January 12, 2010

Best of the Decade, Number Seven: Sufjan Stevens – Seven Swans

Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans Artist: Sufjan Stevens
Album: Seven Swans
Release Date: March 16, 2004
Label: Sounds Familyre

When debating which of Sufjan Stevens‘ last three proper albums is the best, there are likely to be many impassioned pleas for them all. And while Michigan and Illinois are both masterpieces, they pale in comparison to Seven Swans. Then again, it’s almost like apples and oranges. Almost.

You might not get the lush instrumentation of his later work here (even though Seven Swans was released after Michigan, it was written and recorded before), but songs like The Transfiguration, In the Devil’s Territory and Seven Swans still swell musically and have a grandiosity that even an anthem like Chicago doesn’t capture.

The album also displays a fragile efflorescence that makes you feel like you’re holding a newborn for the first time. You feel the need to grip her tightly, but you know her delicate frame requires a tender touch.

And that’s where its greatness lies — in the ability to not only exhibit both expansiveness and vulnerability, but in the way Stevens weaves them both together. They become inseparable and almost interchangeable in a strange way.

5 Responses to “Best of the Decade, Number Seven: Sufjan Stevens – Seven Swans”

  1. On 01/12/10 4:27 PM, one good naysayer said:

    Finally, Seven Swans gets some love on one of these best of the decade lists.

  3. On 01/12/10 4:31 PM, sammy said:

    I have to admit this is not the album I listen to anywhere near the most, but only because John Wayne Gacy is not on here, which, stylistically, it could have been.

  5. On 01/12/10 4:48 PM, Sergio Hernandez said:

    The first Sufjan Stevens song I ever heard was “All the Trees of the Field Will Clap Their Hands” and it made me an instant fan.

  7. On 01/13/10 7:37 AM, Miles said:

    When he performed all of Seven Swans at ATP:NY, every person in the audience was silent and blown away. Even though I can guarantee maybe 50% of them were familiar with the album.

  9. On 01/14/10 5:50 PM, dangerTIM said:

    This album makes me like music

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