd go ahead and get the box - the cumulative cost is about the same, and with the box you get a..um..box to keep the jewel cases in as well as an extensive booklet in which Merritt is interviewed about each song.

Overall, an immense artistic statement that succeeds incredibly well given it's mass. 9/10, or 4.5/5

In the Sixties, people used to sometimes write "Clapton is God" on the sides of buildings, so let me be the first to write "Merritt is God." (Though I wouldn't be surprised if somebody beat me to it.) The sheer number of great songs in this collection is staggering. After getting used to each volume separately, I now typically listen to the entire collection in sequence, setting aside three hours for the experience.

It's amazing how consistently high the quality is here. There are only three songs I hate--"Punk Love," "Love Is Like Jazz," and "Promises of Eternity"--and Merritt has gotten so far into my head that I wonder if the first two, at least, were intentionally designed to be hated. The theme of this album is diversity, after all, and how could a 69 song collection be diverse if you liked every song?

Merritt and his merry band of guest vocalists (24 songs are not sung by him) mix images of joy, sorrow, male, female, gay, straight, lust, true love, and just about anything else you can think of that has to do with romantic love. Merritt wisely avoided trying to string the songs together thematically, instead choosing a looser approach that gives "69 Love Songs" the feel of a really good (and delightfully long) mix tape.

A list of the songs I like, or even the songs I love, would be too lengthy to include here. For example, the first eight songs on Volume One are all knockouts, and even the ninth one, "Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits," is an amusing and entirely harmless OMD ripoff. There are great tunes in the 80s pop mode that Merritt has always favored ("The Death of Ferdinand DeSaussure" and "Long Forgotten Fairytale" are highlights), excellent piano ballads ("My Only Friend," "Busby Berkely Dreams"), and even some folky songs, though nothing seems too far removed from Broadway--and I usually don't even like showtunes. Then there are true oddities like the very first track, "Absolutely Cuckoo," which to me resembles a pop song that has been shattered into hundreds of colorful pieces and whirled around in a kaleidoscope.

Unless you're sure you're going to like this, I would suggest buying Volume One first (preferably used) and giving yourself some time to get used to it. Songs that sound almost throwaway on the first few listens may become favorites. If you find yourself becoming addicted to the disc, you can then trade it in and buy the entire set. You will want the whole thing because it comes with a big fat booklet in which Stephin Merritt discusses every single song in the collection. Considering that there are actually four albums' worth of material here (each disc is just under an hour long) it is actually a great buy.

I have two other Magnetic Fields discs, "The Charm of the Highway Strip" and "Holiday," and neither of them contain the range that you'll find here. The sound of "69 Love Songs" is based mostly on acoustic instruments, though often they are recorded or mixed in unusual ways. (I suspect that Merritt has Brian Eno's early albums in his collection.) So even if you're familiar with Stephin Merritt's other work but do not consider yourself to be a fan, you owe it to yourself to give "69 Love Songs" a try. There's nothing else like it. You may even end up, like me, with a strange compulsion to go out and buy yourself a ukelele.

I read of Stephin Merritt, the Magnetic Fields, and 69 Love Songs in the New York Times Magazine a year or two ago. I was enthralled by the concept... so, after far too long, I bought the box set. The only regret I have is not purchasing it the day it was released.
Stephin Merritt must be one of the most brilliant songwriters the world has ever housed. One would expect that, out of 69 songs, at least a few would be... bad. By some miracle of unfailing creativity, Merritt has written 69 GOOD songs. Each is memorable, and the tunes range from upbeat to melancholy to insane to strangely sensible. There's a "punk" song, an "experimental" song, country songs, pop songs, alternative songs, showtune-esque songs, songs inspired by various countries' styles... everything. Scarily, every disc is about as good as the others (so often I find myself listening to one cd of a box set and ignoring the others). This set is, quite literally, flawless.
Merritt's lyrics are ironic, hilarious, and meaningful. Those of us who yearn for music that makes one think (in this world of so much shallow "musical" garbage) can rejoice at his ingenuity and depth. Merritt is the primary singer in 44 of the songs, and his crazy-low voice never gets tiring. The other singers are equally talented, and the musicianship is astounding. Though the lyrics are my favorite part, I am blown away by the skill exhibited by all members of the Magnetic Fields.
I'd list good songs, but that would take far too much space. Honestly, if I tried to pick 5 or even 10 favorites I would fail miserably. This work is brilliant. Amazing. Stupendous. All of the above. Et cetera.
Buy the box set, because it comes with such a lovely interview book that I practically want to cry with glee. Merritt talks about the inspirations for each of his songs, his life, random things... it's nearly as delightful as the music.
Unless you have a strange phobia of insanely good music, you MUST buy this box set. It's easily worth as much as 10 of your other cds, combined. Do yourself a favor and shell out 40 bucks for some of the most glorious music you will ever hear.

I'm a 51-year-old baby boomer, and I figure I've spent tens of thousands of dollars over my lifetime on 45s, LPs, cassettes, and CDs of almost every kind of music. My CD collection totals 842 titles as of today, and 69 Love Songs is the greatest thing I own. To Stephin Merritt, thanks so much for "When My Boy Walks Down the Street."

Ok. I debated this purchase for about two weeks. I looked at itfrom a cost stand point ($! yikes) but you have to devide that by 3cd's. Or better yet, devide that by 69 amazing songs. Very cheap cost if you think about it... So, I bought this collection and it is one of the most sound purchases I have ever made.

As the historians tell it, there were supposed to be 100 love songs written for a boxed set. Somehow 100 turned into 69 and the rest is musical genius on 3 discs.

If you're not familiar with the sound of the magnetic fields...think They Might Be Giants (circa FLOOD) or a new wave Tom Waites (circa Small Change) or the punk rock Burt Bacharach.

I have found that disc two is my personal favorite...with songs like the poetic 'Very Funny', the 80's new wave inspired 'If You Don't cry', the spector-esque 'Washington DC' and my personal fave 'Papa Was a Rodeo'. Yee-haw.

Disc one holds just as many gems but i think they would mostly be considered b-sides. Take for instance the swank 1970's show tune wanna-be 'The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side', the uber minimal 'punk love', or the coulda been a Johnny Cash hit in 1968 'Chicken With Its Head Cut Off'.

Disc three is my second favorite of the three Cd's. The stalker anthem 'Im Sorry I Love You' is fun, The traveling menstral vibe of 'The Night You Can't Remember' and the lo-fi buck rodgers vibe of 'Strange Eyes' are ...'as lovely as a tree...'. Also, I can just hear 'Underwear' as a back drop for a Haines commercial in 2010.

If you are looking for something new and origional look no further. Amusing, Inspriational, Arty and fun. Steven Merrit scores a 3 way home run.

I don't think anyone here has mentioned how funny most of the songs are. Long-Forgotten Fairytale, for example, is a wicked parody of that stupid 80s song The Promise by When in Rome (it even has the same repeating bass line in the same key! ). I cracked up when I first heard it, but none of my friends noticed the resemblance until I pointed it out. Don't believe all the comments here saying that only 1/3 of the songs are any good. There are actually only about a handful of duds here. If your musical taste is limited to only top 40 and/or Modern Rock on the radio AND you hate everything else, I can understand why you'd only like 1/3 of the songs here. If however your ears are open to music from many different genres, you won't have any trouble digging most of the songs in this box.

How did I come to buy this 3Cd set from the Magnetic Fields when I had never heard of them or Stephin Merritt only a month ago?

I accidently discovered Stephin Merritt's 6ths Wasps' Nests album on National Public Radio on KUOW in Seattle, Washington. The song "San Diego Zoo" was played in an overlay between two segments. Captured by the music, I called the station and got the album title. Following an impulse, I purchased all of the 6ths albumns via amazon.com sound unheard.

Blown away...I jump into the mix and discovered Stephin Merritt had a rather amazing history. Within weeks I owned all of the Gothic Archies, MF and the Sixths works. Only naturally, I bought this 3cd set sound unheard, too!

This is a fabulous collection of bittersweet love songs with humorous lyrics and glorious rythms. With all the pain of Lou Reed songs, yet the clarity of Richard Thompson, Stephin Merritt captures all the varying hues of love from start to finish. These 3 cds are why I bought an expensive sound system instead of a decent TV.

While our airwaves are littered with the benign pop tunes of B. Spears and BackStreet Boys etc....it is refreshing to know there are artists out there willing to ignore the big labels to constantly and consistently put out great music. However, I have a sneaky suspicion it is the Big Labels who will not ignore such talents for long.

My SONY CD player holds five CDs at a time. For the past 2 weeks it has contained these 3CDS and the 2CD White Album. Pretty good company.

Cheers to Stephin, Claudia, Sam, John, LD, Daniel, Shirley and the rest of Magnetic Fields for putting out an album that rivals anything I have heard in years.

I just picked this one up today and haven't listened to anything more that once, but...Wow. Stephen Merrit is a freak. With no life obviously. How does he have time for a love life ? Are these songs to be trusted? Whatever. It's almost a brief history of pop music (in a completely non-chronological order). Most genres are covered, but the set remains largely acoustic instrument driven. There's some lovely subtle electronic textures (the list of equipment in the booklet that is used is pretty impressive).

Lyrically - fantastic. Funny and tragic at the same time. He seems embarrassed by the fact that he's paying so much attention to the 'love' concept and so is at (many) times both self-denegrating or partner-peed-off (yeah i know its not a word, but neither is 'unboyfriendable' which is used in 'All my little words' so brilliantly).

For musical references the following came to mind - Belle and Sebastien, the Pogues, Beach Boys, Tom Waits, a hint of Scott Walker and Nick Cave (in the voice more than the music) and Elvis Costello (circa King of America). Having very folk derived melodies helps create something very timeless about the music - its whats done with the instrumentation that can often be surprising.

In the end, it's great to know that interesting things can still be done with the ultimate cliche in pop music - the love song. For this alone, this one deserves top marks. Obviously though, it's achievments are far more numerous, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone.

one

when i first started listening to this album, I was enjoying the melancholic existence of an alcoholised student with no girlfriend. 69 love songs provided me with an ideal sountrack to which I could plunge into my Sentimental Reveries.

the one thing that saved the album (and myself) from ever being a pathetic 'smooche' was the ever-present dark humor and sharp wit of Stephin Merrit. and of course... the musical briliancy and playfulnes that complements (and occasionaly, contradicts) the lyrics.

two

when i found The Love Of My Life, the 69 love songs took on a new meaning for me. no longer was Stephin Merrit a depressing but trusted traveling partner in my sentimental and drunken explorations of the world of Unfulfilled Love. rather he provided an inexhaustable resource of romantic imagery which I would readily apply to myself and my Lover. again, think i mostly managed to avoid the Pathetic by keeping an ounce of cynism always at hand...

three

now, after The Love Of My Life unambigously declared that i was not The Love Of Her Life, i find the music unbearable. 'Papa Was A Rodeo' makes me thing of the Romance Of The Century and how it slipped through my fingers. the celebratory joy of 'When My Boy Walks Down The Street' makes me think of she who used to be My Girl walking down the street. 'Underwear' and 'Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabits' well...

conclusion

Sentimentaly/Romance and Cynisism/Reason always seemed to me like oposite and unreconcilable poles on the sphere of love, but for a true expresion of love in art (which i belive 69 lovesongs is) perhaps they must exist in together in a permanent state of ambivalence?

69 love songs is in my opinion a seminal acheivment in pop lyricism. it is staggeringly impressive in scope and substance, but always delightfully whimsical and flimsy, never self-important.

let all musicans and lovers of the world go forth and be inspired

Well, yes, there is some filler. But for 3 CDs and 69 songs, Stephen Merritt is allowed some slack. The rest is gorgeous, nearly a dictionary definition of indie pop. Most of the instrumentation is sparse, allowing the witty lyrics to come to the foreground. Many different styles appear here, with only the loose theme of "love" to tie them together. A lot of the songs deal with the messy end of love - making this set perfect for the heartbroken as well as the head-over-heels couples.