Sufjan Stevens
The Avalanche
Asthmatic Kitty Records 

It has been quite a year since Sufjan Stevens released his much-heralded album, Illinois. Stevens spent the majority of that time touring the world (including a much talked about performance at the prestigious Lincoln Center “Songwriter’s Series”) and showing up in magazines, webzines, and newspapers trying to explain away his religious beliefs, his near blasphemous idea to complete a series of albums on all 50 states, and his unholy amount of talent. At this point in his still young career, Stevens could have taken a year off to rest and get ready on another assault on the world.

Still, in this MySpace age where the next big thing is perpetually being hurled at us, Sufjan probably realizes that he still has to do whatever he can to keep his unusual name fresh in the collective consciousness, not to mention trying to keep the super fans at bay who are already clamoring for the next record. What better to do than toss together a collection of the songs that didn’t make the cut for Illinois and get it out before people start crowning the “next Sufjan Stevens” on blogs around the world?

What this record also accomplishes is showcasing the ridiculous amount of musical ideas that seem to effortlessly flow from Stevens’ mind. Such is the case in the three alternate versions of the track, “Chicago”, included on this collection. The first is a stripped down “acoustic version” that holds the distinct honor of taking an already heartbreaking song and making it even more so. The second is a thrumming beauty lead by lovely Rhodes playing and a rolling drum beat. The final is a playful, synthesized version that ups the tempo and the antics thanks to the bevy of new wave hand claps. Each one is fantastic and a worthy addition to his quickly growing catalogue of songs. The same can be said for almost all the other tracks found here. Especially noteworthy is the jazzy, 7/4 tribute to “Mr. Supercomputer” (which features a great Beatles reference in the refrain “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7/all computers go to heaven), a heart stopping and tear-inducing elegy to a latchkey kid (“you can work late ’til midnight/we don’t care/we can fix our own meals”) in “Pittsfield”, and the blues-y Neil Young-like “Springfield”.

Despite the claims that “every track here has a companion on Illinois,“ this collection is also a testament to Stevens’ ability to sequence a record. As wonderful as the songs are on this disc, it would nearly impossible to find a place for them in the almost airtight track order of Illinois. Even the great versions of “Chicago” found here would sound out of place if replaced with the one that did make the cut. It would have also been interesting to hear these songs in their unfinished format. Apparently Stevens went into the studio and did vocals and overdubs for most of these songs to essentially “finish” them for release on this disc. Stevens could have easily gotten away with putting out the raw material and it most likely would have still been compelling.

Website
Sufjan Stevens official website