Liz Phair "Exile in Guyville" (1993)

[busyboy]

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

Originally released on June 22, 1993. Certified gold in May 1998.

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This is what I would call a classic. And not just an indie rock/alternative classic, as it was influential to artists that went on to sell millions of albums just a few years later (PJ Harvey and Hole should be mentioned as well, obviously).

I still love it. It still sounds immaculate today, if we really want to use that term considering the lyrical content, LOL. "Divorce Song" has slowly crept up on me over time, and I don't think I can ever tire of it.

[newpower]

FLOWER :)

[gigglingagain]

Apr 10, 2009 21:59:54 GMT -5 newpower said:

FLOWER :)

[guyl44]

Flower is awesome, LOL

[Almost Honest]

F**k and Run is so catchy to me even though it shouldn't be.

[Mic Technique]

My favorite album on almost any given day. Liz is an unbelievably smart songwriter who said all that was ever necessary in the span of one album, her debut. That isn't to discount her follow-up material, much of which is good, and I would recommend her girlysound recordings to any unsuspecting passer-by. I probably have.

Mar 17, 2009 4:54:04 GMT -5 @busyboy said:

it was influential to artists that went on to sell millions of albums just a few years later

Sing shriek it with me: And I'm here...to remind you...

[Deleted]

Great album, "Stratford-on-Guy" is flawless

[Live Your Life]

Classic album. I love it.

AllMusic gave the album 5/5 stars:

If Exile in Guyville is shockingly assured and fully formed for a debut album, there are a number of reasons why. Most prominent of these is that many of the songs were initially essayed on Liz Phair's homemade cassette Girlysound, which means that the songs are essentially the cream of the crop from an exceptionally talented songwriter. Second, there's its structure, infamously patterned after the Stones' Exile on Main St., but not the song-by-song response Phair promoted it as. (Just try to match the albums up: is the "blow-job queen" fantasy of "Flower" really the answer to the painful elegy "Let It Loose"?) Then, most notably, there's Phair and producer Brad Wood's deft studio skills, bringing a variety of textures and moods to a basic, lo-fi production. There is as much hard rock as there are eerie solo piano pieces, and there's everything in between from unadulterated power pop, winking art rock, folk songs, and classic indie rock. Then, there are Phair's songs themselves. At the time, her gleefully profane, clever lyrics received endless attention (there's nothing that rock critics love more than a girl who plays into their geek fantasies, even -- or maybe especially -- if she's mocking them), but years later, what still astounds is the depth of the writing, how her music matches her clear-eyed, vivid words, whether it's on the self-loathing "Fuck and Run," the evocative mood piece "Stratford-on-Guy," or the swaggering breakup anthem "6'1"," or how she nails the dissolution of a long-term relationship on "The Divorce Song." Each of these 18 songs maintains this high level of quality, showcasing a singer/songwriter of immense imagination, musically and lyrically. If she never equaled this record, well, few could.

[Glove Slap]

I bet you fall in bed too easily
With the beautiful girls who are shyly brave
And you sell yourself as a man to save
But all the money in the world is not enough
I bet you've long since passed understanding
What it takes to be satisfied
You're like a vine that keeps climbing higher
But all the money in the world is not enough
And all the bridges blown away keep floating up

One of the greatest album kickoffs ever and it never really lets up. I go back and forth between this and Little Earthquakes as the quintessential female alt-rock album of the 90s, and despite my admittedly positive bias and fondness towards Tori Amos' catalog from that decade, the sheer level of how...visceral this album is makes it undeniable and a compelling listen to this day on any day, at any hour, in any situation.

[YourFaveIsAFlop]

I went through a pretty serious Liz Phair phase in high school, and Exile in Guyville was always the one that I came back too. It's such a moment in alternative history