Released 20 years ago today in the United States, this is the second and last of Sufjan Stevens's albums that is loosely based on a U.S. state. Known as Illinois, the full title of this album is Sufjan Stevens invites you to: Come on feel the ILLINOISE, and the titles of some of the tracks are much, much more verbose and sometimes a whole story unto themselves. At 74 minutes and 22 tracks, this is a magnum opus for the artist and a incorporates many new sounds to the musical styles of Stevens, whose music was often mostly banjo-heavy, quirky folk-rock music before this. This album has elements of marching bands, classical, electronica, musical theater, and much more with many of the instruments played in the studio by Sufjan himself. Lyrically, it makes a lot of references to Illinois history and geography, mentioning lots of city names and places as well as historical events such as the World's Columbian Exposition, John Wayne Gacy, Jr.'s actions as a serial killer, and that the fictional city of Metropolis that Superman resides in is somewhat based off Chicago. But it also uses these bits as a pushing-off point to talk about other subjects, weaving in religious themes and more universal questions of life, such as referencing Chicago's most famous skyscraper "The Sears Tower" in the track "The Seer's Tower", referencing the Apocalypse and Sufjan's relationship with God. 20 years later, it still is Sufjan Stevens's most successful album by sales and is definitely an interesting listen the whole way through due to its mini-songs and musical interludes.

Release Year: 2005
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