Customer Reviews

I

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Something that always is impressive about Stepen Merritt is his bravery in bringing pop music out of it's dull, repetition and into a brilliant ride of lyrical bliss and musical genius. His use of everything from the cello to the banjo on the latest work of The Magnetic Fields 'i' is both deep and catchy. With poppy songs like "I Don't Believe You" and "If there's Such a Thing As Love" put into a mix with the odd "In an Operetta", with the bitter breakup tune "I Thought You Were my Boyfriend". The Cd ends with the beautiful "It's Only Time" which is the highlight of the CD, both lyrically and with it's lovesick tune.

This is an album that has no bad songs at all and never disappoints, even with it's experimental adventures.

I hold a minority view: I think this album is better than the 69 Love Songs. The lyrics are at least as good -- clever, heartbreaking, insightful, ironic, funny. The biggest improvement is better musical composition. As in good classical music, the accompaniments have become interesting. "I Die" is almost a duet for voice & cello. "I Thought You Were..." has a haunting counter-tune in the treble. "Tongue-Tied" uses pauses as cleverly as Haydn. "Infinitely Late" is spare and rich simultaneously.

This is an unusual CD, with a lot of things to recommend it. Stephin Merritt has the ability to write catchy tunes in many different styles, always showcasing his smoky baritone voice. "I Don't Believe You" is a witty and up-tempo quasi-love song. "I Wish I Had An Evil Twin" reminds one of They Might Be Giants, while "I'm Tongue-Tied" is a honky-tonk lament in the style of "Crazy."

I don't even want to talk about the "I" theme, but it does not seem forced, and does not detract from the album.

My main criticism of the album is that tracks 10-14 are fairly un-memorable. They are pleasant and hum-able, but to me they seem like filler.

This is definitely a must-have CD for anyone with a particular interest in great song-writing, but it is not a masterpiece.

So what do you do when you release a triple album that consists of 69 love songs? Release a quadruple album of hate songs? Well in the case of The Magnetic Field (one of the many side projects of pop savant Stephen Merritt) one goes back to basics and this is a good thing .i has only 14 songs, no synthesizers and no filler whatsoever oh and each song begins with the letter I (I don't believe you, Irma etc).
Musically, however, I has the same poppiness and clever lyrics as 69 love songs and the album is littered with catchy tunes, leaving three dreary ballads aside I is a very good follow up to a classic album- can't wait for that quadruple album though!

I am a great fan of the chaotic passion of 69 Love songs and I always believed that Stephen Merritt and his band would not be able to match it. This CD proves me wrong. It works in two levels. First, it is a wonderful epilogue to the Box Set. This album is the ripe, finished result of that exercise of experimentation and creativity. The power of the love cliche, minimalist music and Merritt's apparently uneventful, yet perfect vocals, reaches here a degree of near perfection. However, falling in the temptation of staying in the comparison with 69 Love songs would be underestimating this collection. In itself, it is a wonderful, enjoyable, passionate CD. It is one of the best songwriting around and Merritt proves that to be great you don't need an excess in arrangement or a pseudoepic appearance. This CD is musical poetry at the highest and it does nothing but remind us that there is hope beyond the increasing mediocrity of the musical mainstream.

When I heard that this album doesn't break any new ground for Stephin Merritt, I decided to give it maximum 4 stars, no matter how good I would think it was. I love "69 Love Songs". It is one of my favourite albums of the last ten years. For a long time, I have intended to write a review of "69", but I don't think I ever will. It's a hard album to write about, and my English isn't good enough to do it justice.
With "i", Merritt has done the best thing he could possibly have done. To make a completely different album, just to prove he can develop, would be foolish of him, having such a gem of a 14-songs collection up his sleeve.
This album is so beautiful, it actually makes me cry. I don't cry that easily, and the last time I cried because of the sheer beauty of an album, was when I got acquainted to "Forever Changes" some years ago.
This album is pure gold from start to finish. It's an incredibly beautiful sounding album. No synthesizers. Cello, harpsicord and banjo dominates the soundscape. And what songs they are! Most songwriters would do anything to write songs like these. And Merritt makes it seem so easy, like he's writing these songs as effortlessly as picking leaves from a tree.
If I took my 14 favourite songs from "69" and made it into one personal favourite album, the result wouldn't have been much better than this. Yes, that's how good I think it is! For me, this is probably the album of the year. And it makes the best soundtrack for the summer of 2004 I could possibly have hoped for.
I seriously believe that Merritt is touched by the hand of God.

No fair to compare any Fields to `69 Love Songs' - very few things in the rock and roll annals in our lifetime will come close - and I was hesitant to forgive the gimmicky all-the-words/songs-start-with-an I or I, but with Stephen Merritt, you can't assume anything ploy-ish. This is simply beautiful. Frangible and tenacious at the same time, heart wrenching and funny, irony abounds. And as averse as I am willing to call it a `gay' standard, `It's Only Time' could/should be a defining moment in the fight for a basic human right. Hear that, Dubya? My grade: A-

No, this isn't as diverse as 69 songs but anything by this guy is worth listening to. I also miss the feminine side of the music but if you have Morrissey and Beck in your collection this will fit in there nicely. The deadpan, acerbic quality of the lyrics often remind me of the Smith's at their best(I don't have to love you if I don't wish to...)
Occasionally the clever, quirky music reminds me of Hawaiian music done by stoners.
This is fun, infectious music that goes against many of the pop molds that blandly fill the CD space nowadays.

What a daunting challenge. How do you follow up what is arguably one of the most ambitious albums ever conceived (a 3-disc set revolving around the neverending story that is love)? A difficult task, without question. Luckily, Stephin Merritt had the answer... take your time. Well, it definitely paid off.
Mr. Merritt has given us another album that is steeped in his unique musical seasoning. It is what you were hoping for, exquisite pop music at it's most irresistable. "I" contains one of Stephin Merritt's most musically appealing songs in recent memory, "I Don't Believe You". It also offers everything from barouque chamber music ("I Die") to the best song Duran, Duran never had the courage to record ("I Thought You Were My Boyfriend").
It's all here. A worthy successor to the seemingly unfollowable 69 Love Songs. BRAVO.

Stephin Merritt is perhaps the most brilliant songwriter alive today.
While 69 Love Songs affirms this without question, i is a very charming and brilliant album.
The world is a better place with this music in it and I hope Stephin and co. keep up the good work.