Exile In Guyville

Has sexual politics ever been better? More tuneful? More truthful? Smarter? When I'm listening to this, I'm inclined to say no. Especially now I've just learnt Phair wrote the whole thing as a track-by-track response to Exile On Main Street. It's also the birthplace of today's voguish Bedroom Rock sound (Japanese Breakfast, Soccer Mommy, Beabadoobee, to name a few from the last year). But somewhere along the line things got sadder, less melodic, less funny. What you get from Phair that you don't get from the new crop are the seemingly infitine personality facets. Here, Liz is a real cunt in Spring and your blowjob queen. She's tested by the male-dominated music industry to see how far she'll bend. She wants to be fuck you till your dick turns blue, jumps when you circle the cherry, and wants to be mesmerizing too. She also gets away with what the girls call murder, is done with the fuck and run game she's been playing since she was 12, and wants a boyfriend. But then again, the boys are just heroes "in a long line of heroes, looking for something attractive to save". And if you don't believe one person can be that complex, there are 18 songs on this thing. And if you don't believe one person can be that complex and prolfic AND consistent, marvel at how she's still able to pull a hook like Stratford-On-Guy out the bag at track 17. Just marvel.

If Exile in Guyville is shockingly assured and fully formed for a debut album, there are a number of reasons why. Most prominent of these is that many of the songs were initially essayed on Liz Phair's homemade cassette Girlysound, which means that the songs are essentially the cream of the crop from an exceptionally talented songwriter. Second, there's its structure, infamously patterned after the Stones' Exile on Main St., but not the song-by-song response Phair promoted it as. (Just try to match the albums up: is the "blow-job queen" fantasy of "Flower" really the answer to the painful elegy "Let It Loose"?) Then, most notably, there's Phair and producer Brad Wood's deft studio skills, bringing a variety of textures and moods to a basic, lo-fi production. There is as much hard rock as there are eerie solo piano pieces, and there's everything in between from unadulterated power pop, winking art rock, folk songs, and classic indie rock. Then, there are Phair's songs themselves. At the time, her gleefully profane, clever lyrics received endless attention (there's nothing that rock critics love more than a girl who plays into their geek fantasies, even -- or maybe especially -- if she's mocking them), but years later, what still astounds is the depth of the writing, how her music matches her clear-eyed, vivid words, whether it's on the self-loathing "Fuck and Run," the evocative mood piece "Stratford-on-Guy," or the swaggering breakup anthem "6'1"," or how she nails the dissolution of a long-term relationship on "The Divorce Song." Each of these 18 songs maintains this high level of quality, showcasing a singer/songwriter of immense imagination, musically and lyrically. If she never equaled this record, well, few could.

It was next to impossible to find new music in 1993, especially albums from a relatively new and obscure female artist who wanted to be your blow job queen and fuck you until your dick turns blue. The internet wasn't yet a thing, MTV and FM radio wouldn't touch such material, and we had to rely on reviews from Rolling Stone and Spin Magazine to even learn something like this existed. Even then, I don't recall any local record store carrying this album on cassette or compact disc, and I doubt Columbia House offered this album either. So it wasn't until the Wild West Era of Napster that I finally heard Exile In Guyville, and it's become one of my go-to albums ever since then. Sometimes I think this is the best debut album ever. It's certainly one of the top 5. Every song is written by Phair as a track by track response to the Stones' classic "Exile On Main Street". If the algorithm had any sense of humor, they'd recommend both albums consecutively to everyone. If listening on Spotify, make sure you listen to the remastered version with all 18 tracks available, as the link here goes to the old version where Spotify doesn't include some of the songs for whatever reason. Liz Phair would achieve more popular success after this landmark album, but never get back to this level of openness and rawness. A trailblazer like Liz Phair knew there's no way to top this masterpiece. If I could only keep 10 albums from this list, this would absolutely be one of them. Pour one out for the amazing Liz Phair. She'll fuck you and your minions, too.

Bold and brash. I loved this. Had never heard of if, but I can hear her in all the young solo artists that I listen to all the time now

I’ve been hearing the hype about “Exile in Guyville” for years. Starkly confessional! Painfully raw! Sexually charged! After sitting with this on my “to-review” list for several months, I’ve decided the hype is justified, and “Exile” has turned out to excel in even more areas than I’d anticipated. First and foremost, the whole album is loaded with razor-sharp songwriting, dressed in the conceit that it responds to the eighteen songs of “Exile on Main St” track by track. In actual fact, “Dark Side of the Moon” and “The Wizard of Oz” have a stronger synchronicity: this theme just seems like the loosest of springboards for Phair to bounce off and do whatever the hell she wants. And it hardly matters. I’d heard a lot about Phair’s lyrical powers, and they’re undeniably excellent. Yes, they’re frank and honest and raw, but there’s a lot of humour in there too with a winning conversational tone. Take the lines in “Soap Star Joe”, a withering put down to a self-aggrandising rockstar: “check out the thinning hair, check out the aftershave; check out America, you’re looking at it babe.” Then, album centrepiece “Fuck and Run” is a bleak admission of how long she’s had to play men’s games: certainly since seventeen, and even when she was twelve. Elsewhere, there’s a delicious c-bomb in “Dance of the Seven Veils”, a dry and skeletal inversion of the Beach Boys’ swinging surf in “Girls! Girls! Girls!”, and an astonishingly frank expression of sexuality in “Flower”. I dread to think of the unwarranted attention she received from male “fans” after releasing it. I wasn’t prepared for Phair’s gift for melody. The more mellow tracks on “Guyville” are some of my favourites, displaying a perfect synthesis between Phair’s deft, cavernous open strumming and her unadorned, low vocal. This is captured best of all on album highlight “Explain It To Me”: sweet without being sugary, sad without being melodramatic, simple without being dull. It, “Shatter” and “Canary” (with a nice departure from guitar in favour of piano) form a gorgeous triptych of sad-Phair. Then there are the big hits. “6’1””: a crisp, biting introduction to Guyville! “Never Said”: a one note guitar line all the way to heaven, complete with wonderfully sloppy backing “ahhhs”! “Stratford on Guy”: a perfectly rendered, sharply hooky insight into Phair’s state of mind on a flight. In short: I’ve found a new fave. “Exile on Main St” will never sound the same again.

Liiiiiz

This album is weirdly both great and bland at the same time.

What a journey I went on with this album. I listened to it in two parts. The first portion on Friday, where my experience of it was as interesting enough background music, that didn’t wrassle for my attention too strongly with whatever else I was doing. Today, though, I picked up where I left off - with Canary - and something had shifted. Maybe it was that England lost the biggest game they’d played in my lifetime in the most painful way possible, but I heard what I think Ms Phair was selling. Her songs suddenly struck me from two angles - 1.) the stark, surprising lyrics: chock full of a certain kind of sexual ennui, oscillating occasionally into revelry and back again. 2.) The songs themselves, roughly hewn, simple-sounding but they have the same punch as anything by that other purveyor of rough-hewn, simple-sounding guitar-led songs from the 90s, Kurt Cobain; and honestly, I realised she is the first artist I think to ever draw comparison with Kurt in my mind as a peer and equal rather than an imitator. And I realise that possibly sounds like damning with faint praise, but it’s not intended as such. I’m so pleased I didn’t just settle on basing my review on my experience of the first half of the album. Well worth it.

This record exhausted me. I remember the buzz after its release, hearing about how "revolutionary" it was. Was it? Is it? After all this time and a re-listen the remaster actually does give it a little more sheen (I'm very much not a low-fi fan)... the music is sometimes just "ok" (actually "Shatter" could or should be a great song) but sweet fancy moses there's no getting by her voice which is absolutely unmanageable and the up-front and dry mix (lo-fi!) does absolutely zero favours to. Was this album cool because of her "bold language?" Maybe. Ordinarily I'm all for it but not in and of itself - for the most part it's used in such a stupid high school back row of the class teenage-giggly way and as a result most of these songs just are a sloppy pile of absolutely nothing. If you get off on "pushing boundaries" in the sense that being edgy with sex and language in music is super important - or maybe all that's important - then go for it here. If you're of the theory that even if your lyrics have the effort of repeating a kindergarten nursery rhyme but you still need to put some effort and thought and creativity into actually freaking making art then you'll probably feel as I do after enduring this. This revolution should not have been televised and instead should have been exiled to the "do not release" pile. 2/10 1 star.

I don't think she can sing, but she does so anyway. The lyrics are not good either. I don't ever want to hear it again.

Turns out Liz Phair isn't a great singer. I assume this album was chosen because of it's writing...but it's hard to pay attention to the lyrics when the singing is so bad.

I remember feeling empowered by this album in high school and that feeling remains. The low-fi guitar, mixed with funny yet true lyrics does what feminism does best…make sure that everyone knows that anything a guy can do, a girl can do as good, if not better. Though this album is situated in the 90’s, it is timeless and forward thinking.

This album is badass and awesome. Required listening for young women.

A couple of questions gnawing at me after first listen. Who thought it was a good idea to give this woman a mic? And then who thought it was a good idea to let them into the studio to produce an album? And finally, who listened to this and thought this would be a great addition to the best albums of all time. Outside of all the Elvis Costello trash, this album is defintely one of teh biggest headscratchers for me.

One of the worst things I've ever endured.

I only made it through half... It's like a teenage girl singing her inner monologue.

Loving this album is one of my guilty pleasures. Her voice isn't great, the guitar isn't great, but the whole, somehow, is. Perfectly captures a woman's experience in a particular time and place.

Rounded up to 5. Liz Phair is a mix of singer-songwriter and grunge rock. You'll be able to relate to this if you've ever been a mess, had a bad relationship or dealt with shitty men.

I LOVE HER!!! Liz Phair, your music helped define my 2021! 4.5

Really fantastic. Great attitude, equal parts funny and strong. I've grown to be a big fan of this kind of music of late with artists like Soccer Mommy and Mitski, so to hear something from '93 this good has made me very happy.

For someone who cares so much about musicianship, it might seem odd that I like Exile in Guyville so much. Liz Phair isn't much of a guitarist, and has a rough voice, to be generous. But the songwriting! The way Phair structures the songs on Exile is clever, interesting, and wholly original. The skeletal arrangements actually work in the album's favor, accentuating the songwriting and lyrics, which are uniformly wonderful. And for all of Phair's technical shortcomings as a singer, her interpretive skills set these songs on fire--she's completely naked emotionally. And, if that weren't enough, there's tremendous range in these songs, from rockers to drones and everything in between. Damned near perfect for what it is.

These are good songs and I think they are holding up well. Love the idea of this album being a song by song reply to Exile on Main Street. The stripped down sound is perfect. Didn't connect until this listen that "Shatter" is often used as background music for This American Life.

Pretty bad ass!

I really should’ve listened to this long ago. It’s very much my shit. Great songwriting, shaggy, yet just polished enough production. Definitely earns the hype.

What a killer rock album. Excellent songwriting throughout and killer tunes to match. Every song is POWERFUL.

this album has so much personality to it. fantastic storytelling. the lyrical style reminds me of mitski at times but its even better. i think it could've used a little more musical variety, a lot of the melodies got monotonous, although overall the energy/pacing was good. 9/10

This was really good!

Really enjoyed the album

Great and groundbreaking

6'1"

idk ! not my thing i didnt like the sound sorry women everywhere

Nope

Skipped it

Lke catching up with an old friend today, knew every word even though it has been years; a constant in the office CD pile through 93/94. The original and best of its kind, some choice lyrics and tunes throughout the whole 18. "Divorce Song" remains an all-time favorite. Shame she never did anything close to this afterwards.

Top 5 album of the 90s. If you don;t like this you probably loved some pure shit like Aerosmith or the Eagles. It's true.

Look, I get why this wouldn't hit today the same way, but damn if it wasn't amazing to hear a woman brashly saying all the quiet parts out loud in 1993. Teenage me needed to hear what Liz had to say. 6'1 is still her best song and F&R is still devastating.

Liz Phair is awesome and Matador Records is arguably the most important American record label of the last 40 years. I don’t feel like there’s much else I need to add here.

Great album that covers different types of music- hard rock, soft rock, and soft hearted songs. It feels like a collection of greatest hits not a debut. This album is a response to the rolling stones album of a similar name which was very sexiest. That’s one of the reasons I love this album. The songs are all from a place of hating how the world is structured all around men and the anger that comes from that.

Garagione. Semplice, con chitarre sporche il giusto, voce profonda, testi taglienti, autoconsapevole della distruzione, autoironica. GRRRL!

what a nice album, i wonder what style she'll go in 2010. on a serious note, this is one of the best-written albums i've ever heard and it almost justifies every strange turn in her career. i mean if you've wrote "divorce song", every other album could be like "funstyle" and i could not care less. extraordinary album.

Her Best works. Love Liz Phair and this album. Listened like 50x seen her 1 x

So glad to revisit this. Amazing 😻

I love this album

For some reason I just loved the album. Even tho it was mostly pop music, I found it really different from the rest of the genre.

Ég verð bara að játa að mér fannst þetta algjörlega stórkostleg plata! MIkið var gaman að finna eitthvað sem maður hefur aldrei vitað af!

I forgot how brilliant this album is at times. Sometimes it flags, but mostly it rocks and still feels relevant.

Seminal album of my young adulthood. I discovered Liz Phair in college and immediately related to everything she was singing about. The ideas of empowered female sexuality, owning your desires, and deciding for yourself what your narrative will be in relationships resonated deeply with me. I love her minimalist production too. The songs are so well-written, so sharply observant, biting and acerbic with a cynicism unheard of at her age. But damn if there aren’t sad pathetic little nuggets of optimism throughout as well. You root for this girl, you believe in this girl, you are this girl. Her dry monotone vocals shouldn’t work, but they do. They’re somehow sultry and raw all at once. Phenomenal album from a unique talent and a powerful voice we needed at this time. Thank you Liz for helping me feel empowered about my burgeoning sexuality and for helping me feel seen.

Some cracking tunes!

lmao how did she go from this to “you’re being a penis… colada that is!” A

Really really liked this, great album with some catchy songs and some pretty slow ones, nice variety and a very good listen!

Good album, enjoyed it a lot! Very well done, will need to revisit to listen more

Wow, really enjoyed this one. I've heard Liz Phair's name before but not her music. Lots of great melodies driving this one, and the lyrics are strong too. This has to be a seminal indie rock album, right? I feel like this has to have influenced tons of artists working today. It's really strong. Glad to have heard it! Favorite tracks: Help Me Mary, Glory, Never Said, Explain it to Me, Shatter, Stratford-On-Guy. Album art: Liz seems to be angry, and my response to this is like that Seinfeld episode with Elaine's Christmas card...."I may be wrong, but I think I see a nipple." It's a decent cover, black and white isn't my favorite here. 4/5

Listening to 'Exile In Guyville' I understand why the critics at the time were and still are lyrical about Liz Phair's debut album, but I also understand why this album did not sell by the millions. Liz is a great songwriter and the album is quite lo-fi, which adds to the rawness of the songs. At the same time, Exile In Guyville is a blueprint for the indie rock that would later be mass-produced in the 1990s. Liz Phair's debut album could not commercially match Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill, released two years later, but has been much more influential musically.

I can see how this is on this list. It's not my favorite style of music but I did enjoy some of the lyrics.

Yeah!

this was rly good

I find this very ovverated critically... it’s a solid record for sure. I don’t see this worthy of all the perfect reviews

Not my thing. Although I can appreciate what this is, and some songs like F and Run kinda struck an interesting nerve. Almost like Cody Chestnutt did in a way.

Great album, edgy Kate Bush that sounds like it's had a lot of influence on heaps of alt rock punk stuff around today especially in Aus. Dance of the Seven Veils, Mesmerising, Girls!.., Divorce Song all massive tunes.

Don’t know about the exile on Main Street connection, but great nonetheless

это альбом с не самым сильным женским голосом, не самым лучшим продакшеном, но он узнаваем. этот красивый и милый инди-поп с примесью кантри не собирался стать великим, но критики решили на него молиться. альбом обладает несколькими мощными хитами вроде «Never Said» и «Fuck and Run», которые для целого поколения стали родными. Смотря на такое восхваление критиков возникает важный вопрос, а слушали ли критики вторую часть альбома, ведь если убрать четыре песни из промежутка «Girls! Girls! Girls!» до «Flower», то изменится лишь хронометраж. Поэтому 4, недотянуто до идеала.

All I had heard was "Why Can't I?" but I knew she was a staple of the 90s when it came to rocker females. And rock she did.

Very intense, raw energy to it.

I don't know what to think. I thought this sounded like a gentle courtney love. Or a harder version of Alanis Morrissette. She certainly sounds like a rock girl. But I got kinda bored. And she doesn't sing that well either. I guess the importance of this album lays on the risque lyrics. Kudos to her. Sexism was awful in the 90s. But I didn't really like this album musically.

The dirge-like grunge voice dates this within a few seconds of play and I found the first few songs dull. The blow job-cunt lyrics provoke in the pointless manner beloved of my generation, and the de rigeur Prozac’d detachment in their delivery gets grey quick along with the wash of nondescript guitar on most of the tracks. Still, there are touches - the blast of harmonica on “Soap Star Joe”, the surprisingly cute guitar solo of “Mesmerizing” - that break monotony, and “Never Said” is a decent yell-along. The record has enough rockers here to make a strong 35 minutes.

Not terrible, but not my favorite either. I like Liz's voice.

Feels like a usual indie rock album, it's a bit too long but it's enjoyable. Lots of tracks aren't that unique though, some of them feel too generic

Exile in Guyville is Liz Phair's debut release, but was not her first musical project. She first released a few limited release EP under the name Girly-Sound. This debut was created as a track-by-track response to the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street. The album was very well received critically, and topped many "Album of the Year" lists. Commercial success came more slowly, but it did come. Phair writes guitar-centered, indie rock songs, that use the elements that made the Stones' work famous: vivid story-telling, solid guitar riffs, in sparse, blues-based rock songs.

Now here’s an album that’s on my list. I love how stripped down some of these songs are, very simple guitar parts made a little more complex with effects. She’s such a great songwriter, a shame she decided to go the generic pop star route later on.

Absolute classic album. I used to play this album and her Whip-Smart album constantly back in high school. Been a huge fan of Liz Phair ever since. Absolute perfection here!

I’m at a 4.5 that I think I’ll bump up to a 5. Very early on, when I was sort of making mental comparisons, my brain went to Alanis Morrissette, and specifically, how she’s able to project her voice to get the emotional pull of a track across. Her vocals on “Jagged Little Pill” are sort of a benchmark for me, as far as 90s women-led rock goes, and while I don’t expect artists to match her, I think the way she uses her voice to really drag the most of out of the lyricism & instrumentals are sort of a standard to go by. This album slowly but surely challenges the idea of “power = emotion” as a benchmark, and it did eventually succeed. Liz Phair is not Alanis Morrissette, nor is she trying to be; the more apt comparison, perhaps, is like Joni Mitchell deciding to tackle Nirvana. Alanis Morrissette projected herself as more of an iron woman, ready to take on the struggles of the world with a “look at me now” demeanor that better fit the cultural imprint of 1995. Liz Phair, on this album, projects herself as sort of a battle-tested, scarred but still standing woman, coming from a place of confidence, yet projecting a light air of insecurity, adding a sincerity to the whole thing that feels unique compared to some of the other women-led rock albums we’ve gotten. These are more thoughtfully written tracks, and the introspection present on the lyrics overrides the need for a more powerful vocal performance. That’s not to say Liz Phair doesn’t have good vocals on this album, because she does; a little shakier, a little more nasal-y, not as pitch-perfect on the held notes as it could be, but that vulnerability lends itself to each track in a good way. Instrumentally, I do think this album doesn’t quite find a set identity, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing – there’s a lot of variety between piano-driven tracks, acoustic stuff, more Blues Traveler-y instrumentation, Sheryl Crow-esque stuff, and obviously, a lot of Nirvana. It jumps around a bit, but the core messaging of each track is what keeps the album afloat, and she can adjust really nicely to each style, still all guided within “rock” itself. It is a bit long at 55 minutes, and I do think it treads water a couple of times in the subject matter, but it’s not enough for me to really bump it down to a 4. I would rather leave it at a 4.5, if only because for my own personal tastes, the vocal presence is still a little short for me, and occasionally, the lyricism is a bit too broad to paint the picture she’s going for, but it’s too good of an album to give it a 4. It’s a solid 5, and I do recommend it – you have to be in the right sort of frame to accept her brand / musical projection of femininity, but it’s a very rewarding album once you get deeper into it. I really liked it.

Like if Elliot Smith wasn't such a downer. Raw, honest, interesting as hell

Honestly some of these albums have an ability to take u back to an epic microcosm of music in culture in history and this album 100percent does that. This takes u str8 backto 1992 and in the best way possible. i would put this album in any situation. too cool.

I like it. Nice vocal. Nice music. perfect album.

Love the guy.

There is that one album that are so good and hard to replicate on future recordings that they become a career defining album. Exile In Guyville is Liz Phair's definitive album. Seemingly coming out of nowhere, Phair's debut album contained songs she previously recorded on her own, lo-fi bedroom recordings that were known as the Girly-sound tapes. I've heard these tapes and though the songs had potential, the sound quality and performances were rough, so to transform these pieces into what Exile became was amazing. The album is a fully realized concept and the songs and performances were outstanding, it's hard to believe this was her first professional recording. Start to finish, it's great record and while many consider the 90's as the decade of Nirvana and Green Day, I would say Liz Phair is the most important, making people take notice of the rise of indie-DIY musicians, that gave space and a platform for interesting unique indie artists. Definitely, a game-changing record.

5/5. An excellent collection of short songs, akin to the main street version, except with a more slowed down and down to earth approach. There is a sense of calling people out, mostly men, while also being a girl's girl. It's aggressive without her raising her voice a lot, just very direct about her feelings. It sounds a lot like a lot of soft rock indie artists today so most likely an inspiration for those newer bands. I honestly don't have many notes. This genre can suffer from annoying or boring songs but each one was well written and enjoyable to listen to. Also a great repeat listen, you always find something new to like. Best Song: Never Said, Divorce Song, 6'1"

Loved this album. The almost spoken word style vocals and very clean yet muddled production created a really cool sound. The lyrical content was raw and filthy, made me feel like I was in her shoes. Just a great album.

How did I not know about Liz Phair - so good!

It’s a shame that this record isn’t as widely known. It’s an amazing debut from an artist who seems fully formed already. There’s a dark wit and brilliance to Liz’s writing. I really enjoyed this.

Blown away.

There was a year there when this record was permanently in my CD changer. It was probably this, Tori, Bjork, PJ Harvey and the Pulp Fiction Soundtrack. Makes me want to dig out the box of zines. It’s been 30 years and this still fucking rocks.

This sounds very much of its time. Glory is a good song...it has an Elliott Smith vibe. This is a good album and you can still hear the influence in indie rock today. A lot of later 90s acts owe Liz Phair a debt of gratitude. I bet Fiona Apple had this on repeat in 1993. Fuck and Run is a great song. I thought I remembered this album better than I do. It's good though, great album cover. I'm not sure if there even was a single off this album that got a ton of airplay but I do like this album. The lyrics to Flower are hysterical. It's hard to pick a favorite song, a lot of good candidates, Johnny Sunshine might be it though.

It’s the Rosetta Stone between alternative music and indie rock. I have a huge crush on Liz Phair. Very pleased that this album made it.

holy peak

pre: omg do I have thoughts I love this album. I've listened to it a million times and listen to it a million more. I'm sure it's not everyone's cup of tea but it is mine. A couple of thoughts while trying to listen critically: 1) the phased guitars sound really dated, and the production overall sonuds more like a street corner busker than a studio album. Not sure if that's a bad thing or not. 2) I have always been dismissive of the "It's a response to Exile on Main Street" line. But this time through I think I could build a case about taking a feminine position in the world vs the hyper masculine Stones album.

Lived with this album since college - don't know how/why I bought it originally. My best guess would be reading "it's a female answer to Exile On Main Street" (which I love too). I don't think that was her intention - maybe just a takedown of the old boys rock and roll collective. Probably more about all the dumb male indie musicians she knew from Chicago.... Regardless, love the low fi production, it fits the album so well. And her lyrics are great, the sarcasm and wit on Soap Star Joe alone just blows me away every time. Can't recommend it enough, it's a winner.

Really pleasantly surprised by this one. I’m normally not a fan of 90s grungy guitar girls but this is really interesting while still being very pleasant on the ears. I’m completely on the fence between a 4 and 5 but will lean towards the high end, so that I can remember to revisit this again in the future.

my apologies ms phair I was unfamiliar with your game

Ультра-альбом, который сто процентов повлиял на кучу современных инди-рок звезд всех мастей. Очень честная и при этом крутая музыка. Лучшая песня - Girls! Girls! Girls!

"Exit in Guyville" is the debut album by American singer-songwriter Liz Phair. The album was produced by Brad Wood and Phair and was recorded at Idful Music Cotporation in Chicago. Indie rock and lo-fi are the Wiki-genres. Yep. The album concept combines small town mentality with the Chicago Wicker Park music scene. The songs are sequenced to match the Rolling Stones' "Exile on Main Street." Commercially, the album hit #196 in the US and was critically well-received. "6'1"' opens the album. Fast strumming guitar, bass and drums. Hey, this does has a Stones' sound to it. Phair's deadpan vocals and a tambourine. On the surface, you might think she's attracted to a man of that height but she hates him. She continues the hate on the next song "Help Me, Mary." This time she targets friends who have rules.... She's not giving in. More straight-forward rock. A melodic guitar is one of the highlights of the first single "Never Said." Harmony and backing vocals. Keepin' the rock thread going and a decent response to "Tumbling Dice." This song addresses the music scene and comments made. She never said nothing. "Fuck and Run" definitely carries the Stones' torch. Phair expresses regret about "it" happening again. She wants a relationship but this particular action has happened throughout her life. The album's lyrical tone changes a little at the very end. "Gunshy" has electric guitar strings and a droning synth background. Subdued as she's relegated to the normal life. The second single "Stratford-on-Guy" might have her best lyrics. A snare drum and electric guitar. Phair with rapid, emotionless vocals describing the wonder of flying into Chicago as a movie and being n a Galaxie 500 video but that noise just disappears shortly later as she goes into that grid. I find it hard to believe that these songs are not personal as Phair says that they are based on fictional characters. Well, she comes out swinging lyrically, in your face, but there are more subdued songs. The focus of this album are the lyrics as she takes aim at early 90 guys, the social scene, the music scene and bad relationships but points the thumb backwards with living the humdrum life and random meaningless sex. Lo-fi is a good description of the music as it is tripped down with vocals being the only thing layered. There's a variety to music with acoustic and electric guitar-driven, bluesy, and piano-driven songs and even an electronic song. This is a great and original album. I don't think she topped this but I do like some of her later songs. Two days in a row for one of the best albums of the 90's (at least early 90's for this one).

Really liked this.

Gets stronger with every listen

Amazing.

Album 546 of 1001 Liz Phair - Exile In Guyville (1993) Rating : 4.5 / 5 I just really like this album. A higher rating than might be expected but it is what it is. An extra half point just for being a favorite.

This came out when I had a CD changer When this album came out, I had a five CD changer that had a spiral mode: you could put in discs and it would play the first track from each desk the second track from each desk, etc. So I put in the Rolling Stones “Exile On Main Street”, and this CD and listened in spiral mode. It was very cool to hear her response to each Stones track throughout the whole album.

Brilliant, and a clear influence on a bunch of artists I love

Good alb7m

Refreshing rocking style singer songwriter

I had the completely wrong expectations of this album after seeing the album cover. It had me expecting UK rap, as she seems to give the impression (at least to my eyes) of a UK rapper. I was very wrong. This is the perfect balance of raw alternative rock and catchy melodies. It reminded me a lot of Plumtree, who I had a bit of an obsession with once upon a time. I went into this expecting not much, and it ended up blowing me away. Fantastic!