| Product Summary | | Label: Merge (exclusive) | | UPC: 00036172946921 | | Release Date: 9/7/1999 | | Buy.com Sku: 60355265 | | Item#: MKXWY7 | | Buy.com Sales Rank: 25140 | Format:  CD |
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| Song Listing |  |
Disc 1
| | Song Title | Sample | | 1. Absolutely Cuckoo ~ The Magnetic Fields |  | | 2. I Don't Believe In The Sun ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 3. All My Little Words ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 4. Chicken With Its Head Cut Off, A ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 5. Reno Dakota ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 6. I Don't Want To Get Over You ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 7. Come Back From San Francisco ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 8. Luckiest Guy On The Lower East Side, The ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 9. Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 10. Cactus Where Your Heart Should Be, The ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 11. I Think I Need A New Heart ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 12. Book Of Love, The ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 13. Fido, Your Leash Is Too Long ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 14. How Fucking Romantic ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 15. One You Really Love, The ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 16. Punk Love ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 17. Parades Go By ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 18. Boa Constrictor ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 19. Pretty Girl Is Like..., A ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 20. My Sentimental Melody ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 21. Nothing Matters When We're Dancing ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 22. Sweet-Lovin' Man ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 23. Things We Did And Didn't Do, The ~ The Magnetic Fields | | Disc 2
| | Song Title | Sample | | 1. Roses ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 2. Love Is Like Jazz ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 3. When My Boy Walks Down The Street ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 4. Time Enough For Rocking When We're Old ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 5. Very Funny ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 6. Grand Canyon ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 7. No One Will Ever Love You ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 8. If You Don't Cry ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 9. You're My Only Home ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 10. Not That Crazy, (Crazy For You But) ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 11. My Only Friend ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 12. Promises Of Eternity ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 13. World Love ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 14. Washington D. C. ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 15. Long-Forgotten Fairytale ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 16. Kiss Me Like You Mean It ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 17. Papa Was A Rodeo ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 18. Epitaph For My Heart ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 19. Asleep And Dreaming ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 20. Sun Goes Down And The World Goes Dancing, The ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 21. Way You Say Good-Night, The ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 22. Abigail, Belle Of Kilronan ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 23. I Shatter ~ The Magnetic Fields | | Disc 3
| | Song Title | Sample | | 1. Underwear ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 2. It's A Crime ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 3. Busby Berkeley Dreams ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 4. I'm Sorry I Love You ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 5. Acoustic Guitar ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 6. Death Of Ferdinand De Saussure, The ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 7. Love In The Shadows ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 8. Bitter Tears ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 9. Wi' Nae Wee Bairn Ye'll Me Beget ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 10. Yeah! Oh, Yeah! ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 11. Experimental Music Love ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 12. Meaningless ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 13. Love Is Like A Bottle Of Gin ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 14. Queen Of The Savages ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 15. Blue You ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 16. I Can't Touch You Anymore ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 17. Two Kinds Of People ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 18. How To Say Goodbye ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 19. Night You Can't Remember, The ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 20. For We Are The King Of The Boudoir ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 21. Strange Eyes ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 22. Xylophone Track ~ The Magnetic Fields | | | 23. Zebra ~ The Magnetic Fields | |
| | Album Notes and Credits |
Notes & Personnel Info |  | Each CD in this box set is also available separately on Merge (166, 167 & 168). | | The Magnetic Fields: Stephin Merritt (vocals, acoustic, electric, classical, & steel guitars, ukelele, mandolin, violin, penny whistle, recorder, melodica, acoustic & electric pianos, organ, keyboards, synthesizer, acoustic & electric percussion); Claudia Gonson (vocals, guitar, piano, drums, percussion, whistling); John Woo (guitar, banjo, mandolin, bass); Sam Davol (cello, flute); Daniel Handler (accordion, keyboards). | | Additional personnel: LD Beghtol (vocals, harmonium); Dudley Klute, Shirley Simms (vocals); Chris Ewen (various instruments, Theremin); Ida Pearle (violin). | | Engineers include: Charles Newman, Chris Ewen, Claudia Gonson. | | Includes a 76-page booklet. | | Personnel: Claudia Gonson (vocals, piano, drums, percussion); Shirley Simms, Dudley Klute (vocals); John Woo (guitar, banjo, mandolin, cello, flute, accordion). | | Recording information: Mother West; Polar Mother And Sonics; Polar West. | | Arranger: Claudia Gonson. | | As the sprawling magnitude of its cheeky title suggests, 69 Love Songs is Stephin Merritt's most ambitious as well as most fully realized work to date, a three-disc epic of classically chiseled pop songs that explore both the promise and pitfalls of modern romance through the jaundiced eye of an irredeemable misanthrope. A true A-to-Z catalog of touchingly bittersweet love songs that runs the gamut from tender ballads to pithy folk tunes to bluesy vamps, the sheer scope of the record allows all of Merritt's musical personas to converge -- the regular use of guest vocalists recalls his work as the 6ths, the romantic fatalism suggests the Gothic Archies project, and the stately melodies evoke the Future Bible Heroes. The whole is much greater than the sum of its parts, however -- for all of Merritt's scathing wit and icy detachment, there's a depth and sensitivity to these songs largely absent from his past work, and each one of these 69 tracks approaches l'amour from refreshing angles, galvanizing the love song form with rare sophistication and elegance. Naturally, given a project of this size there's the occasional bit of filler, but all in all, 69 Love Songs maintains a remarkable consistency throughout, and the highlights ("I Don't Believe in the Sun," "All My Little Words," "Asleep and Dreaming," "Busby Berkeley Dreams," and "Acoustic Guitar," to name just a few) are jaw-droppingly superb. Also available as three individual releases, 69 Love Songs was nevertheless conceived as a whole and is best absorbed as such, with all of its twists and turns taken in stride; despite its three-hour length, the music boasts the craftsmanship and economy that remain the hallmarks of classic American pop songwriting, a tradition Merritt upholds even as he subverts the formula in new and brilliant ways. ~ Jason Ankeny | | Originally envisioned as a 100-song stage revue but cut down to 69 songs (as Stephin Merritt explained, "That was the first love-related number I could think of") and released on three CDs under the name of the first of Merritt's many musical projects (also including the 6ths, Future Bible Heroes, and the Gothic Archies), 69 LOVE SONGS is a sprawling masterpiece of alternately romantic and rueful tunes. Where each previous Magnetic Fields albums had a specific musical identity, 69 LOVE SONGS leaps casually through genres that include show tunes, jazz, country, punk, techno, and '80s-style synth pop, somehow managing throughout to sound like no one but the Magnetic Fields. Though the three CDs were originally released as a box set enclosed in a special slipcase with an exclusive booklet, Merge Records also released the three 23-song discs separately as 69 LOVE SONGS, Volumes One, Two and Three. |
Producer: Stephin Merritt |
| | Artist Overview | | The mastermind of the Magnetic Fields is Stephin Merritt, an urbane songwriter with a scathing wit, equally influenced by the Pet Shop Boys and Stephen Sondheim. Since 1991, Merritt has married sophisticated wordplay with elegant melodies and (particularly on his earlier releases) electro-pop arrangements. Ever the dissolute romantic, Merritt pens world-weary songs of romance gone awry. Sometimes he sings them himself, in his dry-martini voice, sometimes he employs the brighter tones of Claudia Gonson. Merritt has also invented other guises to present his songs, such as the 6ths and Future Bible Heroes, further utilizing guest vocalists. |
| | Compilation Appearances |
| | Technical Info | | Release Date : 09/07/1999 | | Original Release Date : 1999 | | Catalog ID : 169 | | Label : Merge Records | | Number of Discs : 3 | | Studio/Live : Studio | | Mono/Stereo : Stereo | | SPAR Code : n/a | | UPC : 00036172946921 |
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| | Professional Reviews | | Rolling Stone (10/14/99, p.122)
- 3 stars out of 5 - "...His grandiose, bare-assed lyrics can be catty, crude and sometimes full of sappy goo, but they usually contain a little universal truth....melodies that hark back to Eighties synth popper like Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark..."Spin (10/99, p.154)
- 10 out of 10 - "...a grand gesture and a brilliant joke; art about the most personal emotion stamped out in bulk; and a love offering in its own right....pop has not seen a lyricist of [Stephin] Merritt's kind and caliber since Cole Porter..." Entertainment Weekly (11/19/99, p.150)
- "...69 elegant observations by a pop master, employing myriad genres, instruments, and neuroses. All charm, but by set's end, you're ready for more." - Rating: A Q (7/00, p.119)
- 4 stars out of 5 - "...This is a boundlessly entertaining expose of what happens when you mix fine words with excellent melodies to make great songs." Alternative Press (11/99, p.109)
- 4 out of 5 - "...against all odds it shines form beginning to end....[Stephin] Merritt's most ambitious, eccentric and eclectic recording to date..." CMJ (1/10/00, p.5)
- Ranked #16 in CMJ's "Top 30 Editorial Picks [for 1999] - "...a reminder that a finely rendered pop song, no matter how cynical, can approach the status of art." Melody Maker (6/20/00, p.62)
- 4 stars out of 5 - "...You'll find yourself immersed inthe richest of musical tapestries, spotlighting every single aspect of love, from infatuation to splitting up....This is approaching genius." Mojo (Publisher)
(p.59)
- Ranked #59 in Mojo's "100 Modern Classics" -- "Stephen Merritt's magnum opus." Mojo (Publisher)
(8/00, p.96)
- "...An album that could easily occupy your whole life with its witty, intellignet, infuriating, smug and brilliant ways, a dazzling mass of contradictions that you can't help but love..." NME (Magazine)
(12/30/00, p.79)
- Ranked #46 in NME's "Top 50 Albums Of The Year". NME (Magazine)
(6/10/00, p.39)
- 8 out of 10 - "...If he isn;t the greatest songwriter of his generation, he's certainly the greatest sponge." |
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