Illinois

2005 Folk Rock Indie Pop Theme

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Tracklist

A1 Concerning The UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois
A2 The Black Hawk War, Or, How To Demolish An Entire Civilization And Still Feel Good About Yourself In The Morning, Or, We Apologize For The Inconvenience But You’re Going To Have To Leave Now, Or, “I Have Fought The Big Knives And Will Continue To Fight Them Until They Are Off Our Lands!”
Come On! Feel The Illinoise!
A3.1 Part I: The World’s Columbian Exposition
A3.2 Part II: Carl Sandburg Visits Me In A Dream
A4 John Wayne Gacy, Jr.
A5 Jacksonville
A6 A Short Reprise For Mary Todd, Who Went Insane, But For Very Good Reasons
B7 Decatur, Or, Round Of Applause For Your Step Mother!
B8 One Last “Whoo-Hoo!” For The Pullman!!
B9 Go! Chicago! Go! Yeah!
B10 Casimir Pulaski Day
B11 To The Workers Of The Rock River Valley Region, I Have An Idea Concerning Your Predicament, And It Involves Tube Socks, A Paper Airplane, And Twenty-Two Able-Bodied Men.
C12 The Man Of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts
C13 Prairie Fire That Wanders About
C14 A Conjunction Of Drones Simulating The Way In Which Sufjan Stevens Has An Existential Crisis In The Great Godfrey Maze
C15 The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us!
C16 They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From The Dead!! Ahhhh!
C17 Let’s Hear That String Part Again, Because I Don’t Think They Heard It All The Way Out In Bloomington-Normal
C18 In This Temple As In The Hearts Of Man For Whom He Saved The Earth
D19 The Seer’s Tower
The Tallest Man, The Broadest Shoulders
D20.1 Part I: The Great Frontier
D20.2 Part II: Come To Me Only With Playthings Now
D21 Riffs And Variations On A Single Note For Jelly Roll, Earl Hines, Louis Armstrong, Baby Dodds, And The King Of Swing, To Name A Few
D22 Out Of Egypt, Into The Great Laugh Of Mankind, And I Shake The Dirt From My Sandals As I Run
D23 The Avalanche

Musicians

Sufjan StevensAccordion, Vibraphone, Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Electric Bass, Banjo, Drums, Glockenspiel, Tambourine, Triangle, Shaker, Bells (Sleigh), Layout, Design, Oboe, Flute, Alto Saxophone, Alto Recorder, Soprano Recorder, Sopranino Recorder, Tenor Recorder, Piano, Electric Piano (Wurlitzer), Synthesizer (Casiotone MT-70), Electric Organ (Baldwin), Recorded By, Engineer, Producer, Songwriter (All Songs By), Arranged By, Composed By
James McAlisterDrums (Sophisticated Drum Parts), Engineer (Drum Mics)
Maria Bella JeffersEnsemble (The String Quartet), Cello
Marla HansenEnsemble (The String Quartet), Viola
Julianne CarneyEnsemble (The String Quartet), Violin
Rob MooseEnsemble (The String Quartet), Violin
Beccy LockPerformer (The Illinoisemaker Choir)
Jennifer HooverPerformer (The Illinoisemaker Choir)
Katrina KernsPerformer (The Illinoisemaker Choir), Backing Vocals
Tara McDonnellPerformer (The Illinoisemaker Choir)
Tom EatonPerformer (The Illinoisemaker Choir)
Craig MontoroTrumpet, Vocals (Sings)
Shara WordenBacking Vocals
The Illinoisemaker ChoirVocals (Hoots And Hollers), Handclaps
The String QuartetEnsemble
Matt MorganBacking Vocals
Daniel SmithBacking Vocals, Handclaps (Clap)
Elin K. SmithBacking Vocals, Handclaps (Clap)

Also credited. Artwork: Divya Srinivasan. Lacquer Cut By: Kevin Gray. Mastered By: Alan Douches. Photography By: Denny Renshaw.

Release notes

Tracks are numbered consecutively regardless of sides (as they appear on the release)
Full-length titles from back cover are used
Abbreviated titles are given on the vinyl labels and the insert
D23 is a vinyl bonus track

©℗ 2005 Asthmatic Kitty Records
© 2005 New Jerusalem Music / ASCAP
Asthmatic Kitty is distributed by arrangement with Sounds Familyre

All songs recorded/engineered/produced by Sufjan Stevens (Fall 2004 - Winter 2005)
James McAlister had a lot to do with the way the drums sound because he set up the microphones
All arrangements (painstakingly composed) by Sufjan Stevens
Mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side Music, Tenafly, NJ
AcousTech Mastering and United Record Pressing credits taken from runouts

• Most of the songs were recorded at The Buddy Project (Astoria, Queens) with gratefulness to Kieran Kelly
• Many of the quiet parts were recorded at Sufjan’s apartment in Brooklyn
• The piano was recorded in the dead of night at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn
• The string quartet was recorded at Marla’s apartment in Washington Heights
• Matt Morgan’s vocals were recorded in Red Hook, Brooklyn
• The electric organ was recorded at the New Jerusalem Recreational Room in Clarksboro, NJ
• The vibraphone was recorded at Carroll Music Studios, New York City

Disc 1 - 125g
Disc 2 - 135g
Double gatefold cover (i.e. triple panel)
Includes photo insert with lyrics and credits

• This is the 1st pressing of 5000, which has Superman on the front cover (see photos)
• Due to a copyright infringement, the Superman was hidden with a sticker of 3 colored balloons prior to release
• Although the official album title is “Illinois”, the cover art reads “Sufjan Stevens invites you to: Come on feel the ILLINOISE”

All of the phrases etched in the runouts refer to Illinois and are only on this LP version:
• Side 1 - False etymology / loose translation of “Illinois”
• Side 2 - From the Carl Sandburg (b. Galesburg, IL) poem “Chicago”
• Side 3 - Lyrics from Illinois state song
• Side 4 - State slogan of Illinois