All Delighted People EP

Sufjan Stevens | Format: MP3 Music

Product Details

• Label: Asthmatic Kitty
• Copyright: Copyright 2010 Asthmatic Kitty
• Total Length: 59:29
• Genres:
  • Alternative Rock
• ASIN: B00406525S
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #35,810 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of the Year May 25, 2011

By Ken Meyer

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Why is this classified as an EP, I ask you? It is more full of ideas, beauty, pathos, experimentation, and yes, length, than many releases nowadays. I have loved all of Sufjan Steven's work ever since picking up Seven Swans years ago (though Sun and Rabbit are not quite as quality filled, in my opinion), but even I did not expect the effect this cd would have on me. Being an older music fan, longer songs have always appealed to me (yeah, my prog love is showing), and this cd is stuffed with them. But, they never wear on me, I never grow bored...I just want to put on the headphones and tune the world out. I have listened to his cd so many times since buying it, I cannot even begin to count...sometimes several times in a row.

An added bonus is having my 10 year old daughter, after overhearing it in my studio, becoming just as attached to the cd as I am (and even branching out into Simon and Garfunkel because of the repeated homage in one of the songs). After exposing her to more Stevens, she is probably the only 10 year old repeatedly listening to a beautiful song about a serial killer (John Wayne Gacey, from the Illinois album). Is that a good thing? I think it is.

This is the music I want to soothe me on my deathbed.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Dense, mostly brilliant music August 24, 2010

By Evan Staley

Format:MP3 Music

I like Sufjan a lot. His lyrics have such a wonderful way of drawing me into intimate stories before yanking me back out to take a look at my own life, America, God, and much more. His music, as he describes it, is often the perfect combination of high art and low art, merging the warmth of folk music with the grandiose of a symphony orchestra. When these elements are at full effect as they are throughout much of Illinois, Michigan, and Seven Swans, he hits me like few others can.

Then there are moments where his ambitions seem to run off and leave me in the cold emotionally. Long, flute-heavy instrumentals, while still technically impressive, never connect for me the same way he does in simpler moments like his astounding Casimir Pulaski Day.

As you might expect, this EP (which only maybe qualifies as such based on its hour-long run time) leans a little more toward the latter style. The title tracks are a suitably epic ode to the apocalypse, which I can't claim to have fully absorbed yet. The Owl and the Tanager is a gorgeous piano-driven song, and the closing track a 17 minute guitar song for single mothers. The point is, this is some eccentric and wildly creative stuff. Fortunately for fans, it's also really really good once you take the time to get into it.

I'd also highly recommend streaming it off his site at [...] before buying it. Enjoy!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars i, for one, am totally delighted May 29, 2011

By T. Cook

Format:Audio CD

i know. who cares about my personal listening history with sufjan stevens...? somehow, it seems relevant to me. i bought "seven swans" upon its release all those years ago. i played it; i liked it. i liked some of it a lot. i was not driven to purchase his other releases. what did i care about michigan and illinois(e)? then i saw that some magazine had rated "the age of adz" as the album of the year. i was curious. i bought it. i thought, "this guy is either a genius or the biggest show-off of all time." after a few more listens, i was flabbergasted and was forcing people to listen. i had to know if others heard what i heard....if they would be as overwhelmed as i was... needless to say, it didn't take me long to go out and get "illinoise", "michigan", "enjoy your rabbit", "the avalanche", "a sun came", and, finally, "all delighted people." (i have the christmas set on order.) (the "bqe" will be next. somehow i know it.)
i see the number of reviews some of sufjan stevens' albums have received, and i was shocked to see how few reviews have been written about "all delighted people."
i know i've played it fifty times in the past few weeks. i wonder if people are avoiding it because of it being labelled an ep. it's over an hour of incredible, intense, beautiful, heart-crushing, unbelievable music. i think, with this one, i've answered my own question. he may be a show-off....he MAY be, but, without a doubt, something is going on here. this man is shocking in his ambition...and he pulls it all off. i am astonished; i find myself listening in disbelief. occasionally i have flashes of certain phases of todd rundgren; at other times, i am reminded of van dyke parks' "song cycle," but, ultimately, this is music that, as far as i know, could only have been created by sufjan stevens.
i haven't been this musically obsessed in a long time, and it feels really good. :-)
throughout this intense avalanche of his music, "all delighted people" seems to be my favorite. i wonder how different the listening experience would have been if i had listened to each one upon its release instead of bombarding myself with all of it pretty much all at once. for one thing, i might be less exhausted from the intensity.
i vote "genius."