ALL DELIGHTED PEOPLE

This goes from the most elaborately produced 11-minute epic magnum opus to intimate acoustic concessions to classic rock jams and chamber folk but never loses sight of the focus or sound. This 60+ minute 'EP' is longer than most full-length albums and the vinyl includes a 4th side that contains instrumental music thatSufjan composed for a Natalie Portman film. This is not mentioned in the description but is a very welcome bonus.

Why is this classified as an EP, I ask you? It is more full of ideas, beauty, pathos, experimentation, and yes, length, than many releases nowadays. I have loved all of Sufjan Steven's work ever since picking up Seven Swans years ago (though Sun and Rabbit are not quite as quality filled, in my opinion), but even I did not expect the effect this cd would have on me. Being an older music fan, longer songs have always appealed to me (yeah, my prog love is showing), and this cd is stuffed with them. But, they never wear on me, I never grow bored...I just want to put on the headphones and tune the world out. I have listened to his cd so many times since buying it, I cannot even begin to count...sometimes several times in a row.An added bonus is having my 10 year old daughter, after overhearing it in my studio, becoming just as attached to the cd as I am (and even branching out into Simon and Garfunkel because of the repeated homage in one of the songs). After exposing her to more Stevens, she is probably the only 10 year old repeatedly listening to a beautiful song about a serial killer (John Wayne Gacey, from the Illinois album). Is that a good thing? I think it is.This is the music I want to soothe me on my deathbed.

If you know Sufjan Stevens, you already know he's one of the most important artists to come along in decades, so let's skip all of the adulation and cut to the chase.We're going to have to get used to something about our beloved Sufjan. That is, he's experimenting with a new kind of "minimalism," I suppose, which is for the most part limited on this album to the last track. With that track, SS asks us to patiently sit through SEVENTEEN minutes of mostly the same 4 chords, and mostly the same lyric. Yes, everthing around those 4 chords changes quite consistently, but in the end it's too little pay off for the insane-asylum-inducing repetition. Previously I compared him to Philip Glass, and I suppose "Djoharia" is a case in point. But while I thought I "got" Einstein on the Beach, I'm not sure I "get" Stevens' new direction.Maybe in 10 years I'll look back at this review, embarrased because the emporer really DID have clothes after all. Time will tell.

I don't know if Sufjan is/is not Christian or if he is/is not gay (seems everyone wonders about this), I could care less.All I know is that he is a true artist who is in touch with his MUSE. This album proves it...he is a truly beautiful spiritually touched man. 'All delighted People' was released around the same time as 'The Age of Adz' and has a completely different tone to it. It is a spiritual love song to people, a human outcry. I first heard songs from it in concert and 'The Owl and the tanager' was so sweet it made me cry.I own almost all of Sufjan's work and this stands head and shoulders above most of the others (except 'Seven Swans') in terms of its ability to touch your heart. Buy it if you are a sentimental Sufjan fan.

I dont always enjoy everything that Sufjan performs, and I'm STILL not on board with the ADZ album, cos of the electronica is harsh, and not the most original sound right now either. However, Michigan, Illinois, A Sun Game, became favorite albums for me...at least most of the songs were hits on my stereo. ALL DELIGHTED PEOPLE ranks as a true breakthru from MY perspective. (OK, its not a symphony with a film, but it IS filled with top notch songs, filled with Sufjan's amazing music.) Buy this album for two songs, DJOHARIAH, a 17 minute song dedicated to Sufjan's sister, and the "classic rock" version of ALL DELIGHTED PEOPLE. Actually, I downloaded DJOHARIAH and listened to it so much, i bought the whole "EP". While most of the songs have the common folk elements in much of his music, the choirs, the banjo, the religious imagery in the lyrics, the post rock song structures, etc, there are also the rock songs, that truly stand out. FROM THE MOUTH OF GABRIEL ranks as the best of the folk songs, with little bits of electronica seeping in, like in many areas of the album. However, its those two "ROCK" songs that place this title as a VERY important work in his repetoire. DJOHARIAH works, like those long, trippy rock songs, that incessantly build, as some total freakout guitar playing screams on, from the late 60s/early 70s. (PICTURE: the guitar solo from FUNKADELIC's MAGGOT BRAIN meets FRANK ZAPPA's HOT RATS.) Once more, Mr. STevens assimulates a style and transcends it concurrently. NOTHING about this song is dated, unlike some psychedelic styles that hung on from the Classic Rock period. Four chords, wordless voices, and a TOTAL FREAK OUT guitar solo that just keeps coming at you, and coming at you, while DJOHARIAH is repeated like a mantra guarenteed to produce musical transcendance. Maybe 8 or 9 minutes of this incredible build up during the song, with the guitar solo just growing more insane, until the tension breaks, and the song changes gears, for a few verses to discuss the situation at hand. After we find out what's up with Sufjan's sister, we go back to the empowering blow out guitar solo, while EVERYTHING builds up around it, right to a bottomless abyss of psychedelic soundscapes. Those 17 minutes of song glide past timelessly, and takes the breath away. WHen the song ends, after your mind returns, your first thought might be "OH, it ended TOO SOON!", which is exactly what a 17 minute song SHOULD do. The other BIG NUMBER is ALL DELIGHTED PEOPLE (I enjoy the CLASSIC ROCK version). That song begins in a folk vein, vocals and banjo, with little rock instrumentation. The second verse contains horn charts, rhythm section of bass and drums, and the backing vocals. Again, this song's textures build, and contain a wonderful horn chart solo. Interestingly, Simon and Garfunkel's SONG OF SILENCE gets quoted during the song's lyrics repeatedly. Then, the last two minutes of ALL DELIGHTED PEOPLE has that FREAK OUT guitar solo, like what's on Djoriah, but overdubbed with a sonic blast of ambient, atonal electronica.If you are a Sufjan Steven's fan, I dont think you can go wrong with this album. Personally, I find it closer to his "classic" style from the state albums, especially with the way his textures work, from thick to thin on the turn of a dime. For his long term fans, its the LONG composistion itself, and the freak out guitar solos, that mark this album as unique, and a step beyond Sufjan's music previous to this album. (Plus, this album points the direction he took towards the electronica in ADZ.) So, dont think of ALL DELIGHTED PEOPLE as a minor piece, an "EP". The album version of this "EP" is two records long! Between the melodic folk songs, and the psychedelic art rock experiment dedicated Sufjan's sister Djorahiah as a single mother, you will be, DEFINATELY WILL BE, BLOWN AWAY.

I am a huge and devoted fan of Sufjan Stevens, but this release is puzzling and disorienting. It is difficult to listen to and very difficult to digest overall--although there is great potential for beauty. The tension within and between the songs is disharmonious and alienating. My least favorite release by Sufjan. Simply speaking, it is overwrought.

There seems to be a degree of consensus amongst critics that Illinois is Sufjan Stevens's claim to greatness, but Stevens himself seems to feel that he has more to give. 2010 saw the release of Sufjan's mighty "plugged" album, The Age of Adz, and, subsequently, this: a slice of wizardry that confirms his claim to be just about the most inventive songwriter working today."All Delighted People" itself, with its reworking of the lyrics to Paul Simon's "Sound of Silence", is a song on an epic scale: although a "mere" 12 minutes its use of choir and strings means that it could punch its weight against the substantially longer "Impossible Soul" from The Age of Adz. The song is also presented here in a slightly shorter "Classic Rock Version" which opens with Sufjan's trademark banjo-and-guitar-accompaniment but soon adds a range of additional touches, including slide guitar, brass and an electric guitar solo; it's a complete rearrangement rather than a remix, although admittedly most listeners will choose one approach or other as their favourite.The final song on the album, "Djohariah", is also at 17 minutes its longest. The long guitar soloes don't really distract here from the maddeningly repetitive four-bar chord structure that is repeated throughout the song's first 11 minutes: another example of Sufjan's debt to Minimalism, although the arrangements distract slightly from this. When we finally get Sufjan singing the song itself, over the same chords, things brighten somewhat, but for once I'm left feeling that a shorter and more focused version of this song would have worked better.The other songs on the album are all "proper" songs rather than quasi-symphonic behemoths. Those waiting for another ballad from Sufjan as striking as "John Wayne Gacy, Jr." need to hear "The Owl and the Tanager", a beautiful song with a spare, lo-fi piano arrangement and a lovely backing vocal. "From The Mouth Of Gabriel" is more elaborate, with woodwind used prominently at the end. "Arnika", which at first sounds like a sweet ballad, is just one of several songs here that benefit immensely from an intriguing lyric.This is not Sufjan's strongest set of songs (for me, that would be Seven Swans) but it comes close and it may well be his strongest set of arrangements: a bewildering and enchanting set of sounds that, for sheer inventiveness, can stand comparison with the highpoints of George Martin or Brian Wilson.

This is such a refreshing listen after the Age of Adz. And even though I loved that album, it's great to hear Sufjan playing guitar again.This is such a beautiful little album, from the first track, All Delighted People with it's Sound of Silence tinged lyrics and Melodies to the ten minute mantra that closes the album Djohariah. Just like Age... the lyrics are personal and heart felt and the melodies stick in your head. For £5 you get an hour of great music, so if you're a fan or have never heard of him, buy it, you're in for a treat. It's also great fun looking at the delighted people that scatter the album cover. The should have called the album: Where's Sufjan.

Beautiful record conatining many of his best songs,none of which are featured on any of his albums. He's clearly attached to them too - a couple of them featured in last year's 'Carrie and Lowell' live show.

I'm a fairly recent convert to Sufjan and am working my way through the standard route of Seven Swans, Illinoise. All great stuff but this is a little gem - there isn't a weak track on here, even the 17 minutes of Djohariah really gets to you. Just buy it.

Sufjan just CAN'T go wrong!!!WOW !!

An added surprise on D-side. Delighted. Raising my hand.

thanks

Diese EP kam in zeitlicher Nähe zu seiner Platte "Age of Adz" heraus. Jene spaltete die Hörerschaft ein bisschen. Was war das für ein Ideengeklotze, bei dem die Songs fast schon untergingen unter elektronischen Spielereien. Diese barocke Übertreibung erinnerte fast schon an die Herangehensweise von Muse. Nichtsdestotrotz, ich mochte "Age of Adz", weil da ein Musiker ist, der bereit ist an die Grenzen zu gehen und auch die Erwartungen, welche manche nach den beiden "Staatenalben" hatte, zu enttäuschen.Diese EP, die andere bei dieser Qualität und Laufzeit als Platte veröffentlicht hätten, ist da geerdeter, ("fast") keine Elektronik, nur handgemacht. Wobei auch hier auf eine Art bombastisch agiert wird. Schon der Opener "All delighted people" erinnert mit seiner Dramaturgie und seinen götterhaften Backgroundchören an ein Spacemusical. So etwas wie Sufjans Freude schöner Götterfunken. "I love you from the top of my heart" singt er flehend und dann schraubt sich der Song langsam in die Höhe und implodiert dann überraschend in einem Geigenirrsinn. Schon Wahnsinn. Später wird dann eine Version mit Banjo und weltlicheren Klängen nachgeschoben. Aber auch diese nimmt Fahrt auf und endet mit einem Noisesolo und Querschlägern. Aber es gibt auch die sehr ruhigen Songs wie zum Beispiel "Arnika", "Enchanting ghost" oder "The owl and th tanager", von denen manche auch auf das Michiganalbum gepasst hätten. Kleine konzentrierte Kunstwerke, die mit allerlei Ideen gespickt sind. Zum Abschluss gibt es mit "Djohariah" noch mal einen 17-Minüter, der alles auffährt und feine Noisegitarrensoli im Geiste von Neil Young minutenlang ausreizt, während die Backgroundchöre auf und abschwellen, wie Wellen am Strand. Der eigentliche Song fängt dann erst nach ca. 12 Minuten mit einer sanften Akustikgitarre und seiner typischen wundervollen Melodieführung an. Das macht ihm wirklich fast keiner nach. Groß.

Thick gate fold sleeve with 2 discs 180 gm vinyl squeezes the best quality sound out of this epAnother awesome Sufjan Steven's album well worth the price

C'est le premier album que j'entends de cet artiste et je ne m'en lasse pas.C'est un album à écouter en boucle.

Es un disco lleno de detalles sonoros. Se disfruta mucho escuchándolo, y cada vez que lo vuelves a escuchar se descubren nuevos sonidos.

comme toujours SS nous emmène dans des univers bien à luij'adore cet EPaucun point négatifà acheter de toute urgence