i

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Please enter a title for your review, 2008-06-19
It seems like if you play anything peppy and slightly quirky and baroque, no matter how rudimentary the composition is these intellectuals will come out of the woodwork to say how it's truly great pop music like they're comparing it to what's in the top 40. That's what the melodies and chord progressions on this album are; rudimentary, like the intermediate steps of someone studying a songwriting manual, trying to nail the conventions before they get enough confidence to start tweaking them. What's weird is that Stephin Merritt has basically been devoling his entire career. The Magnetic Fields earlier output was far more nuanced and detailed than what it became on the breakthrough triple album 69 Love Songs and remained on it's follow-up, I.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Magnetic Field's masterpiece, sadness has never been so uplifting., 2007-07-27
No, there isn't 69 songs on this album, but as an overall album, "i" completely dominates it's predecessor, "69 Love Songs." While the last track, "it's only time" is one of the best songs ever written, and should be used at every wedding till the end of time, the rest of the album is outstanding and seems very uplifting even if there seems to be sadness in the lyrics. Sometimes the sheer humanity and sincerity in lyrics makes a sad song joyful and inspiring. Stephen Merritt is great at evoking images in his songs and this is, in my opinion, his masterpiece album. br / br /I really have to give it to Stephen, I never thought I would be singing along with a song called "i thought you were my boyfriend," but the song is extremely catchy and also a very funny joke on straight men who love magnetic fields; you know stephen has to think it's humorous that straight guys like me are out there singing songs like that out loud in their car. br /Arguably, the best song on the album is "i wish i had an evil twin," because lyrically it perfectly describes one's desire to love somebody without having to be evil in order to make the other person attracted to you. br / br /This is really a great album, one of my favorites. Can't wait for them to put out something new.

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

'I' like it: Nice followup to 69, 2006-09-30
Stephen Merrit, the mastermind behind Magnetic Fields, concocted this group of songs beginning with "I" to followup the critically beloved 69 LOVE SONGS. While it's not possessed of the scope and range musically and lyrically of that work, it's still far above the pack of ordinary pop songs. That's right, I said "pop": Despite the orchestral adornments and Merrit's non-commercial dry baritone, at the heart most of these tunes are 'silly love songs' as McCartney penned. Not that that's a bad thing. Merrit writes a snappy pop tune when he's of the mind and that mindset dominates here with his usual dollop of showtunes alongside. It's usually when he attempts something "substantial" that he missteps ("I Was Born"). br / br /HIGHLIGHTS: br /"I Don't Believe You" is what happens when you realize your beloved's charming veneer is really just flirtatiousness. ("You may set your charm on stun/And say I'm delightful and fun/But you say that to everyone") A sitar is used to the best effect since "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" Bouncy single "I Thought You Were my Boyfriend" is explicitly gay and as such probably won't find an audience in the mainstream but it's a catchy slice of retro new wave. "I'm Tongue-tied" utilizes a catchy stop-start lope to convey its classic theme of losing your faculties in the proximity of your infatuation. ("I mumble a jumble/You kiss me/I'm history/I'm tongue-tied and useless again") "It's Only time" is possessed of a desperate romanticism ("What could stop this beating heart/once it's made a vow?") that means it's waiting to be discovered as a dark horse wedding standard. The lightly tinkling piano near the coda is a nice allusion to the relentess tick of the second hand of the clock. While it's probably intended as a gay marriage anthem, it's vague enough lyrically that straights can easily embrace the sentiment. br / br /LOWS: br /"I Was Born" is possessed of a level of maudlin rivalled only by Morrissey ("One more floor/Down the elevator/To oblivion/what fun") that's unrelieved by its tinkling musicbox arrangement. "Irma", a tale of a protagonist whose sight-impaired father crashes through the wall of her room to deliver chocolates is quirky but inconsequential. br / br /BOTTOM LINE: br /Another winner.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

Amazing Album with Too True Songwriting and Composition, 2006-01-11
Stephen Merritt, I'm sure if you haven't heard of him by now is stupendous. He makes solo records, and with other bands, (Future Bible Heroes, Gothic Archies, The 6ths) everything this guy does is gold. This is coming from someone who hasn't listened to 69 Love Songs yet, for the simple reason of not being able to stop listening in one sitting. br / br /This is too good for words. It's so low key and perfect. I feel like Merritt continues again and again to leave me breathless at how he can really do anything. I saw them on this tour at an opera house and it killed me that I went alone. But it's so true, not everyone gets it, it's sad really cause when I picked up this record, I must've bought that ticket within a week. br /If you're really into this, you should really check out Future Bible Heores if you haven't already and I should probably get to listening to 69 Love Songs.

1 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

A couple of great highlights; average elsewhere, 2005-12-29
I's main problem is its repetitiveness. The vast majority of the album carries the same basic style: very acoustic (almost toy-like), simple and organic arrangements of songs that sound like they could have come from musicals. Accordingly, its range, compared to, say, 69 Love Songs, is minute. The notable exception to the pattern is 'I Thought You Were My Boyfriend', which employs synths and sounds like it belongs in the 80s - but even here somehow the production is similar. Anyhow, it's a good track, angsty yet playful, a bit like a pastiche of its genre - in fact, it sounds like the obligatory dramatic, negative, edgiest moment of - yet again - a musical! The best track by a mile is 'I Looked All Over Town', which is the best distillation of the aforementioned genre that abounds elsewhere, graced with a gorgeous melody that is offset by the toybox arrangement perfectly. Other tracks, whether faster, like 'I Don't Believe You' and 'I Don't Really Love You Anymore' or slow and smoky like the self-explanatory br /'Infinitely Late At Night' and the slightly cheesy closer 'It's Only Time', while being reasonably well executed, do repeat the same formula somewhat endlessly, and it's a shame. Definitely start with 69 Love Songs if you're new.