Liz Phair - Exile in Guyville Bonus Dvd (21 tracks) +Album Reviews

4-star DVD, 3-star re-master, But GREAT album anyways!!!

JRL | MI USA | 06/25/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I never thought Dave Matthews would do something I'd care about, but he did! He signed Liz Phair recently to the ATO Records label that he's co-owner of, and re-released her "classic" debut Exile In Guyville.

This is a slightly odd choice, though. Firstly, why re-master an album that relies so heavily on its imperfect and raw sound? The 3 bonus tracks here are pretty useless. "Say You" is a reggae cover and is, to me, unlistenable, but nice to know they were messin around in the studio. "Ant In Alaska" is a song that fans of the Girlysound tapes will be familiar with. This is NOT the same version. It is cleaner, & it's nice to hear an unreleased studio version. But it is not one of Phair's best songs, and this take offers no real new insight. I thought the other track called "Instrumental" would be a little more interesting, yet it pales next to much of the guitar work that's IN Phair's first 2 albums. So again, this track is unnecessary filler.

FYI: The extra songs are not B-sides, as noted on the sleeve. In my opinion, they should be regarded as Outtakes.

Thankfully EIG is dense with 18 great songs, so there's no need to look for unearthed material to flesh out the picture. The album says more than enough on its own.

Another bonus with this re-issue is the companion DVD. It's well over an hour long, and features interviews with members of Urge Overkill, John Cusack, Dave Matthews(again), Steve Albini, Brad Wood and many other interesting people who helped Phair's career take off. The DVD is recorded in a low-budget way, making some dialogue hard to hear, but it's worth seeing if you're interested in what Phair was like at the time she made this album.

And as for Exile In Guyville re-mastered and all? Well, I'm unsure if the mastering brings any added qualities to the songs, but it's a pleasant, albeit unnecessary, excuse to revisit a brilliant album."

All's "Phair" in Love and War and Rock 'n Roll

Gregory M. Wasson | Pinole, CA USA | 07/08/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Exile in Guyville," released in 1993 on Matador records, is an excellent, groundbreaking album. It is early `90's rock `n roll at it's best, with a fresh, new sound, both quirky and powerful, exploring the timeless problems of love and life with freedom and daring. It is solid rock `n roll, anchored securely in the guitars, rhythm, bass and drums tradition going back to Elvis. But against the crunching guitar chords and tougher than tough rhythm sections, the melodies are often odd and chromatic. Phair sings with confessional honesty about self-doubt, sexuality, power, and the contradictions, disappointments and compromises inherent in life. Nothing is off limits, nothing is too intimate or personal. The only requirement seems to be that the songs be honest and unflinching, and that they succeed as music. "Guyville" hits the bullseye on both counts.

In "Canary," Phair sings about an alienated housewife who "follows all the rules" - "I come when called, I come that's all." But in "Exile" the housewife doesn't just complain, she sets the house on fire. In "Help Me Mary" Liz dreams of revenge against her abusively snide male roommates. In "F--k and Run" she's not afraid to sing "I want a boyfriend...I want a guy who makes love `cause he's in it" as another one-night stand walks out the door. Phair takes full advantage of the freedom women had by the `90's to make music as interesting as they themselves were. Gender was no longer a limitation on the range of their artistic expression. Just like the boys.

"Exile in Guyville" was a great album when it came out in 1993. It still is a great album in 2008. Liz Phair would go on to make other good records, but never again would she achieve the combination of audacity, energy, and no holds barred song writing that she demonstrated in her first album. If you don't have it, you should get it . You won't regret it."

"But you never been a waste of my time..."

ADRIENNE MILLER | TENNESSEE | 06/25/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Exile in Guyville by Liz Phair is a reissue of this lo-fi classic. This 18 track album was released in 1993, and fifteen years later this "new" creation contains four bonus songs and a DVD of the making of this album. I didn't buy the original album until 2003, I love this quiet but assertive masterpiece, every song is written by Phair and co-produced by Brad Wood. Songs that are still standouts to me include: Divorce Song, F#&k and Run, Flower, Glory, Help Me Mary, Canary, Stratford-On-Guy, and Explain It To Me. Phair isn't known for her raspy voice but her songwriting is what makes her a star, she says exactly what's on her mind and as a woman I appreciate such raw honesty. Ant in Alaksa is the best on the reissue, I also enjoyed the DVD, very insightful and fun to watch, enjoy!"

Overly hyped at one time, but has proved it is a classic

M. Chambers | 08/08/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Those who criticize EIG for 1) Liz' admittedly sometimes flat or even off-key singing; 2) DIY lo-fi "non-professional" sound; and 3) lack of bitchin' guitar solos or hot licks etc. are totally missing the point. Yes, the early 90's indie media over-hyped this one a bit (fueling an inevitable backlash....), but this disc has lasted; while some of the "potty-mouth" shock-value has worn off (it wasn't really the point of the record anyway....just something easy for no-nothings and those who enjoy being offended to latch onto...), the songs themselves remain potent and compelling.

The entire album is suffused with an atmosphere that alternates between anger and melancholy (and after all, doesn't depression manifest itself just as often as lash-out anger in addition to weepy sadness??). The over-arching mood of the disc perfectly captures the feelings of a young woman in her 20's, caught in the in-between gray-area between lingering adolescence and true, mature adulthood; this creates a portrait of a protagonist that feels perpetually lost and bewildered by her circumstances, the path her life seems to be taking, and even by her self and her own motivations and desires.

I have long tried to figure out how a disc such as this (with its semi-lo-fi production, sometimes unwieldy singing, and fairly basic instrumental skills etc.) works so well and has such an impact. Of course, the songs are simply terrific and often pack a huge emotional wallop. The production and performances, while not "professional sounding" in some instances, are imaginative, quirky, resourceful, and totally fit the songs they serve. (As Bob Mould once said, if you just got jilted by your girlfriend and you can manage to sing on-key about the break up, you must not really be that upset by it....). While some find the lyrics overly confessional and the profanities distracting, well, all of this creates a persuasive aura of candor, emotional openness, and realism: most young adults I've known do tend to self-obsess and swear. Girls, too.

In short, the best way I can put it is like this: Liz and Brad Wood worked some sort of magical alchemy that mysteriously turned every factor that should have been a disadvantage or stumbling block into a victory as they recorded these songs and made this disc. Forget the critical indie-hype that surrounded its release, and don't get distracted by the other baggage (including the over-emphasized linkage to "Exile on Main Street."); assess and re-assess EIG on its own merits and you'll recognize a start-to-finish classic, even now 15 years later. Yes, its confusing, inconsistent, messy, sprawling, and self-contradictory; sounds to me like a good description of what its like to live life as a human being.....

We love ya', Liz. Best wishes!"

I wanted so much more.

Joao Nunes | Portugal | 07/02/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Special editions are strictly for fans. And the first thing you have to ask yourself is what fans want. In this case, what does the Liz Phair/Exile In Guyville fan want? Well, I wanted a double cd with the original (or remastered) album on one cd and the cream of the Girliesound tapes on the second cd. And a very nice package with a 20-page booklet full of interesting stories and photos. Check the Pavement special editions to see what I mean. THAT would be a treat!

Instead, we got 3 pointless bonus-tracks at the tail of the remastered album (which sounds a little better, but is no reason enough to buy it) and a DVD with a lo-fi documentary that has some interesting stuff but also a lot of stuff that is not so interesting. And this album deserves so much more!

Exile In Guyville is one of my all time favourite albums (better than anything by Pavement, by the way, and I like Pavement a lot) and there are only two ways of releasing it again: in its original form (remastered or not), or, if you go for the expanded deluxe trick, you'll have to do it right. I'm still waiting for the Girliesound because those recordings, no matter how bad they may be, are part of the history of this magnificent album.

Exile In Guyville is a five star album by any angle, but to this edition I can only give four stars, because I was hopping for a lot more."

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