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''Illinois'' (styled ''Sufjan Stevens Invites You To: Come On Feel the Illinoise'' on the cover; sometimes written as ''Illinoise'') is a 2005 concept album by American indie folk songwriter Sufjan Stevens. It is his fifth studio album, and features songs referencing places, events, and persons related to the U.S. state of Illinois. ''Illinois'' is Stevens' second based on a U.S. state—part of a planned series of fifty that began with the 2003 album ''Michigan'' and that Stevens has since acknowledged was a gag. Stevens recorded and produced the album at multiple venues in New York City using low-fidelity studio equipment and a variety of instruments between late 2004 and early 2005. The artwork and lyrics explore the history, culture, art, and geography of the state—Stevens developed them after analyzing criminal, literary, and historical documents. Following a July 4, 2005 release date, Stevens promoted ''Illinois'' with a world tour. Critics praised the album for its well-written lyrics and complex orchestrations; in particular, reviewers noted Stevens' progress as a songwriter since the release of ''Michigan''. ''Illinois'' was named the best-reviewed album of 2005 by review aggregator Metacritic, and was included on several reviewers' "best of the decade" lists—including those of ''Paste'', NPR, and ''Rolling Stone''. The album amounted to Stevens' greatest public success to date: it was his first to place on the ''Billboard'' 200, and it topped the ''Billboard'' list of "Heatseekers Albums". The varied instrumentation and experimental songwriting on the album invoked comparisons to work by Steve Reich, Neil Young, and The Cure. Besides numerous references to Illinois history, geography, and attractions, Stevens continued a theme of his songwriting career by including multiple references to his Christian faith. ==Background, recording, and tour== Stevens launched his 50-state project in 2003 with the album ''Michigan'' and chose to focus on Illinois with this recording because "it wasn't a great leap", and he liked the state because he considered it the "center of gravity" for the American Midwest.〔 Before creating the album, Stevens read literature by Illinois authors Saul Bellow and Carl Sandburg,〔 and studied immigration records〔 and history books for the state—he made the deliberate decision to avoid current events and focused on historical themes.〔 He also took trips through several locations in Illinois〔 and asked friends and members of Internet chat rooms for anecdotes about their experiences in the state.〔 Although he began work in 2004〔 on Oregon-themed songs and briefly considered releasing a Rhode Island 7",〔 Stevens has since not released another album focused on a state, saying in a November 2009 interview with ''Paste'' that "the whole premise was such a joke,"〔 and telling Andrew Purcell of ''The Guardian'' in October 2009 "I have no qualms about admitting (fifty states project ) was a promotional gimmick."〔 An Arkansas-related song was released through NPR as "The Lord God Bird"〔 and material intended for New Jersey and New York became ''The BQE''.〔 All of the songs on ''Illinois'' were written, recorded, engineered, and produced by Stevens, with most of the material being recorded at The Buddy Project studio in Astoria, Queens, and in Stevens' Brooklyn apartment. As with his previous albums, Stevens recorded in various locations,〔 with additional piano recorded in St. Paul's Church in Brooklyn; strings and vocals performed in collaborators' apartments; electronic organ recorded in the New Jerusalem Recreational Room in Clarksboro, New Jersey; and vibraphone played at Carroll Music Studios in New York City.〔 Stevens mostly created the album without collaboration, focusing on the writing, performance, and technical creation of the album by himself: "I was pretty nearsighted in the construction of ''Illinois''. I spent a lot of time alone, a few months in isolation working on my own and in the studio. I let things germinate and cultivate independently, without thinking about an audience or a live show at all."〔 Stevens employed low-fidelity recording equipment, which allowed him to retain creative control and keep costs low on recording ''Illinois''. Typically, his process involved recording to 32 kHz 8-track tape using inexpensive microphones such as the Shure SM57 and AKG C1000. He then employed Pro Tools for mixing and other production tasks.〔 After consulting with Michael Kaufmann and Lowell Brams of Asthmatic Kitty about the amount of material he had recorded, Stevens decided against a double album, saying that would be "arrogant".〔 In 2006, several tracks recorded during these sessions were sent to Seattle-based musician and producer James McAllister for additional instrumentation and production,〔 and were released in 2006 on the follow-up album ''The Avalanche: Outtakes and Extras from the Illinois Album''. Among these outtakes are three separate recordings of the song "Chicago"—including the "Multiple Personality Disorder Version", which was produced during a subsequent tour. The "Adult Contemporary Easy Listening Version" of the song was supposed to appear on the ''Illinois'' album, but was changed at the last minute.〔 ''Illinois'' was released on July 4, 2005, through Rough Trade Records in Europe and was distributed domestically by Asthmatic Kitty Records starting July 5, 2005. Although he initially had no plans to perform this material live,〔 less than two weeks after the release of ''Illinois'', Stevens embarked on a North American tour to promote the album,〔 performing with a string section of eight to ten members〔 named the Illinoisemakers.〔 He deliberately chose to avoid television as a promotional tool and focused on the tour performances themselves.〔 He was supported on some dates by opening acts Liz Janes (who is also signed to Asthmatic Kitty) and Laura Veirs〔 as well as ''Illinois'' collaborator Shara Worden's solo project My Brightest Diamond.〔 He toured in support of the album again from September through November 2006, this time including dates in several European cities.〔 During the 2006 dates, Stevens and his band transitioned from wearing University of Illinois-themed outfits to butterfly suits and bird wings.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Illinois (Sufjan Stevens album)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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