Product Description

Singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Sufjan Stevens's 1999 debut album gets bumped up from lo- to mid-fi here, thanks to a 2004 remastering by the Asthmatic Kitty label. For the Sufjan novice, this is a fine place to start, as it features a wide arrays of sounds, including post-prog wooden flutes and recorders, flanged vocals, fuzz guitar, and even quirky sing-alongs (a trademark of Stevens's future frequent collaborator Brother Danielson).
Gentle piano and acoustic guitar refrains take the sting out of this all-over-the-music-map travelling, soothing the soul on "Dumb I Sound", "Wordsworth's Ridge", and the title track. "A Loverless Bed (W/out Remission)" is so sweet that its wah-wah guitar would sound at home on Tommy James & the Shondells' "Crimson & Clover". "Kill" is softer than an Elliott Smith tune, and Stevens earns his banjo wings on "Happy Birthday". Goofball hijinks like "Super Sexy Woman", "Jason", and the dissonant "Satan's Saxophones" recall early Beck, and help make this sprawling epic of an album sound deceptively cheeky at first, but rest assured, a wondrous and emotionally moving world reveals itself on repeat listens. For fans, the blend of beauty and noise on bonus track "Joy! Joy! Joy!" alone is worth making the upgrade.

Track Listing

1. We Are What You Say
2. Winner Needs A Wand
3. Rake
4. Siamese Twins
5. Demetrius
6. Dumb I Sound
7. Wordsworth's Ridge
8. Belly Button
9. Rice Pudding
10. Loverless Bird (Without Remission)
11. Godzuki
12. Super Sexy Woman
13. Oracle Said Wander
14. Happy Birthday
15. Jason
16. Kill
17. Ya Leil
18. Sun Came
19. Satan's Saxophones
20. Joy Joy Joy
21. You Are The Rake

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11626 in Music
• Released on: 2006-08-07
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

Harsher and more experimental than his other albums
Clearly an early opus and not necessarily a good place to start for Sufjan novices, but definitely a must for aficionados. You can see him finding his unique tone and voice, which already shines through on many of the songs. Super Sexy Woman alone is worth the money.

Joy! Joy!
Sufjan Stevens is an indie legend now, with brilliant album after brilliant album, right up to the recent "Songs for Christmas." But he started with the sparkling indie-rock of "A Sun Came," a colourful collection of his relatively early songs -- it's rougher than his other stuff, but still overflows with talent and beauty.

It opens with the slightly medieval flavour of "We Are What You Say," with a stately flute-and-tambourine melody. Sufjan solemnly announces that "we are a servant/we have a song" and finishing up with the reverant "The Spirit is life/We are what You say," right before the music swirls off into a mad tangle of Renaissance acid-folk.

Things get indie-rockier with the catchy flute-and-guitar of "A Winner Needs a Wand," grimy "Demetrius," and the breathless, ghostly folk tune of "Rake." From there on, Stevens explores a half dozen different styles: fuzzy indiepop, more medievalish folk-rock, sparkling lo-fi stuff, glitchpop, shimmering rock, sweeping synth-folk, a sitar dance tune, and much more.

A lot of artists don't really know what they're doing when they first start out, or what kind of music they'll be most talented at. Given that Sufjan Stevens explores at least a dozen kinds of music in "A Sun Came," all completely different, it's pretty clear that he was exploring the styles.

And for the most part, he's successful -- there are some weird moments, like the awkward Beckesque "Super Sexy Woman," but far more like "Joy! Joy! Joy!", a mad squiggle of blips that rearrange into a shimmering, scratchy little pop tune. The different styles are tied together with Stevens' unique flourishes -- oddball synth, smooth acoustic guitar, and mellow piano, as well as some indie-rock grind, bells, keyboard, sweet flute and some odd scratches.

His lyrics are laced with religous references ("I would serve the Kingdom's will"), but Stevens doesn't make it in-your-face. It's a part of his music, because it's part of him. His songwriting skills are rather immature here (lots of very similar and/or repeated lines), but his beautifully smooth voice is almost enough to compensate.

Sufjan Stevens made a heartfelt, exquisite debut in "A Sun Came," full of shimmering indie-folk-pop and colourful instrumentation. A must-have, right before you get his other albums.

Shakey Start..
It's an interesting start for someone who's grown to be a bit of a word of mouth sensation. There are flickers of the genius contained within Illinoise and Seven Swans (The Rake, Wordsmith's Ridge and Joy! Joy! Joy!) but there's also stuff to skip and wade your way through. (The high pitched talking is just plain odd) It's interesting coming to this album after hearing the other albums.