69 Love Songs
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Albums:
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69 Love Songs
- Artist: Magnetic Fields
- Rating:
- Release Date: 1999
- Total Time: 172:03
- Type: Lyrics are included with the album, Contains explicit content, Box set
- Genre: Rock
Review
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, Rovi| 69 Live (1974 Album by 69) | |
| 69 Love Songs, Pt. 1 (1999 Album by Magnetic Fields) |
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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69 Love Songs
| 69 Love Songs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album box set by The Magnetic Fields | ||||
| Released | September 7, 1999 | |||
| Recorded | April 1999 at Polar West, Mother West, Polar Mother, and Sonics | |||
| Genre | Indie pop, Baroque pop | |||
| Length | 172:35 | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | Merge | |||
| Producer | Stephin Merritt | |||
| The Magnetic Fields chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| The A.V. Club | favorable[2] |
| Robert Christgau | A+[3] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A[4] |
| The Guardian | [5] |
| The Independent | favorable[6] |
| NME | (8/10)[7] |
| Pitchfork Media | 9.0/10.0[8] |
| Rolling Stone |  [9] |
| The Village Voice | A+[10] |
69 Love Songs is a three-volume concept album by The Magnetic Fields released in 1999. As its title indicates, the album is composed of 69 love songs, all written by Magnetic Fields frontman Stephin Merritt.
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Contents
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Conception and live performance
The album was originally conceived as a music revue. Stephin Merritt was sitting in a gay piano bar in Manhattan, listening to the pianist's interpretations of Stephen Sondheim songs, when he decided he ought to get into theatre music because he felt he had an aptitude for it. "I decided I'd write one hundred love songs as a way of introducing myself to the world. Then I realized how long that would be. So I settled on sixty-nine. I'd have a theatrical revue with four drag queens. And whoever the audience liked best at the end of the night would get paid."[11]
On seven occasions (five in the United States and two in London over four consecutive nights) The Magnetic Fields performed all 69 love songs, in order, over two nights. Several of the lavish orchestrations are more simply arranged when performed live, due to limited performers and/or equipment.
Genres and themes
Merritt has said "69 Love Songs is not remotely an album about love. It's an album about love songs, which are very far away from anything to do with love".[12]
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Stephin Merritt.
| Volume one | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Lead vocals | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "Absolutely Cuckoo" | Stephin Merritt | 1:34 | ||||||
| 2. | "I Don't Believe in the Sun" | Merritt | 4:16 | ||||||
| 3. | "All My Little Words" | LD Beghtol | 2:46 | ||||||
| 4. | "A Chicken with Its Head Cut Off" | Merritt | 2:41 | ||||||
| 5. | "Reno Dakota" | Claudia Gonson | 1:05 | ||||||
| 6. | "I Don't Want to Get Over You" | Merritt | 2:22 | ||||||
| 7. | "Come Back from San Francisco" | Shirley Simms | 2:48 | ||||||
| 8. | "The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side" | Dudley Klute | 3:43 | ||||||
| 9. | "Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits" | Merritt | 2:25 | ||||||
| 10. | "The Cactus Where Your Heart Should Be" | Merritt | 1:11 | ||||||
| 11. | "I Think I Need a New Heart" | Merritt | 2:32 | ||||||
| 12. | "The Book of Love" | Merritt | 2:42 | ||||||
| 13. | "Fido, Your Leash Is Too Long" | Merritt | 2:33 | ||||||
| 14. | "How Fucking Romantic" | Klute | 0:58 | ||||||
| 15. | "The One You Really Love" | Merritt | 2:53 | ||||||
| 16. | "Punk Love" | Merritt | 0:58 | ||||||
| 17. | "Parades Go By" | Merritt | 2:56 | ||||||
| 18. | "Boa Constrictor" | Simms | 0:58 | ||||||
| 19. | "A Pretty Girl Is Like..." | Merritt | 1:50 | ||||||
| 20. | "My Sentimental Melody" | Beghtol | 3:07 | ||||||
| 21. | "Nothing Matters When We're Dancing" | Merritt | 2:27 | ||||||
| 22. | "Sweet-Lovin' Man" | Gonson | 4:59 | ||||||
| 23. | "The Things We Did and Didn't Do" | Merritt | 2:11 | ||||||
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Total length:
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55:57 | ||||||||
| Volume two | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Lead vocals | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "Roses" | Beghtol | 0:27 | ||||||
| 2. | "Love Is Like Jazz" | Merritt | 2:56 | ||||||
| 3. | "When My Boy Walks Down the Street" | Merritt | 2:38 | ||||||
| 4. | "Time Enough for Rocking When We're Old" | Merritt | 2:03 | ||||||
| 5. | "Very Funny" | Klute | 1:26 | ||||||
| 6. | "Grand Canyon" | Merritt | 2:28 | ||||||
| 7. | "No One Will Ever Love You" | Simms | 3:14 | ||||||
| 8. | "If You Don't Cry" | Gonson | 3:06 | ||||||
| 9. | "You're My Only Home" | Merritt | 2:17 | ||||||
| 10. | "(Crazy for You But) Not That Crazy" | Merritt | 2:18 | ||||||
| 11. | "My Only Friend" | Merritt | 2:01 | ||||||
| 12. | "Promises of Eternity" | Merritt | 3:46 | ||||||
| 13. | "World Love" | Merritt | 3:07 | ||||||
| 14. | "Washington, D.C." | Gonson | 1:53 | ||||||
| 15. | "Long-Forgotten Fairytale" | Klute | 3:37 | ||||||
| 16. | "Kiss Me Like You Mean It" | Simms | 2:00 | ||||||
| 17. | "Papa Was a Rodeo" | Merritt, Simms | 5:01 | ||||||
| 18. | "Epitaph for My Heart" | Merritt | 2:50 | ||||||
| 19. | "Asleep and Dreaming" | Merritt | 1:53 | ||||||
| 20. | "The Sun Goes Down and the World Goes Dancing" | Merritt | 2:46 | ||||||
| 21. | "The Way You Say Good-Night" | Beghtol | 2:44 | ||||||
| 22. | "Abigail, Belle of Kilronan" | Merritt | 2:00 | ||||||
| 23. | "I Shatter" | Merritt | 3:09 | ||||||
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Total length:
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59:43 | ||||||||
| Volume three | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Lead vocals | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "Underwear" | Merritt | 2:49 | ||||||
| 2. | "It's a Crime" | Klute | 3:54 | ||||||
| 3. | "Busby Berkeley Dreams" | Merritt | 3:36 | ||||||
| 4. | "I'm Sorry I Love You" | Simms | 3:06 | ||||||
| 5. | "Acoustic Guitar" | Gonson | 2:37 | ||||||
| 6. | "The Death of Ferdinand de Saussure" | Merritt | 3:10 | ||||||
| 7. | "Love in the Shadows" | Merritt | 2:54 | ||||||
| 8. | "Bitter Tears" | Beghtol | 2:51 | ||||||
| 9. | "Wi' Nae Wee Bairn Ye'll Me Beget" | Merritt | 1:55 | ||||||
| 10. | "Yeah! Oh, Yeah!" | Merritt, Gonson | 2:19 | ||||||
| 11. | "Experimental Music Love" | Merritt | 0:29 | ||||||
| 12. | "Meaningless" | Merritt | 2:08 | ||||||
| 13. | "Love Is Like a Bottle of Gin" | Merritt | 1:46 | ||||||
| 14. | "Queen of the Savages" | Merritt | 2:12 | ||||||
| 15. | "Blue You" | Klute | 3:03 | ||||||
| 16. | "I Can't Touch You Anymore" | Merritt | 3:05 | ||||||
| 17. | "Two Kinds of People" | Merritt | 1:10 | ||||||
| 18. | "How to Say Goodbye" | Merritt | 2:48 | ||||||
| 19. | "The Night You Can't Remember" | Merritt | 2:17 | ||||||
| 20. | "For We Are the King of the Boudoir" | Beghtol | 1:14 | ||||||
| 21. | "Strange Eyes" | Simms | 2:01 | ||||||
| 22. | "Xylophone Track" | Merritt | 2:47 | ||||||
| 23. | "Zebra" | Gonson | 2:15 | ||||||
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Total length:
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56:26 | ||||||||
Personnel
- The Magnetic Fields
- Stephin Merritt – vocals, Digitech vocalist, Roland harmonizer, vocoder, ukulele, baritone ukulele, Kaholas ukulele, Admira classical, acoustic-electric 12-string guitar, lap steel, fado guitar, bass guitar, mandolin, autoharp, Marxophone, ukelin, tremeloa, violin-uke, sitar, zither, violin, musical saw, keyboards, synclavier, Moog Satellite, piano, harmonium, Wurlitzer electronic piano, organ, rhythm units, recorder, ocarina, pennywhistle, Maestro wind synthesizer, Hohner melodica, Paul Revere jug, rumba box, xylophone, kalimbas, Radio Shack 75-in-One Project Kit, drum kit, cymbals, rain stick, chimera, maracas, conga, bongos, triangle, bells, tambourine, washboard, steel drum, Chicken Shakers, finger cymbals, springs and Slinky guitar, pipes, bamboo harp, spirit chaser, sleighbell, fingersnaps, thunder sheet, cabasas, cowbells, gong
- Sam Davol – cello, flute
- Claudia Gonson – piano; drums; percussion; lead vocals on "Reno Dakota", "Sweet-Lovin' Man", "If You Don't Cry", "Washington, D.C.", "Acoustic Guitar", and "Zebra"; other backing vocals; duet with Merritt and guitar on "Yeah! Oh, Yeah!"; arrangement on "Very Funny", "World Love", and "Busby Berkeley Dreams"; whistling on "Blue You"
- John Woo – banjo, lead guitar, mandolin, bass on "Time Enough for Rocking When We're Old"
- Additional musicians
- LD Beghtol – harmonium on "Xylophone Track", lead vocals on "All My Little Words", "My Sentimental Melody", "Roses", "The Way You Say Good-Night", "Bitter Tears", and "For We Are the King of the Boudoir;" duet with Merritt on "The One You Really Love"; other backing vocals; graphic design of box and book
- Chris Ewen – backing tracks and arrangement on "Promises of Eternity" and "It's a Crime", theremin on "Blue You"
- Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket) – accordion, keyboards, and arrangement on "Asleep and Dreaming"
- Dudley Klute – lead vocals on "The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side", "How Fucking Romantic", "My Sentimental Melody", "Very Funny", "Long-Forgotten Fairytale", "It's a Crime", and "Blue You;" duet with Merritt on "Underwear;" other backing vocals
- Ida Pearle – violin on "The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side"
- Shirley Simms – duet with Merritt on "Papa Was a Rodeo", vocals on "Come Back from San Francisco", "Boa Constrictor", "No One Will Ever Love You", "Kiss Me Like You Mean It", "I'm Sorry I Love You", and "Strange Eyes;" other backing vocals
- Production
- Jon Berman – engineering
- Chris Ewen – engineering
- Claudia Gonson – engineering
- Jeff Lipton – mastering
- Eric Masunaga – engineering
- Stephin Merritt – production, engineering
- Charles Newman – engineering
Release history
The album was initially released in the United States by Merge on September 7, 1999, as a box set with Merritt interview booklet, and as three separate individual volumes—catalogue numbers MRG166 (Vol. 1), MRG167 (Vol. 2), MRG168 (Vol. 3), and MRG169 (box set). On May 29, 2000, the album was released by Circus (CIR CD003) in Europe and Australia without the booklet insert. It was reissued in the United Kingdom through Domino as REWIGCD18.
On April 20, 2010 Merge released a limited edition 6x10" vinyl version limited to 1000 copies.[13]
69 Love Songs, A Field Guide
LD Beghtol's explication of 69 Love Songs (ISBN 0-8264-1925-9) was released on December 15, 2006 by Continuum International Publishing Group as part of their 33⅓ series of books on influential pop/rock albums.[14]
The book includes studio anecdotes, an extensive annotated lexicon of words and phrases culled from the album's lyrics, performance notes from the band, fans and friends, full-album shows in New York, Boston, and London, rare and unpublished images by chickfactor editor/photographress Gail O'Hara, and other items such as a crossword puzzle created by TMF/Flare associate Jon DeRosa and a scathing list of academic cant words not otherwise used in Beghtol's book.
Also featured is a candid interview with the songwriter, styled as a surrealist radio play, in which Stephin Merritt answers questions about his Chihuahua Irving Berlin Merritt, his sex life, studio practices, and other esoterica.
Covers
- In 2004, Skott Freedman sang "Papa Was a Rodeo" as a duet with Mark Weigle. The version was released on Freedman's album Judge a Book.[15]
References
- ^ Ankeny, Jason. 69 Love Songs at Allmusic. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
- ^ Rabin, Nathan (September 7, 1999). "69 Songs About Love". http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-magnetic-fields-69-songs-about-love,21035/. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
- ^ "Robert Christgau: Album: Magnetic Fields: 69 Love Songs". Robert Christgau. Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=2217. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
- ^ Hermes, Will (November 19, 1999). "69 Love Songs Review, Music Reviews and News". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,271726,00.html. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
- ^ "Let me count the ways | guardian.co.uk". The Guardian. June 2, 2000. http://www.guardian.co.uk/friday_review/story/0,,327040,00.html. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
- ^ "This week's album releases - Reviews, Music". The Independent (Independent Print Ltd). June 4, 2000. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/this-weeks-album-releases-715067.html. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
- ^ "- 69 Love Songs - Album Reviews". NME. IPC Media. June 9, 2000. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. http://www.nme.com/reviews/magnetic-fields/2399. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
- ^ Mirov, Nick (September 7, 1999). "Pitchfork: Album Reviews: The Magnetic Fields: 69 Love Songs". Pitchfork Media. http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/5041-69-love-songs. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
- ^ "69 Love Songs Reviews". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/magneticfields/albums/album/181789/review/5946847/69_love_songs.[dead link]
- ^ Hannaham, James (September 7, 1999). "Summer of 69". The Village Voice. Village Voice Media. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. http://www.villagevoice.com/music/9936,hannaham,8130,22.html. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
- ^ Interview in the San Francisco Bay Guardian, 1 September 1999
- ^ Interview in The Independent, 14 April 2000
- ^ http://pitchfork.com/news/37744-magnetic-fields-i69-love-songsi-released-as-deluxe-vinyl-box-set/
- ^ abalk2 (2007-01-02). "TODO: '69 Love Songs'". Gawker.com. http://gawker.com/news/todo/todo-69-love-songs-225413.php. Retrieved 2011-08-19.
- ^ http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/judge-a-book/id66692507
External links
- 69 Love Songs Vol. 1 (discs 2 & 3) at MusicBrainz
- 69 Love Songs unofficial companion wiki
- 69 Love Songs at Metacritic
- 69 Love Songs reviewed in French
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