Joshua B. (littleborge) from ATHENS, GA Reviewed on 11/4/2020...
Good ol' indie rock with a sense of humor and an understanding of what it knows and what it doesn't know. It's classic because there were no expectations and so it exceeded all known female indie rock at the time. Once the expectations were there, it got worse. But you should definitely give this a spin and with proper understanding of sound recording (lo-fi vs hi-fi) in the 90s you'll be like "Yeah, you crushed this"
CD Reviews
One of the greatest albums of all time
Landon McQuilkin | Austin, TX | 03/30/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you are under the age of thirty, you might think of Liz as some kind of pop star that may or may not be incredible. Listen to this gem, though, and you just may realize that Liz created, with her first outing, one of the most important albums in the history of music, much less the '90s. This album, put simply, MATTERS....more than you can imagine....more than I am even realizing at this point. I've cherished it for years and with each passing day i realize more and more how much it transcends this thing we call reality. Liz may have never created an equal to this album, but this is comparable to saying that Van Gogh never topped Starry Night and Michaelangelo spent himself on that one chapel. This is art. This is more than art. This is a masterpiece. This is the hand of god channeled through one of his or her hottest mediums...media? I don't know, but I do know that Liz Phair is the closest thing to a deity in this day and age."
Phair's best album...no question
Kevin Mckay | IL | 05/17/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I bought this version as a gift. I do not know anything about the new songs, or if they "cleaned up" this version of the album. However, if you know Liz Phair as the "mega-pop" woman (or if you think of her as a version of Gwen Stefani), then you don't know Liz Phair--and you've heard nothing like this!
This is an album with songs about a woman trying to find her place. She's angry, sexual...and listening to this album will make you wish she wrote these songs about your time with her.
"
Buy the original ~ that's my advice
Mysterious Microburst | Mohave County, AZ | 10/03/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is not an album that needed cleaning or 'extra songs' to make it better. It is (was) a masterpiece in the original incarnation. The raw sound fit the rawness of emotion perfectly. The album ended beautifully. What is even more pathetic is that a GUY did a hatchet job on it..if you want a powerful representation of irony, this would be among the better examples.
No wonder it's currently featured as a cheap download, considering Dave Matthews has managed to neuter Phair's greatest work to date.
My advice? Seek out the original. If it's no longer available as a download, buy the original used from one of Amazon's Sellers. The original helped me survive five of the toughest years of my life, when I was betrayed by a man whose name coincidentally matches that of the man mentioned within this album (or, the original). I kept it in my car player for the better part of a year and know every song by heart. If I'd gotten the Dave Matthew's aftermath, I'd probably not have survived to write this review."