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My top 10 “Desert Island” albums- number 2
#2 Seven Swans- Sufjan Stevens
“Abraham, worth a righteous one.
Take up on the wood,
put it on your son.
Lake or lamb.
There is none to harm.
When the angel came,
you had raised your arm.
Abraham, put off on your son.
Take instead the ram
until Jesus comes”
Sufjan Stevens - Abraham
It wasn’t until Sufjan released his next album entitled Come on Feel the Illinoise that he garnered all of the critical attention he deserved. In fact, Illinoise was named the album of the year in 2005 by the snobby blowhards over at Pitchfork, and the top album of the decade!!! by Paste Magazine. But Illinoise is only my second favorite Sufjan album, while my favorite is Seven Swans.
Seven Swans is a stripped down folk album, especially compared to Illinoise. The standout instrument on the album, beside Sufjan’s voice, is the banjo, and the two work brilliantly together to give the album a “rootsy” feel. And even though I absolutely loathe the use of this label for art, it is certainly the most “Christian” of Sufjan’s albums, containing several biblical allusions and images (see the lyrics from the song Abraham typed out above).
I think the reason I favor this album over his others is because it served as my introduction to Sufjan. I remember first hearing of Sufjan from a top albums of 2004 list from Relevant Magazine. Shortly thereafter I headed to Fingerprints and picked up Seven Swans and before I had even finished driving back down 2nd street I was hooked. There is something so satisfying about buying an album on a whim or hunch that turns out to be brilliant. It makes you feel like a musical explorer, discovering uncharted territories.
Since that time I have seen Sufjan live two times and bought up everything he has recorded, spending countless hours enjoying his music. Like a few other albums on my top 10 list, this album was really a watershed moment in my music appreciation career, shaping my musical tastes over the last half decade. As a gift to our wedding attendees, Mariah and I created two mix CDs of music that had been significant to our relationship, and each of the CDs had a song from this album (To Be Alone With You and The Dress Looks Nice on You).
If you haven’t familiarized yourself yet with Sufjan Stevens, you are missing out. If you know Sufjan but only own Illinoise, pick up Seven Swans and thank me later.
You can buy Seven Swans on iTunes or here.
