69 Love Songs

There is no logical reason why I like this album, but I do.

I prepared myself to listen to the longest album in the 1001 Albums to Hear Before You Die series and then got served the second longest one for my listen today, I guess you can say that is karma working against me. Thankfully I have heard this album before, but I wanted to relisten because I feel I'd appreciate this album much more with all the knowledge about music I have now. For this project being the 2 hours and 52 minutes it is, I have to say this album absolutely flies by as each and every song here feels so unique in its' own right and doesn't repeat the same kind of genre, sound, or even vocalist throughout each and every track unalike some other albums of this size I have heard before. This album displays some of the most interesting wordplay and perspectives of love I have heard in some time as it takes quite a high level of creativity to find 69 ways of expressing love that don't sound repetitive, overdone, or bland. I also found that there were a lot more songs I loved this time around and I was able to pick out so many new favorites I have never heard before such as Absolutely Cuckoo, Abigail, Belle of Kilronan, and A Chicken With Its Head Cut Off. It is crazy to say but this album feels pretty consistent in general despite all the left turns it throws at you, it all feels so fitting for one another and I don't usually say that about projects with this much range or length but somehow The Magnetic Fields got it all figured out. This album is nothing short of an impressive feat and I can see why it is so revered and beloved.

Jeg lyttede til den i en sitting, som vikingerne ville have gjort. Dybt imponeret over kvaliteten, men mængden holder mig fra at give den 5, selvom der ikke var nogen dårlige numre på

Har brokket mig en del over plader som er for lange, men her flipper det altså på et tidspunkt og bliver en positiv ting at der er så sindssygt meget materiale. "The crazy bastard actually did it"-agtigt, specielt fordi det meste af det her materiale er godt, og det er i hvert fald alt sammen interessant! Første disk er dog klart bedst (måske bare fordi det er den min lady wife Rikke plejede at sætte på i bilen så det er den jeg kender bedst) (fun fact, jeg gav min lady wife Rikke en cd-kopi af 69 Love Songs i en eller anden årsdagsgave da vi gik på gymnasiet)

Really liked it. So varied, and doesn’t get boring despite being so long. Great concept for a triple album

7/10… indie pop / chamber pop

Love it. It’s all in their whimsical lyrics.

Way more to listen to than I can handle in a single day. But what I listened to I like a lot. Definitely a vibe. Some off kilter instruments and sequencers. Singer doesn’t have a range but uses what he has very well.

Blind album and artist. Hot take but this gets a 4 from me at least. Between the wide variety and creativity of songs and themes of love, I thought this was very well put together. A lot of the songs are short but pack a punch too. Book of Love was such a beautiful song honestly too, that I might learn to play it. Its cute and endearing and holds a lot of metaphorical meaning that I never thought I could hear. The song gave me tingles and was emotional.

It's relentless smultz is somehow charming. Way more diversity on this album than I thought there would be.

An album of love songs about love songs paying loving tribute to many genres while still maintaining a unique, dark, sense of humor through it all. The album is a mixed bag, seemingly by design. Not afraid to go for the cheapest rhyme. Sometimes eye-roll-inducing but often incredibly pleasing, the way only a stupid lyric can be. As I was thinking this, Stephin Merritt said it better than I could: "A melody is like a pretty girl Who cares if it's the dumbest in the world" After some googling, that lyric appears to be a riff on a song written by Irving Berlin. It is a good reminder that I won't even scratch the surface of this album's depth on a single listen. Undoubtedly a masterpiece to Merritt's fans, and still worthwhile for the rest us, despite its excessive length.

One senses this is too droll by half and excessively ironic, plus maybe a touch smug and far too self-satisfied – but then the gets to feeling overwhelmed by just how good and clever it is – so it's a smugness/drollery/self-satisfaction with portfolio. And despite one being right in the middle of the target demo (aging, well-read, perhaps overeductated hipster living in Brooklyn, attending Moth and McSweeneys' events), this never quite clicked or fully engaged in real time – so one's had to work a bit to appreciate it, TBH, which isn't necessarily a ringing endorsement. That said, the variety and quantity are impressive. Certainly the song titles appeal as ideas ("I Don't Believe in the Sun," "I Dont' Want to Get Over You") worth exploring poetically or musically, as is the implied thesis that all songs are love songs. But one's patience goest get a little strained by too many not-even-half-baked concepts (e.g., "How Fucking Romantic) which are seem to be included to showcase a single line (e.g., rhyming off "Rodgers and Hart tune"). "Fido" and "Punk Love" are similarly superfluous. Hence we get 69 love songs, when 42 migtha sufficed and/or actually strengthened the record. There's a sense that they're all just clever ditties but it does get a touch overwhelming. Indeed, the observation that "the book of love is long and boring" (one of the more memorable lines) could also be applied to this record, Disc 2 is much musically diverse and thus interesting (with several of the better and more fully developed cuts, including "Grand Canyon," "No One Will Love You" and "Papa Was a Rodeo"). But overall, one finds Jonathan Richman to be both funnier and more sincere/humane. Still, it does accrete to an excellence or near-excellence, that is undeniably witty and urbane, even if it does carry on too long.

That’s certainly 69 love songs. I can’t complain about false advertising. Could they have picked a lower number? Probably. Not every song is essential. But the experience was worthwhile. When I was vibing with this I was REALLY vibing with it. 4/5

Really good, and reminds me of college. It’s hard to grade this one, since it’s so long. If I think about it, there’s probably a 5 star album in there, a 4 star, and a 3 star. As much as I want to give this a 5…it’s honestly an overall 4. I listened to this in three chucks and loved it.

Good god, it's actually 69 songs. It's a marathon of rumbling, clunky emotions, quirky and witty lyrics. Because I consider myself a proud weirdo, I try to pay maximum respect to other weirdos, so I'm bumping this up to four stars. Great work, yous.

Listened to all of them and it was actually endearing. I love it.. maybe not 3 hours though..

Very ambitious and not all of them are winners for sure. Somewhere in here is a 5 star record.

Way too long but also really good.

First time, magnetic fields listener. Enjoyed the deep vocals tracks, like book of love.

Appreciate the scope, concept, and humor

This is the slimmed down version from an original plan to do 100. Nice that they cut it to a reasonable length of 17 years. I'm still going, and resorted to shuffle to get through it. However the fact that none have annoyed me so far, some even made me laugh, is enough for a 4.

I thought all the love songs had been written but I guess not. They definitely have a knack for writing catchy melodies & pretty great lyrics. And the music is creative. They switch things up alot with different instrumentation, effects, and moods. I pulled 15 of these songs for playlists so that's about 22% of this collection. Slightly annoying that it's 3 discs but I get that it's part of the "concept". Overall, with exceptions of a few songs, it was pretty good and I was impressed that they could come up with that many song ideas and crank them out in some fun, quirky ways.

This is a LOT to take in, and I know this album has a hugely positive reputation. For some strange reason, I’ve never listened to it, so I’m going to put this one into the “needs more time” category of my musical life and rate it a 4 for now based on its rep. That may or may not change once I’ve given it a proper due.

Klassiker, men det er ikke fem av fem, noe er passe slitsom. "Papa was a rodeo" er kanskje den aller beste låta.

THREE FUCKING HOURS IM SO TIRED IT WAS GREAT THO I MEAN WHAT AM I TO SAY OBVS I GOT SICK OF IT 3.5 ROUNDING UP TO 4 STARS

Lol. The only thing I know about this album is that it’s super long, and I just had a few that were 2+ hours this weekend, so I’m not thrilled… — “All My Little Words”! Years ago I came across a synthesizer cover of this song on YouTube and for some reason it permanently lodged itself in my brain, but I’d never heard the original. That unexpected jolt of joy automatically gives the album a boost. Hah, I’ve heard “The Book Of Love” too, though I don’t remember where. Honestly, in spite of myself, I’m finding this pretty charming. Sure, it’s kind of a quantity over quality sort of thing, but there are some gems here - and I think it should get some credit for being as long as it is without feeling like a total slog. The bite-size songs make it much more manageable. I like the idea of this being an album about love songs, not love itself. The playfulness and sense of humor underlying it (though still with some earnestness) is what really won me over. Having finally finished, I’ll admit: this was a good album and I liked it. Above all, it feels very human. I’ll be sure to revisit it (if not necessarily in its entirety). Favorites: “All My Little Words,” “The Book of Love,” “Time Enough For Rocking When We’re Old,” “No One Will Ever Love You,” “You’re My Only Home,” “My Only Friend,” “Washington, D.C.,” “Epitaph for My Heart,” “Asleep and Dreaming,” “Abigail, Belle of Kilronan,” “Underwear,” “Bitter Tears,” “I Can’t Touch You Anymore” 4-4.5

It’s so many songs! Oh…69. Liked what I got through!

Simple and sweet

Luckily for me, today is Saturday and I have some free time. A 3-hour album, for christ sake... But against all odds, judging by the length of the album, the number of tracks and that horrible cover, I really liked this album. Well, at least the songs, individually speaking. From what I read on the wiki, the idea behind the album was to showcase the songwriting talents of the vocalist Stephin Merritt, and he really does it very well. The songs are genuinely interesting, both lyrically and instrumentally, and completely avoid any cliché that the album's title might suggest. The biggest flaw of this album is precisely its unbearable length, as it doesn't create any pleasant experience in a "one go listen". Generally, a tired adult who doesn't have time to dedicate 3 hours of their day to listening to music with due attention will take at least 3 days to finish listening to it, thus creating a much stronger connection with just one of the three sides of the album, or with the songs themselves, individually only. In short, as an album: 3 stars, because it follows the theme established in the title, but it is unbearably long. Musically speaking: 4 stars, because the songs are genuinely interesting and avoid any cliche that the name of the album might suggest. I'm in a good mood, I'll give it 4 stars hahaha.

Extremely ambitious project by Stephin Merritt. Even with a runtime of just under 3 hours, an illegal length under most conditions, there’s enough variation for time to fly by. The idea is mad and shouldn’t work. Yet it does.

Normally rate longer albums a little lower because they aren't as replayable as shorter ones, and this album certainly has a lot of filler, but there are some really great songs on this, I kind of wish they took the 15 or so best songs and had an album of them. Having said that overall I enjoyed it.

3.5? Tough one because I’d give the first disc a 4.5.

Really, really long. Actually 69 love songs, but it was good.

Listening to this was a lengthy undertaking! But it was fun!

Woah, that was a seriously long album. There were some great songs on it. Very impressive and ambitious project!

So many great tracks throughout. A fair number of duds but that’s understandable. I could see this landing anywhere from 3-5 based on its highs, lows, and overall ambition. I guess I’ll average it out to 4. Best tracks “papa was a rodeo”, “kiss me like you mean it”, “luckiest guy on the lower east side”, “sweet-lovin’ man”

Stellar

The Book of Love is an all time great song

Whew! This was a long one

Es un majestuoso disco, una despedida de siglo por todo lo alto. Lo he escuchado bastantes veces a lo largo de estos año, no entero porque lo bueno que tiene es que hay canciones de todo tipo estilo y condición (hasta su propio estilo electro-cacharreante como en Log Forgotten fairytale, Strange eyes o I can´t touch you anymore), predomina las miniaturas pero todas con gran calidad, y uno va haciendo listas según el momento. Destacan siempre: I dón´t believe in the sun, All my little words, Ithink a new heart, Sweet loving mán, Washington DC, Bitter tears, Yeah! oh! yeah!, The night you can´t remember, Parades go by, Come back from San Francisco, The things we did and didn´t do, When my boy walks down the street, No one will ever love you, No that crazy, Abigail, The death of F d S, Meaningless, How to say goodbye, los Beach Boys pasados de vueltas en Xylophone track y el vodevilesco cierre final con Zebra. Stephen Merritt ha tenido otros buenos momentos (el anterior Get lost fue estupendo, I y Distortion también pero diferentes. Quickies fue otra obra de orfebrería y 50 Song Memoir fue un retorno al 69) , pero su cima es sin duda este triple donde va alternando temas con su voz y con la de Shirley o Claudia, lo que se agradece. No se olvide que es una obra extensa, pero completa por temas de amor. Podrían ser 4-5 o 7 discos por separado, es decir la discografía de alguna banda sin embargo funciona mucho mejor como obra compacta, a modo de obra teatral (como así fue pensada). Es curioso que este sea triple, como Tusk o Sandinista, que al igual que este fueron los siguientes trabajos después de la obra maestra respectivamente de The Clash o Fleetwood Mac. Una obra que escuchar una vez en la vida? sin duda

I fw the Magnetic Fields - I like Andrew in Drag and Your Girlfriend’s Face. I’ve never liked the woman’s voice but it’s ok. They’re quirky and interesting. I like how all the songs are short and sweet and many of them are silly. It’s pleasant, but as with any 69-song long album, some of them are gonna be better than others.

Timeless

took me over 4 months to get to this but it was well worth it. Probably more of a 3 but I have no problem giving it a 4 due to the ambition and genre differences

I remember trying this one back in college when a friend of mine dumped a selection of his iTunes library on me to broaden my horizons. At the time, I think the length of the tracklist was too daunting and I didn't give it an honest try. Here goes again... Disc 1: Really enjoy All My Little Words. Just a well-written Americana styled love song with plucked banjo and violin support. I Don't Want to Get Over You is another early standout -- I like the weird processed vocals and warbly synth-shit its got going on. Something in the vibe and vocal processing of Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits reminds me a bit of Animal Collective. Also one of the funnier songs thus far. I Think I Need a New Heart is another well-written song. Not really a flashy one, but Fido, Your Leash Is Too Long is a favorite of mine from this first disc. Love the calm electronic scratching. Disc 2: Okay, finally work is kicking in and taking my attention away... Papa Was a Rodeo is a mid-disc standout. Low-key and understated, but the vocals are solid and I really like how simple it i Disc 3: Underwear is a strong start to this final entry. Love the vibe -- vocal delivery reminds me a lot of Nicolas Jaar's Space is Only Noise. I was not able to dedicate much time to writing notes, but I think this 3rd disc was my favorite of the entries. Strange Eyes was a late album standout and I enjoyed the kookiness of Xylophone Track. No question, this is a marathon of a concept album. But as with a good marathon trial, this is impressive for how well it held up across the nearly 3 hour runtime. Will I sit down and listen to it again front to back any time soon? no. But I did enjoy almost every track on here and did not feel completely worn out by the end. Credit where its due. This is an impressive accomplishment and a fantastic record. High 4 / 5.

Nice. The original Book of Love version! Scrubs' finale episode uses a covered version of this song. For being 3 hours, I actually enjoyed this for the most part. It is still entirely too long, but I never felt like it was droning on. This is easily in the 3.5-4 star range. The length itself is a negative, but I think in this case I commend The Magnetic Fields for filling it out as well as they did, definitely not easy to have a 3 disc album that doesn't really get stale. Soft 4 after all of that.

Wow what an absolute marathon. That surprisingly never got old though because of the crazy variety of songs. Some of the noises that were in this were absolutely hilarious but I was all about them. One of the more unique albums we have gotten and to be honest if it was another hour long disc I still would have listened. Something about that style was just very easy to listen to. This was a very solid 4, but an album I would never listen to again because of the length only. I wish I paid more attention to some of the song titles cause a few I would like to relisten to...oh well

You had me at 69, you had me at 69.

I was dreading this album, and how long it would take me to get through, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The time flew by with these fun short little songs, never a dull moment!

The sheer ambition gets it to 4 i guess

one of a kind, not my fav but there are some really good songs in here

I really appreciate the ambitious scope of this project. They not only created three full albums that explore all aspects of love but also presented the material in a wide range of styles. However, I can't shake the feeling that this album could have benefited from a good editor, much like a 1,200-page novel. There are entire passages that could have been cut, as they don't contribute anything new to the story and simply repeat themes, either in the narrative or in the music. That said, I genuinely enjoyed the album and am glad I took the time to listen to it a few times over the last couple of days.

You know what? Hell yeah. Why not make 69 love songs? The songs are cute, whimsy, charming - even if sometimes you have to sing lyrics like, “I can keep it up all night, I can keep it up all day” (in Let’s Pretend We’re Bunny Rabbits). I was pleasantly surprised with how many of these songs I recognized and could sing along with. The vocalists are all fantastic. Sure, maybe didn’t need 2 hours and 45 minutes of this, but I appreciate the commitment. It didn’t blow me away, but I’m giving it 4 stars because I definitely want to return for repeat listens…all 3 hours of it.

Quirky music that doesn't take itself seriously is one of my favourite genres and I'm quite fond of The Magnetic Fields; in fact, I used The Book of Love in my wedding and it's still a song I love. This was an entertaining absolute barrage of songs about love from multiple perspectives, many strange and funny, but often hitting the nail on the head. With this many songs, some will be good and some bad, and I did start to tire of them by disc three, but I think this is a fantastic concept and give them four stars for sheer entertainment value and a few tracks I really, truly enjoyed.

Último martes de febrero y nos toca éste disco de una longitud de no creer y de una banda que me es desconocida: supongo que por la reseña de Wikipedia puede ser música de fondo. La primera canción me remite a los soundtracks de Wes Anderson y a la película Juno. Me gusta la voz ¿barítono? del cantante: su gravedad, por momentos, seca, por otros, emocional, se contrapone con los sonidos más suaves y tiernos de la música. Logré escuchar los tres álbums durante todo el día y lo sentí como un disco tranca, que por momentos funciona como música ambiental (éste tipo de indie tiende a cumplir esas funciones como de radio o música funcional...o eso me genera a mí) y, por otros, se vuelve más reflexivo. ¿Serán todos estas las características del amor? Interesante recomendación.

For the record, I listened to this album a good couple of months ago because I didn't want to risk having to listen to this whole thing on a weekday. Here's the review I wrote for this album back in August 2024. Haha nice. I’m sorry. I had to. Anyways, let’s actually dive into 69 Love Songs, aka the winner of the “most literal album name” award. Yes, this album does actually contain 69 songs, all of which could be considered love songs. That does mean that this album goes on for nearly 3 hours. Was I tired by the end? Well, I listened to this over three days, so no, not really. However, this was still a daunting task. But did it pay off? Yeah. I’d say it did. I can see why it wouldn't for others, but it did for me. Not every song is good. With this many songs, there’s bound to be some stinkers in there. But the ones that are good are really good. There’s a lot to like here. The variety in this album is truly commendable. This could’ve easily been a repetitive slog, but because each song varies in both sound and lyrics, the album manages to justify its large song count and length. The sound is so varied that many of these songs could be considered completely different genres from each other, while the writing varies in how it deals with love. Love is a complex thing, and Stephin Merritt knows that. I have to give him props for writing 69 love songs that don’t just go over the same few things. Going back to the sound, the fact that there are multiple singers that each do different songs adds to the musical variety that this album brings. Most songs bring you Stephin Merritt’s low bass voice, while others have much higher vocal registers that come from singers like Shirley Simms and Claudia Gonson. Overall, this is an impressive album that is a bit bloated and isn’t always good, but manages to stand out as a widely varied album with some great songs. It’s kind of like the Beatles White Album in that regard. It’s not as good as the Beatles White Album, but it’s still quite good. Light 4/5.

Interesting idea.

Iconic.

Odd but enjoyable

There is a 5 star album in here somewhere but a bit too much filler. Kudos for the ambition though!

My first reaction was - great, an album I'd not heard before. My second reaction was - it's nearly three hours long! I don't think I can play this many times before I'm presented with the next album... Some of these songs are amusing or interesting, but as a whole the exercise of recording a three hour album of songs about love songs is really rather self-indulgent. Having said that, maybe it's something I'll come back to.

Jag brukar höra om albumen massa men orkade bara en gång med denna, inte för den är dålig jag gillade den väldigt mycket men det är ytterst svårt att hitta tid i dagen för den. Jag ser inte heller detta som ett låt album jag tycker allt går väldigt bra i varandra så har svårt att hitta funktionen för den men bra är det.

*Astronomy will have to be revised I don't believe in the sun How could it shine down on everyone? And never shine on me* It's an interesting piece. It's 69 songs! Most of them just keep an idea and go with it - price of them being short, and being one among 68 others. Some are interesting. Some are less. But it's really hard to get through all 69 of them in one day. *So there's one thing I crave When my days become ho-hum and blah I want a zebra* And then it went on, and on, and on. And the music got weirder. And at one point I got motion sick. And I'm suspecting half of the experience is so that they can catch you out, unaware. It's not quite perfect, and it's so long I'd be a bit wary of giving it a 5. And I can't even feel like I can fit a relisten for it, like for so many albums. But I think a 4 fits the album well enough. Maybe one day. It's just missing yet Another Love Song.

the title is a tongue in cheeks reference.

Phew, did it, though it took me three days! Not every song on this is a winner, but that seems a bit much to expect - there are enough of them that are to merit a positive rating. Shirley Simms has a beautiful voice - sounds quite like Kirsty MacColl. The tracks she's lead on are among the strongest on the album. Merritt's voice is a sonorous bass, also nice to listen to.

4 stars. A remarkably good and inventive album considering the runtime

for the sheer audacity

Thought I was going to hate and I was very wrong. Really good.

I can’t say why but I loved this! It hit me on a day where I was having to drive a lot and really helped pass the time in the car. It’s weird, no one should ever do a project like this, but it was great.

Epic release. Multiple genres mixed throughout. Would love to revisit at different pace

This is a clear 3.5 for me: the styles, instruments (and vocals) run the gamut, with a tongue in cheek look at the variations of love. Compelling enough. The half step up is more a celebration of making it through without becoming disgruntled.

Overall this was a decent album. The songs were short, with simple lyrics. The music was alright, but most of the time it felt like it couldnt really get itself. Overall i dont think this is a album you need to watch

have you ever heard a song and got nostalgia that's how I felt when I listened to the album the book of love by magnetic love I think that it is good and what it reminds me of was being at church because they would sometimes play music their with a band and I like how the voice of the singer is nice and peaceful I also like the lyrics I think this album is good and I would recommend listening to it

...Upbeat/slow love songs? Are they for you? If so...this album is for you! In my opinion, I love this album. One reason is the use of all of the different instruments in each of the various songs. Another reason is I like the singers' voice. It's soothing to me, and he has a good range too. I think you should listen to this album. I feel like you'd love it just as much as I would.

Super unique, and some interesting takes for sure. Not an every day listen though.

Befuddling and heartfelt - wish there were more projects that explored this scope. If Santa Rosa allowed this same amount of room to its different musical ideas it went down it might've been an easier listen. An incredible 10 song album in here, but it changes on each listen so maybe it's right to include all 69.

I wanted to hate this so I could skip past most of it but it was too good to skip anything. 2/3 of this album is in the 4-5 range for me with some duds leftover. The album name and cover are both extremely chad and based.

I actually revisited this a couple of months ago, which is a happy coincidence because I don’t know when I’d find a spare three hours to take this project in at the minute It’s ambitious as hell and I admire it for that. I often criticise albums on here for being overly long but the length is the point with this one, and it changes genre and lyrical approach enough to keep things interesting even over 69 tracks. It’s remarkably consistent as well - while there are a handful of songs that I would happily never listen to again, there are so many good-to-great ones that it’s quite easy to forget about them

Would be a 5 star record if it was edited down to 2

I understand why it’s way too much in one sitting, but I found it clever and charming. It was as if Shel Silverstein was a musician

you want me to listen to a 3 hour album in one day?...well it's a good thing i've already listened to it, and i rly like it. great variety, every song feels different, songwriting and lyricism are exquisite. massive undertaking which in my opinion turned out to be one of the best concept albums of all time

There are mostly good tracks in this behemoth of an album, but the length of this thing can make it a bit of a hard sell, cause Jesus Christ, it's nearly 3 GODDAMN HOURS LONG. Anyways, 3.5 bumped to 4.

I’m at a 3.3 that I'll bump up to a 4 (I can explain later), but I gotta tell you, I really do admire the scope and scale of this project. I think I would recommend going through an actual listen to this, but not all at once; 23 at a time, just to spread it out and give the brain some sanity. I really can’t believe I actually listened to all 69. It felt a lot easier doing it 23 at a time with spread out breaks, but it’s still so many fucking songs. I categorized each song into 3 distinctions: liking it, being indifferent towards it, and outright hating it. I liked 30 of the songs here, for various reasons, so that’s pretty good. I was indifferent towards 36 of them, and while I can’t speak to how good or how bad each of the ones I was indifferent towards really was, I’d say most of the “good” indifferent ones were on the second disc, and a lot of the “bad” indifferent ones were on the third disc. I only really hated 3 of the tracks, and part of it is either from subject matter, bad instrumentation, or terrible mixing. I don’t wanna speak to the entire album as a whole, but I did ultimately enjoy this. It’s a slog, yes, but it’s a rather worthwhile slog. There are some good songs in here, and the scale of the project makes it kind of impressive that I really only hated about 3 of the tracks. Either that, or I have a really high tolerance for mediocrity. If I had to rate each “disc” (set of 23) as their own individual albums, I’d say disc 1 gets a flat 3 – it wasn’t egregiously offensive, but it didn’t do anything too special either. Disc 2 gets a 4 from me – easily the best set of the whole bunch. Lots of great production, and probably the best lyricism of the album. Disc 3 was the weakest one – it’s a 2.5 that I’d bump up to a 3 because it’s just got the most bland songs on the album, and the good ones are probably the most average between the 3 discs. That’s how I ended up at a 4; those rankings together average out to about 3.3, but I'll be nice and bump it up to a 4. I admire the hell out of them for making an album that hits pretty well, but if 36 of your tracks get met with a shrug, then you kinda just made 30 good love songs, 36 straight-to-DVD soundtrack songs, and 3 outright bad ones. However, this is still worth a listen, because I’m sure someone else will like more than 30 songs here. It’s an album with so much variance, and it covers such a strong variety of styles and tones, both in its instrumentals, vocals, and lyricism that it’s impossible for any 2 people to have the exact same tracklist as their “liked” ones (although Epitaph for my Heart & Papa Was A Radio should universally be on that list). It’s a very solid 4, and I can totally see how other people can give it a 5. People giving this a 1 or a 2 either listened to it all at once and got burnt out, or barely listened to it. I’m totally fine with it, and I did honestly like the album. Never give us a 69-track album ever again, please.

I enjoy the concept. It's a challenge of a marathon scale. Not sure the execution quite worked. The best song is the Book of Love, but others still stand out. Just sketches that are too short to really sink my teeth into for the most part. Strong 3/4

very interesting, eclectic songs with multiple genres. Will go back and listen some more.

pretty likeable and understated

Absolutely nuts! But so engaging. It is a marathon at almost 3 hours. This time we played every song; unfortunately, I napped through about half an hour of the last third 🫤 Not every song hits, some are only fragments but a lot are worth listening to and a few (The Book of Love being the best known) are brilliant.

Listening to this album was like going through a list within the 1001 albums list. 69 tracks is a big undertaking as an artist and it feels like a lot as a listener. But most of these songs show a strong sense of songcraft. They have interesting perspectives and feel like vignettes. A few of them were moving and only a handful grated on my nerves. There are several specifically queer love songs too which was a pleasant surprise. I occasionally got a bit exhausted working my way through the album but just when I started to get restless, a song like “Papa Was a Rodeo” would come on and pull me back in again. That’s my pick for the best song here. The sequencing of the album is very good. Finding an order for 69 songs is a big task but the album flows nicely. Certain songs feel grouped together while other sections have a mix of tones and styles.

This is one of the strongest "specific to a time period" albums for me in my life. This one for college and a year or two after, when one of my best friends Jake shared the album with me. Whenever Jake shares a new song that he's written, or when he shares an old original song that I've never heard, I feel like I hear a little bit of this in it; there's something about the cadences, lyrics, and chord progressions here that are so ingrained his music (specifically tracks like "Reno Dakota" and of course, "The Book of Love"), that I struggle to separate them. I listen to these songs and it makes me miss my friend who is currently walking around Spain who I spoke to only 12 hours ago, and will speak to in an hour or two when I tell him that this album is today's 1001 album. This is a beautiful album with a great backstory, and I'm a sucker for a good backstory. I enjoy this whenever it's put on and it's a great and fitting addition to this 1001 list. 4/5, and great album cover.

Very nearly forgot this.

Apparently Magnetic Fields frontman Stephen Merrit was sat in a gay bar in New York listening to Stephen Sondheim songs played on piano one day and set himself the challenge of writing 100 love songs. He scaled back the original target to 69 songs (fnarrr, fnarr) but this is still a monumental achievement. These are songs about love in all its varieties, each one in a different style with the three album set lasting just shy of three hours. Amazing stuff!

8/7/24. Literally 69 love songs! Admittedly I didn't get to finish it due to length and a busy day, but the songs are short and sweet. I give the artist major props for explroing different sounds for each song so it feels like a fun journey instead of a monotonous one.

A collection of songs that I like to revisit every so often. There are some real gems

if bob belcher wants to sing me 69 love songs who am i to stop him ya know?

69 songs it was! I did the whole thing. Despite obviously being quite a schlep to get through all of that, overall it was perfectly pleasant. Some I liked more than others - god knows how I'll now remember which ones those were over the 3 CDs, but regardless I'm glad I've heard it. Impressive to put this much stuff out.

Really good but very long, would have been better to pick the best tracks and make it at least just a double album, but all in all, song great songwriting

Mér leist ekkert á lengdina á þessari plötu, en svo var hún bara mjög áhugaverð! Ýmislegt inn á milli sem er ansi tilraunakennt, en mest megnið er fínt.

This is the first album that I’ve come across that I genuinely think hit me exactly as “this is an album everyone should hear before they die.” It is IT. There is no peer. Nothing similar. It is just exactly what it wants to be. However, I am also really glad that I chose this record to just lock, load and listen. I’d never heard of the band before. I didn’t look at the genre, description, liner notes or (thankfully) the album length. Just went off and track one and……. I probably would have gotten discouraged. Or bored. But the whole album dragged me along song after song. Eventually I read the album notes and that made the album that much better. It made it make so much sense. And naturally there’s some filler in a 3 hour record. Many of the songs are good, even most. There’s even a few that fall into great. But the album itself may be a masterpiece. I think it is. And I’m not sure if listening again would make it better or lesser so I’m a little afraid to. I may just say that it’s always there if I want to and move on. At least I got to hear it, even if it was only once.

Holy hell that was an experience. But I honestly feel better having gone through it in one sitting.

Never heard before. Albums like this are why I enjoy this list...I might not ever have stumbled upon this album otherwise. 69 songs on 3 albums is a pretty astonishing output. The music is beautiful throughout, and the lyrics and vocals are sometimes inspired. Unfortunately, the lyrics and vocals sometimes fall (very) flat. I was initially off-put by the first few songs, which almost kept me from continuing on this (long) musical journey. Continuing to listen paid off, as the album soon improves greatly. I'll be making a playlist of my favorite 20-30 of these songs and playing it (often) in the future. "Never stuck around long enough for a one-night stand"

There is a clue in the name. But I really wasn’t expecting 69 songs. I’m done after disk 1.

Well, I didn't hate it, despite the VASTLY overstayed welcome. I still want to hate it because I think the concept is dumb, but most of the songs were pretty witty. The most reluctant 4 I've ever given.

This is too much. It started off well enough but it devolves into the same mess. Some of the tracks get stuck in your head, so that’s a plus.

This album is long!! How many songs are on this freakin thing? Not only does this guy sounds just like Jens Lekman, his lyrics are just as earnest and esoteric as his…. But I enjoy this a lot, gotta respect it tbh! I had a pleasant time listening basically all the way through. “Busby Berkeley Dreams” is an all timer Definitely a couple songs that haven’t aged super well tho..

What an opus. There are some amazing melodies among the 69 tracks. I tried to review each song on its own but I was worn about before I reached the end of the first disc.

The concept of making 69 Love Songs seems wild on the surface. Amazingly they pull it off. It seems like they took every line and phrase you might put into one but they made each one the focus of a song. With a wide range of silly, dark, light, meaningful, soulful, playful...there seems a bit of everything here. 3.5 hours is daunting, but impressively executed.

I try to love it, I try to love it, but I can't, but I can't. It is too long, it lasts forever, forever is a concept I can not sustain. But it is cool somehow, and if I cut it into chunks, I love the chunks. I dearly do.

This was good, but took me several days to work through. I get the concept Stephen Merrit had it mind for this, but still, 69 songs is a lot for a single release, at least in the age of streaming where a 3 disc collection just appears as a 3 hour playlist. But that all said, there were plenty of songs in this that I would for sure want to come back to.

Like this album a lot. You'd think it'd be a slog, but not so much. I really enjoyed it. 4/5

A monumental project, no doubt about it. A lot of it isn’t for me, but it’s hard to deny a good chunk of it. Some beautiful recordings all over. B

So long, but worth it

Fuck yeah. I'd only really listened to The Book of Love before, but this is a great testament to three 23-track songs that are somehow still listenable.

"he decided he ought to get into theatre music". Narrator: he should not have. Truth be told, I'm now through the first volume and time passed quite alright. Nice bits, whatever bits, annoying bits. They all didn't last long. Is all I can say here, really. Outside of the gimmick of this being a lot of songs, what else is there? Because I can't seem to find it. Is that it? Rating day. I don't hate it. A quirky box of surprises.+1 for effort.

Wow, glad I found this band because of this app. They really meant “69 songs”. Three albums but really good albums

Some of the more synth oriented songs were interesting, and most of the more folk-y tunes were charming. I liked it.

That was surprisingly really really good. I knew about this album being on here because I always see people saying they are dreading it or that they might skip it so thought this was going to be harder then it is. I also thought that the fact there was so many songs it was going to be either cheesy or really simple formatted songs and it was neither. For better or for worse most songs sounded different and although there were some songs that could've done with not being on here (I Shatter), most of it was great. I usually listen to music while working and this was almost perfect I didn't have to look at my spotify once I just could listen to it and do all my work and it was a great soundtrack. Loved the vocals the guy sounded like late 70's early 80's Jangle Pop like the Monochrome set. Don't feel there was enough of the girl but when she was in it was very good. No song blew me away and I actually think the fact it was so long saved it because if this was just 10 or so songs it would feel quite lacklusterd and not as special as it is. I feel like of they had decided to be a bit more standard and make 5 or so proper pop indie hits that carried the down parts this would be amazing. Also no idea why the weirder slower songs are at the end when lots of people would want to give up that disappointed me slightly. But overall was really fun I can see myself putting it on again and I could write so much more but I feel nerdy enough writing this much. Good 4/5. Stand Out Songs, hard to limit to 3: I Don't Want to Get Over You I Think I Need a New Heart Sweet-Lovin' Man All in the first half sadly, second half had some contenders but whether it was fatigue or not they didn't stick out as much

Simple instrumentals, compelling. Was drawn in the more I listened.

Got through more than half. What a project! More spoof of live songs than love songs. Plenty of clever lyricism and well written songs.

Really long so didn't finish listening in one sitting but great album!

How do you digest this entire album and the try to write a synopsis 69 songs 3 hours of music. It's untenable. Impossible for me anyway to sit down and listen to the whole album with the attention a review deserves so I won't even try. My strategy put it on in the background while working on my computer and hopefully on occasion it grabs me and demands my attention. Which it did quite often. Now I am pre disposed to like the album and the music that is created because of its Indie Rock aesthetic. So quite a few of the songs did grab my attention in a positive manner and nothing stood out in a negative way so, wow! I mean 3 hours of short concise pop songs and nothing that offends my sensibilities. Now that's saying something. Of course not everything is successful but there's enough hear to warrant a very positive rating. 4 stars

What a ride. I've been mentally preparing myself for getting this album since the first couple hundred albums knowing that it's the longest album on the list by far and it's essentially a rite of passage for completing this list. Going into it I was expecting an uneven experience with a couple bangers and a ton of shitty songs that make whole sections drag, but I was immensely pleased to find that all 3 hours were pretty good. Of course there were still some points here and there that felt like filler but overall every song was well written and had some characteristic that set it apart in some way. I think disc one was my favorite followed by disc three and while there are a plethora of songs I liked, all my little words, fido your leash is too long, and experimental music love were the most memorable. I'm sure there's a song that fits every romantic and tragic mood possible.

I had to do a double take - 69 tracks - yep, count them, 69 tracks! Naturally, listening to a project of that magnitude is a big investment of time for me as a listener. Anyway I did sample the tracks, and the final verdict is this is a fairly decent collection of indie-folk tracks. The music and lyrics are playful and quirky, but the main lead vocalist is probably a bit to dour to successfully carry the project (the other vocalists brought much needed relief). For the sheer effort of writing and recording 69 songs I would feel a bit mean giving anything less than 4 stars, even though my actual enjoyment was mixed.

Se deja escuchar.

If you consider it a big irnonic shitpost it's pretty entertaining I guess.

Done. I listened to the 69 love songs The Magnetic Fields put together for this album. However, I am as full of nostalgia as of wonders. Would 40 songs be enough? Who inspired Experimental Music Love? Did they record this album for their audience or themselves? Whatever the answers, I think we are better in a world where this album exists than in one where it does not.

Ja wirklich - auf dem Album sind 69 (!) mit Songs über alle Facetten der Liebe in einem Opus mit fast 3 Std. Länge. Dieses Album aus 1999 ist durch Country und Folk Sounds geprägt integriert aber auch andere Stile insbesondere Synthesizer Elemente und verschieden Stimmen und Gesangrichtungen. Meine Highlights sind „I Need A New Heart“, „The Book Of Love“ & „ Papa Was A Rodeo“. Das Konzeptalbum wird zwar zum Ende etwas langatmig, was aber auch an dem Feuerwerk der vielen meist kurzen Songs liegen kann, die den Hörer beim ersten Hören ermüden - deswegen auf jeden Fall nochmal wiederholen .. spätesten beim nächsten Valentin.

I was surprised at how well they pull this album off, considering the ridiculous ambition behind it. The album is cohesive and it flows through moods in an interesting way. Very impressive and I was skeptical.

I never heard of them. So far I really like the first 3 songs and looking forward to hearing the rest.

I enjoy the Magnetic Fields but in small doses. Merritt's voice becomes fatiguing after several songs. I have a dozen songs on various playlists, at least 3 from this album with "I Think I need a New Heart" my favorite song by them. So this is so hard to rate, there is a 5 star album in here but there is also a 2 star one as well. 3.5 but I'll go to 4 for the insane effort of creating so many songs.

Some of the songs really pluck the heart strings

can’t say i listened to the whole thing but there are so many catchy little tunes that remind me of being a 13 yr old with a ukulele twee will always be famous

There are several songs on this inside and typically ill-advised album that I love. The Book of Love is a truly incredible song and one of my favorite love songs ever. Papa Was a Rodeo is a great tune, a bit sad and possibly disturbing (love was a trucker’s hand). When My Boy Walks Down The Street is a fun one. There isn’t really another album like it, which is a great accomplishment in itself. It is a LOT to take in in a single sitting, and would take dozens of spins at least to fully digest. It’s a tremendous album filled with many good songs, some filler too, but the fact that it exists is a marvel.

This album is nothing if not a testamanent to the raw human urge to create. There's something inherently self-indulgent and obnoxious about this whole project, but they do pretty much pull it off - it's more twee folk inspired indiepop than anyone could ever need, but hard to begrudge a bit of eccentricity and commitment to the bit. Systematically trying to find so may different approaches musically and lyrically to such a familiar topic does produce some great juxtapositions of perspective and feeling. Somehow it's both eclectic in its genre borrowing and very samey - inevitable after 3 hours I guess. They're good at powerpop, indie folk, alt country, and that kind of high-desert Leonard Cohen meets Calexico thing (Underwear), but very bad at gospel, piano ballads, euro electopop, and all the kinds of jazz. Some poignant turns of phrase and disarming melodies, lots of pretty guitar sounds, the odd synth lead, lots of duds and plenty of keepers - again, inevitable after 3 hours. Hard to be negative about an album with so many great songs, but there is SO MUCH FILLER. 20 Love songs would be a nearly perfect album. With 69 songs there's so much opportunity to make terrible decisions, like sticking a flute on the otherwise good 60s psych pop Sweet-Loving Man or the excessive stereo panning on Abigail. The really low pitch singing songs are unbearable, especially when he goes into that amelodic warbling (Cactus, Busby) and the ukelele based songs are as irritating as all ukelele based songs (Pretty Girl is Like, Nothing Matters when we're Dancing). It's hard not to resent them for creating the template for Sufjan Stevens and wave of crooning cloying banjo/ukelele twats who followed suit. Favorites: All My Little Words, I Don't Want to Get Over You, Sweet-Loving Man, Time enough for Rocking, Grand Canyon, No One Will Ever Love You, Papa Was a Rodeo, Epitaph for My Heart, Underwear, I'm Sorry I Love You, Death of Ferdinand de Saussure, Yeah oh Yeah! How to Say Goodbye

At first I thought "three hours, come on". No album should last that long. There are some nice and some less nice songs, but in general it was fairly easy listening. 4 stars for their musicianship.

To be honest: I almost balked at the length of the album. But I decided to test myself and give it a shot. For the most part this is a pretty good album. Sure there’s filler to pad out the run time, but there’s plenty of tracks here that are fun and catchy. The best way to listen to it is a chunk at a time.

I love The Magnetic Fields, but back in the day I felt like nobody - absolutely NOBODY - should release an album with 69 songs, even if it's split over 3 volumes. I feel even more strongly about that sentiment today. In reality, there's not 69 songs on this record. A few of the songs sound so similar that they could seamlessly blend together; a few of the songs are merely 30-60 second interludes; a few of the songs feel undercooked and should have been given more time to develop. This really should have been called "25 Love Songs". It's definitely an ambitious exercise that resulted in quantity over quality. That being said, there's some gorgeous tunes on this record. "All My Little Words" remains one of my favourite songs. It's beautifully heartbreaking. Plus, it introduced me to the term "unboyfriendable". Genius. "The Book of Love" is a first class cover. "The Sun Goes Down and the World Goes Dancing" is quintessential Magnetic Fields. And then they change things up with "Long-Forgotten Fairytale" and it hits just the same. Stephen Merrell has such a unique voice & tongue-in-cheek delivery that I could listen to him sing almost anything. Underappreciated front man, in my dipshit opinion. But then he drops "I Shatter" and even fans of Kid A would say, "Bloody hell, Steve, stop smelling your own farts, mate." Fittingly, "Love is Like Jazz" is the biggest turd on the album. I wonder if that was intentional. 🤔 A daily album generating app should not be recommending records this long, but whatever - The Magnetic Fields rule. 🤟❤️

Some beautiful songs. Incredible stamina!

Overall, it's a very pleasant noise. Only a few tracks actually caught my attention (Book of love), but in general it's music I like.

Anything over 1hr 10 is going to be a slog and this is no exception at 2hrs 52. Had it on as background music while WFH and honestly it was no where near as painful as I expected it to be. There is no denying the man's got range - jazz, electronic, experimental, acoustic, bit of 15th century bard - it was all equally entertaining. Bringing on a female vocal counterpart was essential to me not turning it off half way through, kept things varied enough to be interesting for the full 3 hours.

I've played this album countless times, but this is only the second time I've ever listened to it completely, front to back. It's a fat three hours of eclectic love songs, and they nail it. Even with a topic as broad as "love" the task of writing sixty-nine songs concerning the same subject is quite an accomplishment. The fact that they achieved such breadth is one thing, but the songs are also full of depth and life. Just about every facet of love is covered in some way. Lovely album. *Heard before.

Self-indulgent as hell and sure, it's not 69 bangers. But there's way more quality on here than there has any right to be.

Impressive feat of composition. Many songs sound like they could be turned into bangers if only they had more polish.

Very pleasantly surprised by this one. I figured with 69 songs, there’d be a lot of stinkers, but not a bad song here! The songs all manage to have a unique identity, while all still sounding coherent. Great album to put on in the background at a party and not have to worry about finding something new to play in 40 minutes.

I hate other people on this site... tässä scar tyyppinen laulanta ironic.. hand up in the air laulanta...jalo... heh ... Biiseissä uskomattomia alkuja.. Mutta kaikki keskeneräisiä.. ja vituttaa miten paskasti soi.. mutta se vitutus on ihana tunne heh.. rakkauslauluthan kyseessä..

I made a mistake with my Minutemen album, and that was giving it a 5 because I liked many of the songs, missing the idea that I found much of the rest of the album forgettable. Well, I won't make that same mistake here, as I once again like a lot of tracks here, enough where I get why this would be here, but it is far too long, and much of it comes off as filler at best. It makes the good tracks stand out all the more, yes, but it leaves a good disc-and-a-half worth of songs feeling unnecessary, and it leads to an album that is definitively good, but could be better, such as what could've been an amazing video game only be good because it is open world. His voice is really impressive, but the female singer got on my nerves sometimes. In that way it is also right down the middle, but I'd say its quality overall is high enough to bump it up a bit.

way too long

Too many songs - even though some of them are pretty good. Sounds like an American version of The Divine Comedy - although not quite as good in my opinion. This felt like a bit of a slog at points; given it is basically three albums in one - and close to three hours long - this isn't much of a surprise. Enough there that I would be happy to hear more from them though - just not 170+ minutes at once!

2 hours and 52 minutes? First impressions: The word 'indulgence' springs to mind, as in both 'self' and 'over'. Started listening to this at work with just the phone speakers and had to stop when the other member of staff came back from lunch and I'm only 15 tracks in. Mr Deep voice is already grating on my shredding nerves. This album is causing me 21st century anxiety problems with the sheer thought of having to trawl through this in one day. When can I fit all in? A couple on the toilet, 15 while cooking, 8 while filling the dishwasher. See? It's causing me to be anxious about this magnus opus, who does he think he is, a modern day Richard Wagner? Music should be enjoyable not a chore. I wouldn't mind it if the material was consistently good, but it is not (the first Volume im judging at the moment). This could be the most stressful musical experience since I saw a band called Deaf Center who supported Slowdive in 2014 and It's not a good feeling. Too long, even if it was fantastic... However, I did think their 2008 LP Distortion was pretty good though. Furthermore, I do like the fact that they break up the potential monotony by having different lead vocalists. UPDATE: Now onto Vol.2 and stuck in traffic in Ampthill and I've got to say I've now started to break the back of this LLLP. The tracks on this part are much better, maybe due to better speakers? (Headphones, my car isn't advanced and only has a CD player and a clock!) Mr Deep voice has entered my DNA now, like stem cell treatment I'd imagine. Some pretty good tunes here starting with 'My Boy Walks Down the Street' and continues to be of a higher melodic standard until 'Epitaph for my Heart' followed by some interesting experimental violin stuff epitomised by 'I Shatter' which I really liked! UPDATE: after a shortish break to re-enter the real world, i started Volume 3. 'Underwear' is definitely sleazier than Pulp can manage! Next song 'its a Crime' sounds like Mr Sleazy Marc Almond! It could have only been done on purpose. Then followed by piano drivel. 'I'm sorry I Love You' garage/folk rock. Just by highlighting these few songs at the start of '3, shows their versatility in changing their sound. Like Vol.2, most of Vol.3 is class, is it because of the psycological light at the end of a tunnel effect? If I carry on writing then this review it will be nearly as long as the bloody album. When it's good it is excellent, but there are to my tastes, quite a few fillers. A nice try at a concept album, very clever, maybe a side or 3 too many. Some could be a 5 star and some a 1 star. I actually think there are more good songs than bad. But like all the best artists, it's not about money, it's about artistic integrity and releasing this in one go shows they have that in spades. I'm giving this a 4 for sheer bloodymindedness of their vision and that its actually good in more places than not.

Wow. I really enjoyed this. Holy shit is it long!! Challenging to get through 3 hours of music in a day but I didn’t really hate one song on here.

Twenty-three years before, in 1976, Paul McCartney wrote a song called Silly Love Songs, taking to task those who had pigeonholed him as a certain type of doe-eyed softie, wondering what was wrong with singing love songs. Stephin Merritt and The Magnetic Fields took this premise to its absolute zenith in 1999 with the release of 69 Love Songs. Nice. 69 Love Songs run the gamut in regards to creative ideas about love, mainly focusing on a wide spectrum of guys from the perspectives of same and opposite sex relationships. An absolutely daunting task from start to finish, it requires time to dig through and assess; any attempt to listen to all 69 (!) songs in one sitting is tantamount to madness. But, then again, this whole thing is madness of the best kind. It loses steam towards the end but the fact that it exists is a success in itself. If there were one Magnetic Fields record to add to the collection, this is the one. Favorites: Disc One Absolutely Cuckoo, I Don't Believe in the Sun, A Chicken With its Head Cut Off, I Don't Want to Get Over You, Come Back to San Francisco, The Luckiest Guy in the Lower East Side, Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits, I Think I Need a New Heart, The Book of Love, How Fucking Romantic, Parades Go By, Boa Constrictor, Nothing Matters When We're Dancing. Disc Two: When My Boy Walks Down the Street, Grand Canyon, No One Will Ever Love You, (Crazy for You But) Not That Crazy, Washington D.C., Kiss Me Like You Mean It, Papa Was a Rodeo, I Shatter. Disc Three: Busby Berkeley Dreams, I'm Sorry I Love You, The Death of Ferdinand de Saussure, Bitter Tears, Meaningless, I Can't Touch You Anymore.

What an odyssey! It's lofi and quirky throughout, but the variety in sounds, styles, and sentiments kept me on the edge of my seat through all 69 tracks. No aspect of love goes unaddressed.

I mean, with song titles like "A chicken with it's head cut off" and "Let's pretend we're bunny rabbits," what's not to love, right?! The lyrics are interesting across the board, obvious song-writing talent here. It was lengthy and admittedly I did not get through all 69 songs, but fortunately it came for me on a day off so I had plenty of time and enjoyed the listen.

This was awesome. I freaking love this concept. I love the more fledged out and simpler songs. They're just songs! No overworked production, just enough to get the point across where needed at times. Real music and thoughts by real people. I'm sure I'll come back to it <3

It was very enjoyable, not enough time to give it a serious listen as there are 69 songs and 3 hours long but I greatly enjoyed it.

Sprawling—hard to judge with just one listen tbh

Oh god, here we are. Aside from Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book, this is the longest album on the list. It is, true to it's name, 69 songs. Nearly 3 hours split over 3 discs, this is better heard in sessions rather than in one sitting. It's much easier to tackle 23 tracks three times rather than 69 tracks once. Something to consider. As for the music, it manages to stay consistently interesting with lots of variation. Stephin Merritt will go from a bouncing indie pop song to a sensual baritone serenade with finger-picking guitar. It's filled with beautiful little moments that feel like memories of a life lived with love, loss, and missed connections. Not every song lands, but 69 Love Songs manages an impressive batting average for an album with 69 songs.

Highlights book of love, fido Lowlights long

Surprisingly. 2 yr old enjoyed.

I won’t lie, this album dragged on. It got very slow at points, but had extraordinary highs. It’s difficult to attribute length as a fault for this album, considering it wouldn’t have worked as a short release. The purpose of Merritt’s statement was to create a vivid portrayal of “love” as a concept. This thing is as detailed as any album can be with how much it commits to its concept, and it’s incredible how many of the songs pay off.

Listened to the three volumes in three different sessions because I am NOT subjecting myself to 3 hours straight of music (also I think that’s actually how you’re supposed to listen to it) The album’s concept is definitely executed well enough here and I really like the variety in some of the songs, which keeps the experience fresh Might’ve needed a bit longer than a day to digest this, but my overall first impression of this is quite positive

It's a great concept and they pull it off, but obviously it is way too long to listen to in full unless it's a rare occasion. There's just too many amazing tracks to give it less than a 4 though. Papa Was A Rodeo is especially a highlight for me, tears me up everytime it's so beautiful. Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side, Long Forgotten Fairytale, I Think I Need a New Heart, Book of Love, do I need to go on?

This record is hilarious and totally-overblown, but a few classics can be culled from the track list: 'I Don't Believe In The Sun', 'The Book of Love', and 'Papa Was A Rodeo' amongst others.

It is really impressive that they managed to write that many songs without that much perceived repetition - each one is like a unique small observation on the topic of love. A few songs have actually great quips that made me laugh. The diversity of musical sound is more limited, but it is utilized well by putting tracks in different styles next to each other. Overall, this album achieves a balance that alternative bands sometimes struggle with: being quirky and artsy without taking things too seriously.

I blanched in horror at the sight that this is a triple album, since I usually struggle with double albums. And I'll just admit right now that I'm not going to listen to the entire album. I just don't have all fucking day for this. However, I really enjoy this album. The songs each have their distinctive flavors, and there are lots of cool electronic sounds built in with the acoustic instruments. The album seems like a gimmick, but they sure executed the shit out of it. Having both male-led and female-led tracks also helps keep it interesting. 4/5, But I'm also going to turn it off after the first disc, and just assume that the rest of the album is as good as everything I've heard

nice.

I wasn’t expecting 69 songs….surprise! As witty as it was full of heart and synth, I found myself marking track after track as favourite. It got a little repetitive, but wow what an album from a band I knew little about.

wow, a lot of songs to listen to twice. Highlight tracks were; All My Little Words, I Don't Want To Get Over You, The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side, The Book of Love, Nothing Matter When We're Dancing, Papa Was a Rodeo.

this is an album i have heard of for years and have never dove into. i think a big part of it is the runtime, and boy howdy, yeah... this is a long one. obviously the concept is interesting, especially with the length involved, but i think due to this, the quality is a bit hit or miss. i mean, realistically, how could you write 69 incredible songs in such a time period for one project? and there is some fun stuff on here. there's also a bunch of not so fun stuff on here. mostly it's just an overly long quirky indie album. it's pleasant but boy it is a lot.

Huge artistic feat and honestly impressive how consistently interesting the songs are.

This shattered my time rules and I didn’t have a track number rule but since it’s 69 I think no ruling is necessary. Album is actually a pretty cool idea and the sounds are enjoyable even after 2.5 hours. I really would like Ben Folds to do an album of covers off of a select number of these

I love this album. It isn't just nice to listen to but it makes me want to write and record music. I'm going to share a kinda name-droppy story that might mean something to you if you were into mid-90s alt rock. I went to a wedding in, I think, 2003 for a very good friend of mine. He was marrying an amazing woman. Someone came to the wedding dressed in a full body rabbit costume. The whole thing was pretty awesome. Anyway, at the end of this service a guy gets up with an acoustic guitar and sings a couple of songs for the newlyweds and the folks assembled. He sings 'The Book of Love' and the whole time I'm thinking "Man, he's got a really distinctive voice, this guy." I felt like I'd heard something like it before. So anyway, reception, toasts, food. Fun is had by all. And then the groom comes up to me and asks if I can give this singer guy, Mike, a ride to his hotel and I say sure. So we pile into my little Honda Accord and off we go. And we chat it up. He asks what I do and I tell him about me and I ask what he does and he says he's a musician. And I'm like "Cool, like are you a solo guy or do you have a band?" And he says "Yeah, I front a band called Soul Coughing." Anyway, it was Mike Doughty, whose music I knew pretty well already but I just didn't know what he looked like. He was a nice guy, thanks for reading.

very unserious album in the best way. love these quirky lil songs

Really good album.

That sure was 69 songs. 3.5/5

Very good! Extremely long, but very good

Never heard of this before. Pleasant surprise. Really liked how eclectic this was without being annoying or dis-harmonious. Reading about the project was interesting as well

listened

Aside from the obvious callout which creates redundancy (how could it not), this was actually pretty cool. It started as a 5, and then got shaky in the 2nd section, but came back. The tracks flew by, and the uniqueness, humor, and diversity of the vocals carried me through.

Finally, the day that I was dreading. A nearly 3 hour album. I already knew a couple songs from this album, and liked them, but was expecting to write a slightly cynical review about this being overly indulgent and what are they a bunch of 13 year old boys because they had to do 69 songs? But I have to say, this is pretty impressive. There aren't many throwaway songs (definitely a few though), and each song stands on its own and is fairly unique. Some very nice and sweet songs in fact. Will I ever listen to the whole thing again? Probably not, but I'm glad I listened to it once, and I added quite a few songs to my playlist to hear again. 4 stars.

So long, but decent

Agree with the takes - too much to listen to at once, but brilliant regardless of where you jump in.

Conceptalbum van The Magnetic Fields. Oorspronkelijk bedacht als een revue en bestaat uit 69 liefdesliedjes in allerlei genres en stijlen. Origineel, divers en de meeste nummers zijn leuk. leukste nummer: All My Little Words Frontman Stephin Merritt kwam met het idee in een pianobar. Hij wilde eerst gaan voor 100 nummers maar dat vond hij te veel; 69 was beter te behappen.

This album is just full of bangers that can touch the listeners heart

Really good, really long, weird mix of genres

Clocking in at nearly three hours total, I thought I would need a break. The variety of it all kept me invested. There is a lot of distinct indie charm and New York life mashed into these songs. It is impressive how many genres and styles this album goes through and how many different views of love are presented in these "Love Songs" A lot of it doesn't quite reach that complex level of songwriting, but there's a lot of depth in the lyricism. I think its' concept is fun and that it realistically is more of a Revue than a consistent album. It comes off more silly than profound at times, but I think that's the point. A wild album to put together and record. I ended up liking this better than I thought

J'y allais vraiment de reculons, finalement j'ai vraiment aimé ça. Il y a eu une passe vers la fin du premier tier de l'album où je commençais à me tanner, mais pas longtemps après ça a repris et ça n'a jamais été ennuyant. Les styles varient tellement d'une pièce à l'autre que ça garde ça intéressant. J'ai vraiment aimé le style de paroles simpliste mais efficace et souvent clairement ironique. Définitivement à réécouter. Trop de bonnes pièces pour ne pas le faire. 8/10

I was so sure I would have hate this. Of course it is impossible to keep a constant good quality for such a long time, but this songs are terribly different one from the other, and that's already incredible. But I've gotta say that I've enjoyed most of the tracks anyway, listening to the whole thing in one session might be exhausting, but I discovered that any random pick drove me to a good place. So, most of them are actually good, some bored me out, but all of them had that genuine mood of an embarassed first love. Good stuff

Fun album and with 69 tracks I thought it would be difficult to choose favourites but narrowed it down to Come Back From San Francisco, I Think I Need a New Heart, and Love Is Like Jazz.

I DONT WANNA GET OVER YOU

The bad thing: Listened for quite some time, then had to stop to please the baby with some baby music, aka BABBLARNA, then realizing i had no idea where i stopped at. The good thing: It's a lovely album. Love especially the first disc. Some Highlights: A Chicken with Its Head Cut Off Fido, Your Leash Is Too Long Yeah! Oh, Yeah! I Can't Touch You Anymore

Solid song arrangement that spans several genres with creative songwriting that doesn't get stale throughout the 69 songs

What a wild concept album. It's great, such varied sounds and messages throughout each. I love the fact that it feels like a parody of love songs. The thing is, it's really REALLY long. Sitting at 3 hours, it's a slog to get through and it feels like they all blend together. While I would listen to it again, and probably not in one sitting, there are some really great tracks in there that I would love to hear by themselves. There are also a few tracks that aren't really great and even one that kind of hurt my ears. 4/5. Favorite Track: Love Is Like Jazz

Holy shit this is quite varied. I deeply enjoyed it, despite the initial discontinuity of the songs, they ultimately flowed well into each other. Moreover there are quite a few interesting sections -Abigail and I shatter onwards- 4/5

goeie vibes voor deze koude dagen !!!!

Quite sweet and quirky. The length of the album is for art's sake I guess

Not sure what I was listening to but it was very good. Johnny Cash at times, 80's at times. Overall a lot of good songs among the 69.

Nice.

Pretty good. Sounded like it the guy from The National was singing for The Magic Numbers, but my brother in Christ did it really need to be 3 hours long?!

Gimmicky album that I’m not sure I’ve ever listened to the whole way through. Definitely some filler but definitely some killer tunes. It’s a slog. Luckily I pulled this on a day I was doing a solo three hour road trip.

so many great tunes. This was a big risk releasing this many songs on one album. Carries it off with great aplomb.

So far OK, but I'm not listening to all 69 songs. No thank you.

Sprawling and ambitious. I like well crafted pop music and almost encyclopedic in it scope. Is it a classic - no. Is it merely a stunt - no. It is very, very good pop music.

Good to revisit this mammoth record. I have a soft spot for ambitious triple-albums. I love the lo-fi throwaway aesthetic of much of this collection, which ironically produces more memorable and lasting songs than if they were polished up. The songwriting on the first disc is amazing, and I can't help suspecting that this first part is a stronger album by itself than the whole project together. Maybe my brain/ears are just fatigued by the time I get to the last disc. Next time, I think I will listen to the three discs in reverse order to give the backend of the album a fair hearing! I suppose a certain amount of unevenness is inevitable though, as this is a crazy sketchbook of an album with raw ideas shooting around in all directions. I'm glad to see it on the list. 4*

This feels like a lot of effort put to say "Cohen is overrated". I love the idea though. I guess there are lots more references, but I'm not conneisseur enough to spot them. Yes, it's lengthy, yes, it's monotonous, but I feel like that's the message. Nonetheless, some of the lirycs are top-notch and made me grin. Overall, it's an interesting experience. Highlights: (Crazy For You But) Not That Crazy, Meaningless, I Can't Touch You Anymore

An absolute behemoth of an album. I don't even if know if a majority of the songs are actually great but I still love it. 8/10

I can't believe I listened to the whe thing. Reminds me of bands like Beat Happening and Netral milk Hotel...short on production,short on fi high on melody. Quite a project one that I hope to return to again in smaller doses. 4 🌟

I have not listened to all of this yet - 69 songs! But i will listenend to a couple of hours and will get to all of it eventually. i really like it, it is my kind of music. Hard to define as it is quite varied. Quite random and not really love songs. for the most part the songs are humerous and often quite light hearted, perhaps sometimes with more serious undertones. i could listen to this on a long drive, or while running and enjoy pretty much every song ( so far)

This was a long album. A lot of filler but also a lot of memorably enjoyable songs. Some of it is a little experimental and that might not be everyone's cup of tea. I liked it but I'll probably not be listening to all of it in one go again.

oh man this is a long long album. +1 for book of love. -1 for bad songs.

Had not listened to this album for years - quite a bit of hype at the time so makes sense to have it on the list. 69 songs ..some of them sketchy and not going anywhere, other ones still work very well, although one has to be in the right mood to appreciate the performance instead of getting annoyed by it. I hesitate between 3 or 4 stars but go with my appreciation for it 20+ years ago ..so 4 stars.

6.9/10. Nice.

almost 3 hours. didn't expect to enjoy this bit as much as I did

Varsinkin tekstien puolella paljon helmiä! Käsittämätön biisikimara ja hieno konsepti. Totta kai mukana turhaa, mutta keskimäärin hyvä. Reno Dakota on todella hauskasti sanoitettu, samoin säepari "No one will ever love you honestly / No one will ever love your honesty" oli omia suosikkeja. Hyvää tasapainottelua huumorin ja vakavuuden rajamailla. 4/5

Was gonna swerve it managed to get through it all. Fucking superb effort for nearly 3 hours 👏

Can't decide whether I love or hate the fact this is literally 69 songs but I have to respect it. It's fun, goofy, a bit dark sometimes and too long.

Cool listen. So many songs feels like a Spotify playlist! Enjoyed much of the music and lyrics. Will rotate in here and there. Nothing really stood out, so 4

Tres long.. mais la variete de style et de chanson sont tres bon. Et l’auteurn a vraiment effectue un tour de force. J’aime bien le 1er disque et je retournerai pour les 2 autres. 4.25

Long but some beauts

310825 17:35 4

Voice is ace VU vibes Loads of good stuff on here It's funny So much good

<3<3<3

Lmaooooooo😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

You couldn't really grasp an album like this on the first listen, which says something with how well I still liked it

this thing is huge. haven't made it through the whole thing yet. just about 40ish songs tracks: reno dakota, luckiest guy on the lower east side, book of love, it's a crime, busby berkeley dreams, acoustic guitar

Wow, didn't expect this to be so consistent and entertaining. Definitely some forgettable tracks but with 69 there's an amazing amount of variety and creativity here. Plus the rhymes are hilarious. Definitely no writer's block for this guy.

Despite its length and its reliance on a joke, these are some of the most beautiful love songs I've ever heard. At least on Disc One. I don't care much for the second disc. The third disc didn't bring any new ideas to the table either. The abridged version of this album is to just listen to disc one, you'll get all the best songs anyways (with that in mind, my rating is based on disc one. As a whole, the album is a 1 or 2). Highlights: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 21, 22, 26, 33, 34, 40, 41, 47, and 57.

A triple album that does exactly what it says on the tin. There's a range of styles here and though there is obviously going to be filler with a triple album there are some truly great songs on each disc. This is an album to dip in and out of. BT: I Don't Want To Get Over You, Papa Was a Rodeo, Busby Berkeley Dreams

Heel veel verschillende soorten liefdesliedjes. zoals de titel al zegt. Bijzonder project en er zit wel wat leuks bij

No creo que vaya a tener la paciencia de acabar hoy el disco, pero no necesariamente me estaba disgustando, sí lo voy a acabar entre mañana y pasado. En general son chistosas las letras de las canciones y creo que justo eso es su fuerte. Por ratos sin sentido, por ratos irónicas, por ratos sad con un toque despreocupado. La voz soñolienta del vocalista me agradó también, ese estilo de canto con hueva a la Valentin Elizalde meets Brendan Perry del un rock/pop indie cualquiera. Mood: haciendo memes chistosos pero muerto por dentro.

fun and inventive songs that put a smile on my face. A band I knew in name only. Will relisten again, 69 songs is a lot to take in.

Quedé perplejo al ver que el título, al menos en la cifra, es literal. Otra banda de la cual ni siquiera había oído y diré que sí oiría más de ellos, con todo y que las 69 Love Songs hayan durado casi tres horas. Me dio muchas vibras tipo Belle & Sebastian, pero líricamente despojados de la cursilería o hasta a veces mojigatería de los escoceses (que tampoco es defecto para mí, los amo). No obstante el "love" de las love songs muchas veces es algo más parecido al desamor, a la melancolía y la decepción amorosa, hay varios momentos humorísticos y también de repente sonidos que descuadran del conjunto. En fin, compuesto de tres discos, si tuviera que hacer un setlist para un álbum con una duración más racional (jaja), escogería las siguientes canciones: Absolutely Cuckoo, All My Little Words, A Chicken With Its Head Cut Off, Come Back from San Francisco, Fido Your Leash is Too Long, Nothing Matters When We're Dancing, Very Funny, Washington D. C., Long-Forgotten Fairytale, Yeah! Oh, Yeah!, I Can't Touch You Anymore y How To Say Goodbye. En este listado se incluyen vibras de soundtrack de cine teen indie (Juno, por ejemplo), fantasías cibernéticas, baladitas sencillas de triste pop o canciones melancólicas con melodía sintética. En fin, el disco es un lindo esfuerzo pop, sobre todo para hacer 69 canciones. 8.5/10

Too much of a good thing?

Even tho this is a week long it’s all pretty consistent

I mean. I love this album. Since childhood.

69 is too many right? So many of these are wonderful and I think. 'The book of love' is one of those songs that is perfect and too short- just like 'Please, please, please let me get what I want'.

Great album

One of the oddest albums out there, but such a blast.

It was a really long album but there were some pretty good songs. It's too long tho, 69... I like the number, but not for how many songs in an album.

Wow, what an album. Clearly inspiration for so many genres and artists to come after it.

Gadly surprised by this album. Good beat, relax... I like it!

actually a 7

Too long but actually pretty good!

Really enjoyed to start with - challenge was the sheer volume, started to feel like a bit of an endurance test!

There's one great album in here, but the hit rate is mid

Almost three hours of music.... the idea being he would write "100 love songs to introduce myself to the world."? Some are catchy, and there are some good ideas here, but it just feels like a collection of ideas rather than completed songs.

Hyvä levy jonka suurin kiro on mitta. Tykkäsin monista biiseistä tosi paljon, mut etenkin loppua kohti alko keskittyminen loppua. Tää varmaan aukeaa paremmin kun saa kuunnella pienemmissä pätkissä.

No nyt on renkutuksia. Osa ihan hauskoja mut cmon, 69. Vaikka ihan hauska stoori taustalla onkin. Tuntui turhanpäiväiseltä ja obnoxious et tätä pitäis kuunnella 3h 😅 kuuluuko oikeasti tälle listalle?

This is a weird one. Kinda hated it first time around (yes I did listen twice), it came across as trite, with ridiculous pastiched and annoying lyrics. But then second time around I split it in to three sessions and didn’t pay as much attention and let it wash over and, well, I found myself enjoying it much more. There is a cracking little album in here somewhere. Peter Gabriel’s version of The Book of Love can’t be beaten though

Too fucking long, my God, this week was a drag listening to this album.

944AM: 7 tracks into this beast. Let's see if I can finish today 1238PM: first disc is done. The lawn isn't so let's start disc two. I'm enjoying this so far. It's pretty varied. We'll see if I still think that 46 songs from now. 103PM: Crazy for you but not that crazy, nice. Stopping here for a bit, still going relatively strong. 530PM: finish disc 2, started strong but interest is waning 938PM: let's bang this out before the deadline. 1028PM: taking a break to watch the Weakest Link. Fuck Jane Lynch and her wisecracks. My wife is asking me if i finished my album with an annoyed look on her face. 6 songs left. 1049PM: Zebra is an ass track to end with. Gauntlet complete. Overall I liked this more than I expected. It does a good job of covering a lot of ground while still sounding mostly cohesive. I can appreciate this and enjoyed the marathon listen but am unlikely to do it front to back again, even if I stumble on this again in the future. Maybe one disc at a time. Disc 1 > 2 > 3, almost certainly due to burnout. Funny how a George Harrison triple album pissed me off but this one I'm weirdly ok with.

THREE FUCKING HOURES for this super dumb and cringe concept are we for real... Ig im gona be up until 1am to listen to this, lets give it a shot. Its a mixed bag... Yes this album explore a lot of different style and atmoshere wich makes it less boring than most long album. But it doesnt mean that all these ideas are well executed! Their are SO many bad song on this album, abouth as much as good songs honestly. The good songs are prety fun and its impossible to not like atleast a couple of songs on the album. In conclusion, to no one surprise, this album is bloated because of its stupid concept. It could have been a prety respectable 40 minutes indie rock album but no, these guys had to be special. 69 haha funny/5

Quite a bit too long, but enjoyable nonetheless

There are quite a few good songs, and plenty of ones I wouldn’t care for. I am glad I listened to it all in one sitting, without getting up from my chair.

lol, I’m not listening to 3 hours worth of love songs on one album. But I’ll get as far as I can. The first thing that stands out is that this singing isn’t conventionally great, but still kinda works. The songs actually are pretty enjoyable for the most part. Some of them are a little too cutesy for my tastes. I dunno, I actually like this alright, but 69 love songs is a lot to ask of a listener. My biggest gripe about this record is that it goes on longer than some box sets. 7.5/10 I wound up listening to way more of this than I expected. I enjoyed most of it way more than I expected also. Alright, 1001, you won this one.

I’m going to admit that it is very tough to listen to this album in one sitting. For the first 20 or so songs it was interesting but after that it was no longer a pleasant or compelling experience. This is no shade to the prolific Stephen Merritt who definitely has a gift for melody and songwriting. I can’t imagine them having performed all 69 songs in order at one show. Creative and clever but all the same, I tapped out for interest at about the 20 song mark. I did listen to the entire album in one sitting and there are a couple of tracks that would pique my interest every now and again but not enough for me to note what they were called. Book of Love I was familiar with and Oapa Was A Rodeo. I actually own the box set but I’ve never broken it open and given the vinyl a spin. I might in the future.. or I might not. Which is where I stand on this record - somewhere in the middle. 3/5

328/1089 3 hours long… here we go i guess made it through and it was decent mostly. i appreciate the intent and scope and i think for fans of them this would be great. Personally i think it’d would’ve been better with maybe the 13 or even 23 best songs. it dragged on too much with too little variation imo and at times got a bit too cringeworthy for me. i think part 1 was my fave but part 3 was close and suffered a little from fatigue faves: death of ferdinand, love in the shadows, strange eyes, book of love, world love, long-forgotten fairytale, 59/100

Merritt is obviously very talented and unique. My problem is his particular brand of whimsy seems more suited to, say, musical theater or children's TV than a rock album. To be sure, there are some songs on here that are clever, cute, and a few that are achingly beautiful (esp. "The Book of Love"). But there are some that are just damn annoying, many others that are tedious. I respect the ambition, but a triple albums is too damn long. Good songs: "Absolutely Cuckoo" "All My Little Words" "A Chicken With Its Head Cut Off' "I Don't Want to Get Over You" "I Think I Need New Heart" "The Book of Love" (!) "Sweet-Lovin' Man" Bad songs: "Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits" "Reno Dakota" "Love Is Like Jazz" "How Fucking Romantic" "Punk Love" "Promises of Eternity" "I Shatter"

Very interesting

Having a hard time getting a grip on this one. It’s neither really good nor bad. Some of the songs kind of slap, others are kind of just silly. It could have been a fun, casual listen, but then again there’s no reason for it to be 3 hours long…

- I don´t belive in the sun - The cactus where your heart should be - My sentimental melody - If you don´t cry - I can´t touch you anymore

I want to like this more than I do. I want to designate this a must-listen. I admire the ambition, the concept, the songwriting ability on display. However, I do not love the songs that are bad, and I do not love that the length almost necessitates that some songs are bad. Clearly there is filler here! And despite my greatest intentions, I cannot listen to this whole thing in one go. Sigh.

there’s a great album underneath the mass of songs thrown at it for a funny title

I have no idea how to rate this album to be honest. As a concept album, the idea of 69 love songs in various different genres as a commentary on the idea of love songs is a neat idea. Some of the songs are even fun to listen to. But would I listen to it again? Absolutely not. Do I think its also maybe a bit pretentious? 100%. Do I regret it? No. I do applaud unique experiences in music but listening to 3 straight hours of "love" songs was almost torture. The punchline wore out after the first volume. 2.5 but I'll round to 3.

This is so hard to rate. I didn’t hate it, which considering how long it is, is impressive. You could make a great album from some of the songs. Overall intrigued me more than a meh 3 star so I gotta go 4.

I didn't have time for 2 hours and 45 minutes of whimsical/novelty love songs. "The book of love" is worth a listen but I'm not going to sit through all the rest.

I like the ambition of writing 69 songs for the album. The quality is pretty consistent, even if I don't hear any standout tracks.

It took some getting used to the guy's voice but some songs grew on me.

This might say more about what Urban Outfitters did for/to the vinyl album than it does the Magnetic Fields, but I truly can’t comprehend the fact that this didn’t come out during the Obama administration. I guess that means it’s ahead of its time?

New to me. There are some brilliant tracks in here (No One Will Ever Love You was a delight). But why is it so long…. Just slightly too much filler, this is a strong 4 stars if it reduced the number of songs.

VER%Y long i couldnt listen to the whole thing

Genuinely enjoyed listening through. No particular song was a stand out but I tend to really like this writing style of telling a story quickly and cleanly

Very methodical in not a necessary bad way. I enjoyed the combination lyrics and music running together. It seemed a good fit. I smiled when listening to a chicken running around with its head cut off

there is no way i’m listening to all of this

Best Song: I Don't Believe in the Sun. A creative and compelling lyrical metaphor. "I don't believe in the sun" is a great line. Worst Song: How Fucking Romantic. All of the aesthetic choices in this song, from the a capella ranting to the finger snaps, make my face pucker. Overall: Honestly, a valiant effort. When I saw that this album was exactly as advertised - 69 different songs about love - I was dreading the next three hours. But in the end, I was kind of surprised at the creativity and diversity of songs here. He really does cover a whole gamut of types of love songs in these little ditties. Some are actually halfway decent, but then you also get absolutely inane tracks like "Love is Like Jazz", for which it's difficult to tell how many layers of sarcasm and irony it was couched in on its way to recording. The whole album just feels like a personal challenge more than a worthwhile attempt to make something that someone else ought to listen to. The musical equivalent of an Ironman competition. Good for the artists for proving that they could do it. For me, the album only works when it drops its mask of cynicism to show brief glimpses of a kind of earnestness that runs quietly underneath.

no hay necesidad de un álbum tan largo

(69/100)

Where do I start with this ambitious project? Well I listened to all 69 songs. Generally found the sound of the group to my liking. Stylistically it was all over the place. The love song dedication to Washington DC was … interesting. Some of the tunes seemed straight out of an amateur music production. The gay rodeo number was out there. As other reviewers have said, a single album of the best 14 songs would be great, but there’s no way I’m wading back through this to pick out some favourites for future listening. Maybe I’ll have a crack listening to a stand alone album from the band or maybe their top 5 Spotify plays. Hats off for the ambition and for the 69 references. And at least it wasn’t more rap and jazz.

The book of love has music in it In fact, that's where music comes from Some of it is just transcendental Some of it is just really dumb

need to revisit

Ambitious, indulgent, maybe perilous? Whatever you want to call it this isn’t as bad as some would have you believe. There is some musicianship and catchy hooks with thought out structure. My only true complaint is that the lyricism is wanting in many songs and so of course this could have been 15 refined Love Songs, but what fun would that be? I listened to neaaaaarly all of this, had to skip a few boring songs, but overall I’m not ashamed to admit that I enjoyed it.

I like the premise of the music and the album, and the bits I listened to were witty/playful and nicely constructed songs. But I was overwhelmed by the quantity and insufficiently excited by the content to push through the whole thing.

It was a good time, very eclectic - i wouldn't turn it off

Day 38 — The Magnetic Fields — 69 Love Songs (1999) Listened: May 9–10, 2026 Genre: Indie Pop / Chamber Pop / Art Pop Vibe: Grandiose, witty, and deeply personal — 69 tiny love songs spanning every style imaginable, delivered with an old-timey theatrical baritone that echoes Scott Walker. Highlights: • I Don’t Believe in the Sun • A Chicken With Its Head Cut Off • I Don’t Want to Get Over You • The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side • Let’s Pretend We’re Bunny Rabbits • I Think I Need a New Heart • Fido, Your Leash Is Too Long • A Pretty Girl Is Like • My Sentimental Melody • Sweet-Lovin’ Man • When My Boy Walks Down the Street • Grand Canyon • No One Will Ever Love You • If You Don’t Cry • Promises of Eternity • Long-Forgotten Fairytale • Papa Was a Rodeo • How to Say Goodbye • The Night You Can’t Remember • I’m Sorry I Love You ★ It’s a Crime • Bitter Tears Impression: Abrupt start that almost lost me but glad I stuck with it — a lot of songs landed immediately and more revealed themselves on the second listen. Reminds me of Scott Walker in the best way — that same grandiose voice carrying dark, personal, real content. A remarkably creative project that I respect as much as enjoy. Needs more listens to fully settle. Rating: 3.3/5 Keep songs? Yes Revisit album? Yes

It’s just too many songs for one album. Some of the songs are decent and if the best of them were all on one album then maybe you would have something but this is ridiculous. Granted I did not listen to all 69, there just wasn’t anything good enough that I did hear to entice me to keep going. Interesting concept but it did not work for me.

This album is long and some of it has fillers. If you look past the length there are some absolutely catchy & sometimes hilarious songs. Im a fan of songs not being taken too seriously, and a lot of this hit the mark. "Fido your leash is too long..."

This was so ponderously long, but after listening over two days, I think I got it – besides the "nice" number, this eclectic album was making fun of the very structure of albums. The songs were short, for the most part, and the lighthearted, or sometimes absurd, themes gave me a chuckle or two as they played in the background of my workday. It felt like Bert, the geology professor from The Big Bang Theory, meets the Crash Test Dummies meets the Barenaked Ladies. This one doesn't take itself seriously, but its vocabulary is impressive, and the variation of styles and instruments throughout helps offset the sheer length of THREE VOLUMES. Enjoyed parts of it, but I won't be back.

Some tracks I liked, some I didn't care as much for, but I'm left wondering why anyone felt this was worth creating a 3 hour album.

There are so many songs. Some are alright some are good but man a 2 hr and 50 min album

It's a cliche that every good double album would make a great single album. So what's the case when faced with a triple album? I'm sure it would be stronger as a double or even a single album. In this case, though you'd be missing out on a lot. There's enough variety among the 69 (nice) tracks here that it doesn't feel like 3 hours listening to one artist, which an become dour with some indie acts. Something that I was worried would be the case after the first couple of tracks with Stephin Merritt's somewhat sardonic vocal tone. Thankfully there's a lot of variety here, different co-vocalists chip in to vary the mood considerably. There's also a few synth-forward tracks that remind me of either Depeche Mode or the Pet Shop Boys sonically, and those are the ones I enjoyed most. Also, while the concept is 69 Love Songs, it looks at love from a lot of different angles, from the yearning of "Come Back from San Francisco," to the horniness of "Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits," to infidelity in "Fido, Your Leash Is Too Long," means it doesn't descend into glurge.

An interesting experiment. Some of the songs are enjoyable, some are not very good at all! All of them feel a little half baked but what can you expect when the artist is going for quantity over quality. Also for an album about love songs there sure are a lot of self pitying sad boy songs about what a loser the singer is. Weird choice! It’s also obscenely long so feel free to break this one up into multiple days. Your score will probably be lower if you don’t

My 666th album, and I definitely feel like I've been sent to hell and back with this absolute unit of an album. Granted, it's not all bad, it's quite pleasant actually. The biggest weakness is that despite the lengthy track list, there is a lack of variety and musical styles that would have been appreciated for my patience.

Many, most?, of my friends are fans of The Magnetic Fields. And not to set myself apart--I have my own fair share of uber-indie music that I've loved, and even still love. But I've never understood any affection for Merritt's music. Ok, that is overstated: he's an excellent and prolific songwriter. But I find little to like in his voice, nor those of his regular collaborators, and I find many of his instrumentation choices poor. Too often his songs sound to me like someone lobotomized what could have been a good, even great song. Maybe a little like Leonard Cohen, he's arguably a better song writer than performer--though I personally like Cohen's performances, but both have penned songs that spawned covers great than the originals. All the complaining aside, there's song great songwriting here.

2 horas... e 45 min... jesus FAVS (top 3): all my little words, lets pretend we're bunny rabbits, my sentimental melody mençoes hornosas: i dont want to get over you, i think i need a new heart, the book of love, nothing matters when we're dancing, grand canyon, if you dont cry, washington d.c., asleep and dreaming, blue you, i cant touch you anymore, zebra gente? pior q é um bom album. infelizmente muito massante por ter 2 horas quase 3 MEU DEUS! felizmente tem bastante musica boa entao nao é como se fosse tortura KKKKKK ouvir ele de novo inteiro com certeza nao vou, mas as q salvei com certeza, se fosse menor e conseguissem salvar as melhores de todas ia ser um album de amor mt lindo, se tivesse 1 hora por ai KKKKK mas curti! experiencia doida perde alguns pontos por causa dessa capa feia nota final: 3.5/5

Pretty good album with some iconic love songs, however it is a bit long for my taste.

cute

I’ve heard of this album and always sort of thought the title was a cheeky joke because who in their right mind would put 69 songs on an album. Boy was I wrong. It’s too much music to ask the listener to pay attention to in one sitting and certainly too many to keep ensure the quality of the product. Even if you’re the most creative band in history with multiple songwriters contributing, this many songs smacks of a lack of self-editing. It also means that in order to record this many songs on an Indy record label budget you have to just burn through songs in the studio or record it yourself. Either way the end result is the same, sub-par recordings. All of that is in evidence here, variability of song quality, lack of self-editing, and poor sonic quality. Now the music itself. I have a similar crooner baritone that I’ve always kept bagged as corny or mockable, and here are almost 69 (he doesn’t sing them all) examples of why I was right to do so. I can’t take him seriously. The textures they choose are often just weird not cool and sometimes distractingly grating. It’s not all bad but some energy spent concentrating this vivacity into a focused set of a third the length would have been well spent.

I recognized more songs than I thought and some of it was lovely but almost 3 hours?!?! Way too much.

It’s really long but I do like some songs.

I thought we were being juvenile with the title a d it was love songs to 69 to, but no, there are 69 fucking songs on this. First instinct was to give it a 3 in exchange for not listening, but that felt wrong. Made it through disc one and that was as much as I could commit to. It has the vibe of the vampire musical from "Firgetting Sara Marshall" but there is no way I want three hours of it.

Favorite track(s): Disc 1: I Don't Believe in the Sun, All My Little Words, Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits, I Think I Need a New Heart, Parades Go By Disc 2: Grand Canyon, No One Will Ever Love You, Washington D.C., Papa Was a Rodeo Disc 3: I'm Sorry I Love You, The Death of Ferdinand de Saussure, I Can't Touch You Anymore, There are highs and lows, but it certainly isn't a strong argument for anybody else for follow suit.

Diversiteit, ambitie, en veel te lang.