| Michigan | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Sufjan Stevens | ||||
| Released | July 1, 2003 | |||
| Recorded | 2003 in multiple locations | |||
| Genre | Indie folk, indie pop, baroque pop | |||
| Length | 66:11 | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | Sounds Familyre and Asthmatic Kitty/Secretly Canadian in the United States and Rough Trade in Europe | |||
| Producer | Sufjan Stevens | |||
| Sufjan Stevens chronology | ||||
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Michigan (styled Sufjan Stevens Presents... Greetings from Michigan, the Great Lake State on the cover) is a concept album by Sufjan Stevens, with songs referencing cities and people in the state of Michigan. It is the first in "The 50 States" project, a planned series of 50 albums to encompass all 50 states of the United States.
Contents |
Album art features original hand-paintings by Martha Stewart Living crafts editor Laura Normandin.
The two-disc vinyl edition of Michigan contains an inscription within the run-off groove of each LP side:
All songs written and composed by Sufjan Stevens and published by New Jerusalem Music, ASCAP.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Flint (For the Unemployed and Underpaid)" | 3:43 |
| 2. | "All Good Naysayers, Speak Up! Or Forever Hold Your Peace!" | 4:33 |
| 3. | "For the Widows in Paradise, For the Fatherless in Ypsilanti" | 3:57 |
| 4. | "Say Yes! to M!ch!gan!" | 2:45 |
| 5. | "The Upper Peninsula" | 3:23 |
| 6. | "Tahquamenon Falls" | 2:18 |
| 7. | "Holland" | 3:26 |
| 8. | "Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head! (Rebuild! Restore! Reconsider!)" | 8:20 |
| 9. | "Romulus" | 4:41 |
| 10. | "Alanson, Crooked River" | 1:18 |
| 11. | "Sleeping Bear, Sault Ste. Marie" | 2:52 |
| 12. | "They Also Mourn Who Do Not Wear Black (For the Homeless in Muskegon)" | 6:21 |
| 13. | "Oh God, Where Are You Now? (In Pickeral Lake? Pigeon? Marquette? Mackinaw?)" | 9:23 |
| 14. | "Redford (For Yia-Yia & Pappou)" | 2:02 |
| 15. | "Vito's Ordination Song" | 7:06 |
The vinyl release also includes alternate arrangements of "Vito's Ordination Song" and "Romulus".
The European re-release of the album in 2004 also contains the bonus tracks "Marching Band" and "Pickerel Lake".
The song "Redford" was the inspiration for the name of the protagonist Redford Stephens of The Roots 2011 album Undun.[1]
The album was recorded and produced entirely by Stevens, using relatively cheap equipment for a market release. All of the tracks were recorded using 2 Shure SM57s and an AKG C1000, running through a Roland VS880EX,[2] at a sampling rate of 32 khz (lower than the rates typically used in recording). Michigan was produced in Pro Tools,[2] which Stevens has also used for his following albums.[3]
The instrumentation was recorded in various locations: a home in Petoskey, Michigan; Buxton School in Williamstown, Massachusetts; the N. J. Rec. Room in Clarksboro, New Jersey; and throughout Brooklyn, including Stevens' apartment and those of his friends and St. Paul's Church.
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [4] |
| Dusted Magazine | Favorable[5] |
| Pitchfork | 8.5/10[6] |
| Sputnikmusic | [7] |
| Uncut | [8] |
Critical reception of Michigan was favorable. Brandon Stosuy of Pitchfork Media described the album as "a beautiful, sprawling homage" to the state, noting its "lush production", but criticizing the excessive length of some of the album's tracks.[6]
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