Title:69 Love Songs By: Magnetic Fields Released by: Merge Released on: 1999 Rating (out of 10): 10 Date: 06/27/2001
An Epic Of Master Proportions
I've heard 69 Love Songs called the Magnolia of music. It is a three-hour-long project, very ambitious, somewhat pretentious, and very emotional. It sees love from all sides and offers a nicely-arranged cross-section of the kindest of all emotions.
It seems silly to try to express every aspect of love on a single album. If this were the regular 74-minute album length, it would be silly. In fact, this album is partially a joke; we need look no further than the title to see that this is (at least somewhat) tongue-in-cheek.
That's why this album is weak when split into three. I would most definitely not suggest buying only a single volume of this album; the entire atmosphere is lost. Although it seems impossible for a mere 69 love songs to sum up all of rock and roll, it truly works, both thematically and musically. Twenty-three could not do it.
This epic begins with "Absolutely Cuckoo" (a small acoustic ditty professing love for a new-found friend) and ends with "Zebra" (a superfluous Zsa-Zsa-esque number screaming a decadent lifestyle.
The A-Z track listing is surely intentional, and always tongue-in-cheek. As sincere as "All My Little Words" and "Busby Berkely Dreams" are, they are countered with the frilly "Washington D.C.," a mock-cheer celebrating a long-distance relationship. The majority of this album, however, is still typical Magnetic Fields stuff—cleverly depressing lyrics, subtle as a daydream, and sad malaise that never knocks you over the head. There are simply 69 songs about love, each a different kind.
It is easy to dismiss 69 Love Songs as merely pop-music, since that's what it is. Never before have so many songs been trapped in my head so quickly. This album is much more than simple pop, however; the melodies are so carefully constructed and beautifully eloquent, they are easy to casually miss. I suppose that's the problem with pop.
This album is "college-rock" or "indie-rock," for what those labels are worth, but the genres portrayed on this three-volume set are tough to categorize. We have the country overtones of "Papa Was a Rodeo" and the folk ballad "Reno Dakota." There's the 80s retro of "When My Boy Walks Down The Street" and the Scottish pub sing-a-long "Wi' Nae Wee Bairn Ye'll Me Beget." From the seemingly improvisational "Love Is Like Jazz" to the quirky, commercial "Punk Love," this album succeeds across the board of musical genres.
Just imagine the concept of 69 Love Songs for a minute. It really is absurd, but give Magnetic Fields credit for successfully completing this epic concept album. It's strange indeed, as love is strange. Much like love itself, it doesn't build up to an ultimate climax, yet it never fades into the background. Each song is a magical epiphany of what love is—and what it isn't. From pre-adolescent giddiness to post-disillusion need, 69 Love Songs is exactly what it wants to be: an analysis of love.
