69 Love Songs, Pt. 1

Rating

Album: 69 Love Songs, Pt. 1
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Absolutely Cuckoo
2)	I Don't Believe in the Sun
3)	All My Little Words
4)	Chicken with Its Head Cut Off, A
5)	Reno Dakota
6)	I Don't Want to Get Over You
7)	Come Back from San Francisco
8)	Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side, The
9)	Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits
10)	Cactus Where Your Heart Should Be, The
11)	I Think I Need a New Heart
12)	Book of Love, The
13)	Fido, Your Leash Is Too Long
14)	How Fucking Romantic
15)	One You Really Love, The
16)	Punk Love
17)	Parades Go By
18)	Boa Constrictor
19)	Pretty Girl Is Like..., A
20)	My Sentimental Melody
21)	Nothing Matters When We're Dancing
22)	Sweet-Lovin' Man
23)	Things We Did and Didn't Do, The

Album: 69 Love Songs, Pt. 1
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Absolutely Cuckoo
2)	I Don't Believe in the Sun
3)	All My Little Words
4)	Chicken with Its Head Cut Off, A
5)	Reno Dakota
6)	I Don't Want to Get Over You
7)	Come Back from San Francisco
8)	Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side, The
9)	Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits
10)	Cactus Where Your Heart Should Be, The
11)	I Think I Need a New Heart
12)	Book of Love, The
13)	Fido, Your Leash Is Too Long
14)	How Fucking Romantic
15)	One You Really Love, The
16)	Punk Love
17)	Parades Go By
18)	Boa Constrictor
19)	Pretty Girl Is Like..., A
20)	My Sentimental Melody
21)	Nothing Matters When We're Dancing
22)	Sweet-Lovin' Man
23)	Things We Did and Didn't Do, The

Performer Notes

Also available as part of 69 LOVE SONGS, a 3-CD box set on Merge (169).
The Magnetic Fields: Stephin Merritt (vocals, acoustic, electric, classical, & steel guitars, ukelele, mandolin, violin, penny whistle, recorder, melodica, acoustic & electric pianos, organ, keyboards, synthesizers, acoustic & electric percussion); Claudia Gonson (vocals, piano, drums, percussion); John Woo (guitar, banjo, mandolin); Sam Davol (cello, flute); Daniel Handler (accordion).
Additional personnel: LD Beghtol, Dudley Klute, Shirley Simms (vocals); Ida Pearle (violin).
Engineers include: Charles Newman, Chris Ewen, Claudia Gonson.
Personnel: Stephin Merritt (vocals, ukulele); Claudia Gonson (vocals, piano, drums, percussion); Shirley Simms, Dudley Klute, L.D. Beghtol (vocals); John Woo (guitar, banjo, mandolin); Ida Pearle (violin); Sam Davol (cello, flute); Daniel Handler (accordion).
Recording information: Mother West; Polar Mother; Polar Mother And Sonics; Polar West; Sonics.
Photographer: Claudia Gonson.
D.I.Y. indie pop is perhaps not the first place where one would look for a successor to Cole Porter and the Gershwins, but that's just one of the surprises of the Magnetic Fields. Singer/songwriter Stephin Merritt's lyrics are awash in odd similes, brilliant multilayered puns, and tricky internal rhymes, yet never fail to reveal genuine emotional content, whether ruefully cynical or wide-eyed and romantic. His tunes, influenced equally by pre-rock customs, ABBA, and post-punk experimentalism, are as unforgettable as his words, and the 23-song 69 LOVE SONGS, VOLUME ONE is a 56-minute tour de force, exhibiting Merritt's many talents at their finest. Ranging from the country-tinged "The One You Really Love" to the acapella Broadway homage "How Fucking Romantic" and touching on several other genres in the process, this album never ceases to amaze and delight. The CD is available as part of a three-CD box set or by itself.

Professional Reviews

Spin (10/99, p.154) - 10 out of 10 - "...a grand gesture and a brilliant joke; art about the most personal emotion stamped out in bulk; and a love offering in its own right....pop has not seen a lyricist of [Stephin] Merritt's kind and caliber since Cole Porter..."n

Entertainment Weekly (11/19/99, p.150) - "...69 elegant observations by a pop master, employing myriad genres, instruments, and neuroses. All charm, but by set's end, you're ready for more." - Rating: A

Alternative Press (11/99, p.109) - 4 out of 5 - "...against all odds it shines form beginning to end....[Stephin] Merritt's most ambitious, eccentric and eclectic recording to date..."

CMJ (1/10/00, p.5) - Ranked #16 in CMJ's "Top 30 Editorial Picks [for 1999] - "...a reminder that a finely rendered pop song, no matter how cynical, can approach the status of art."