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Track Listings
| 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 | |||
| 19. Ant in Alaska [Unreleased B-Side] | |||
| 20. Say You [Unreleased B-Side] | |||
See all 21 tracks on this disc
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Editorial Reviews
Two CD set archive release of her 1993 album. Liz Phair is a US singer-songwriter and guitarist. Her signature guitar, which she is often seen playing (and is prominent upon the cover of her self-titled fourth album), is a Fender Duo-Sonic II. Her album Exile in Guyville was chosen as one of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. This two disc set includes four previously unreleased audio tracks and a DVD with a documentary about the album's genesis.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
35 of 37 people found the following review helpful
By JRL
Format:Audio CD
I never thought Dave Matthews would do something I'd care about, but he did! He signed Liz Phair recently to the ATO Records label that he's co-owner of, and re-released her "classic" debut Exile In Guyville.
This is a slightly odd choice, though. Firstly, why re-master an album that relies so heavily on its imperfect and raw sound? The 3 bonus tracks here are pretty useless. "Say You" is a reggae cover and is, to me, unlistenable, but nice to know they were messin around in the studio. "Ant In Alaska" is a song that fans of the Girlysound tapes will be familiar with. This is NOT the same version. It is cleaner, & it's nice to hear an unreleased studio version. But it is not one of Phair's best songs, and this take offers no real new insight. I thought the other track called "Instrumental" would be a little more interesting, yet it pales next to much of the guitar work that's IN Phair's first 2 albums. So again, this track is unnecessary filler.
FYI: The extra songs are not B-sides, as noted on the sleeve. In my opinion, they should be regarded as Outtakes.
Thankfully EIG is dense with 18 great songs, so there's no need to look for unearthed material to flesh out the picture. The album says more than enough on its own.
Another bonus with this re-issue is the companion DVD. It's well over an hour long, and features interviews with members of Urge Overkill, John Cusack, Dave Matthews(again), Steve Albini, Brad Wood and many other interesting people who helped Phair's career take off. The DVD is recorded in a low-budget way, making some dialogue hard to hear, but it's worth seeing if you're interested in what Phair was like at the time she made this album.
And as for Exile In Guyville re-mastered and all? Well, I'm unsure if the mastering brings any added qualities to the songs, but it's a pleasant, albeit unnecessary, excuse to revisit a brilliant album.
This is a slightly odd choice, though. Firstly, why re-master an album that relies so heavily on its imperfect and raw sound? The 3 bonus tracks here are pretty useless. "Say You" is a reggae cover and is, to me, unlistenable, but nice to know they were messin around in the studio. "Ant In Alaska" is a song that fans of the Girlysound tapes will be familiar with. This is NOT the same version. It is cleaner, & it's nice to hear an unreleased studio version. But it is not one of Phair's best songs, and this take offers no real new insight. I thought the other track called "Instrumental" would be a little more interesting, yet it pales next to much of the guitar work that's IN Phair's first 2 albums. So again, this track is unnecessary filler.
FYI: The extra songs are not B-sides, as noted on the sleeve. In my opinion, they should be regarded as Outtakes.
Thankfully EIG is dense with 18 great songs, so there's no need to look for unearthed material to flesh out the picture. The album says more than enough on its own.
Another bonus with this re-issue is the companion DVD. It's well over an hour long, and features interviews with members of Urge Overkill, John Cusack, Dave Matthews(again), Steve Albini, Brad Wood and many other interesting people who helped Phair's career take off. The DVD is recorded in a low-budget way, making some dialogue hard to hear, but it's worth seeing if you're interested in what Phair was like at the time she made this album.
And as for Exile In Guyville re-mastered and all? Well, I'm unsure if the mastering brings any added qualities to the songs, but it's a pleasant, albeit unnecessary, excuse to revisit a brilliant album.
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
"Exile in Guyville," released in 1993 on Matador records, is an excellent, groundbreaking album. It is early `90's rock `n roll at it's best, with a fresh, new sound, both quirky and powerful, exploring the timeless problems of love and life with freedom and daring. It is solid rock `n roll, anchored securely in the guitars, rhythm, bass and drums tradition going back to Elvis. But against the crunching guitar chords and tougher than tough rhythm sections, the melodies are often odd and chromatic. Phair sings with confessional honesty about self-doubt, sexuality, power, and the contradictions, disappointments and compromises inherent in life. Nothing is off limits, nothing is too intimate or personal. The only requirement seems to be that the songs be honest and unflinching, and that they succeed as music. "Guyville" hits the bullseye on both counts.
In "Canary," Phair sings about an alienated housewife who "follows all the rules" - "I come when called, I come that's all." But in "Exile" the housewife doesn't just complain, she sets the house on fire. In "Help Me Mary" Liz dreams of revenge against her abusively snide male roommates. In "F--k and Run" she's not afraid to sing "I want a boyfriend...I want a guy who makes love `cause he's in it" as another one-night stand walks out the door. Phair takes full advantage of the freedom women had by the `90's to make music as interesting as they themselves were. Gender was no longer a limitation on the range of their artistic expression. Just like the boys.
"Exile in Guyville" was a great album when it came out in 1993. It still is a great album in 2008. Liz Phair would go on to make other good records, but never again would she achieve the combination of audacity, energy, and no holds barred song writing that she demonstrated in her first album. If you don't have it, you should get it . You won't regret it.
In "Canary," Phair sings about an alienated housewife who "follows all the rules" - "I come when called, I come that's all." But in "Exile" the housewife doesn't just complain, she sets the house on fire. In "Help Me Mary" Liz dreams of revenge against her abusively snide male roommates. In "F--k and Run" she's not afraid to sing "I want a boyfriend...I want a guy who makes love `cause he's in it" as another one-night stand walks out the door. Phair takes full advantage of the freedom women had by the `90's to make music as interesting as they themselves were. Gender was no longer a limitation on the range of their artistic expression. Just like the boys.
"Exile in Guyville" was a great album when it came out in 1993. It still is a great album in 2008. Liz Phair would go on to make other good records, but never again would she achieve the combination of audacity, energy, and no holds barred song writing that she demonstrated in her first album. If you don't have it, you should get it . You won't regret it.
32 of 36 people found the following review helpful
By Michael Sean
Format:Audio CD
Since its release, this CD remains as a one of the musical milestones from the 1990s. It topped the lists of many critics, propelled Matador Records further into the big time, and helped open the door for Alanis, Fiona, Meredith Brooks and a hundred other female artists to follow. With a title adapted from an Urge Overkill song ("Goodbye to Guyville" from their 'Stull" EP), this impressive debut was supposedly structured as her song-by-song response to the Rolling Stones' "Exile On Main Street" album. Brad Wood's subtle production brings her sound out of the bedroom without sacrificing the intimacy and honesty of her "Girlysound" days. Several of those songs get updated, including the explicit "F&@k and Run" and "Flower." Pottymouth lyrics aside, the songwriting is outstanding and her quirky guitar riffs perfectly compliment her dry singing style. The subject matter is much more blunt than her later work (where her perspective was changed by marriage and motherhood), and the instrumentation has a stripped-down feel. For those just discovering this album, the freshness of the material will no doubt suffer a bit in the wake of Lilith Fair and the media's "Women In Music" saturation, but it's still superior to a lot of what came after it. Highly recommended.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Buena
No conocia a esta cantante y supe de ella por un bluray de los Stones donde aparece entrevistada y bhabla de Exile, este seria como un cover homenaje y esta bastante bueno, me... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Marcelo Mourgues
5.0 out of 5 stars
Aged but not old
Not much to say about this classic but to say it's still as good as ever, albeit in a nostalgic way.
Published 4 months ago by R. MCRACKAN
5.0 out of 5 stars
My Most Listened to Album
Each song is so distinct and memorable. The overall emotional impact of the album is stunning. Liz covers so much ground intellectually, emotionally and musically to stand repeated... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Mark Mezadourian
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lo-Fi & Raw - Exile in Guyville Sounds like a Real Human Being, not...
When people asked me what was good in the 90's, I tell them about 4 amazing albums my wife and I bought and listened to all thru our honeymoon:
- Exile in Guyville
- Da... Read more
- Exile in Guyville
- Da... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Connaught60
3.0 out of 5 stars
If you have the original, you don't need the 2008 rerelease
When am I gonna learn to read the reviews before I buy something? Well, in this case it's confusing because Amazon has the reviews of the original EXILE and of the 2008 rerelease... Read more
Published 24 months ago by Orange Newt
5.0 out of 5 stars
Boy was this awesome when it first came out
Although it has lost most of it's luster, "Exile in Guyville' was such a breath of fresh air when it first hit the airwaves. Read more
Published on January 28, 2011 by Scott B. Saul
1.0 out of 5 stars
Phair is "fair" no matter which career you choose!
Liz was lame when she was an indie "it chick" and she's lame as a complete commercial sell-out too! So she is consistent and that's about it. Read more
Published on October 13, 2010 by Christ Jones Kowalski
5.0 out of 5 stars
Buy the original ~ that's my advice
This is not an album that needed cleaning or 'extra songs' to make it better. It is (was) a masterpiece in the original incarnation. Read more
Published on October 3, 2010 by Mysterious Microburst
5.0 out of 5 stars
Female Adolescent and Young Adult Sexulaity: The MUSICAL!
Liz Phair's examination of Female Sexuality through Adolescence and Young Adulthood is as simultaneously as fascinating, attractive and repulsive as an Annie Sprinkle cervical... Read more
Published on August 31, 2010 by Kenneth S. Rose
4.0 out of 5 stars
Phair's best album...no question
I bought this version as a gift. I do not know anything about the new songs, or if they "cleaned up" this version of the album. Read more
Published on May 17, 2009 by Kevin Mckay
