All's Phair in Guyville

One of my favorite albums ever, Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville, is getting the 15 year anniversary reissue treatment next week, and I couldn't be more excited. According Phair herself, Guyville is a song-by-song response to Exile on Main Street by the Rolling Stones, a fact scoffed at by many critics (and that I don't quite believe myself). Looking back, that possible truth/publicity gimmick seems like one of the least significant things about this monumental album--in fact, as great as Main Street is, I prefer Guyville, and I doubt that I'm the only one who feels that way.

Exile In Guyville was a revelation for many of those who heard it when it was released back in 1993. Here was a beautiful, independent woman creating her debut album packed to the gills with her impeccably written, semi-scandalous, and often touching songs filled with a swagger, sexuality, and confidence rarely seen by any artist of the time, male or female. This was no Lilith Fair pabulum--songs like the anachronistic Salome/John The Baptist-inspired "Dance of the Seven Veils," or the hypnotic "Glory" still beg me hit the back button on my iPod at every listen, just to dwell in Phair's lyrical mastery for another moment.  To me, it was a perfect album, completely devoid of weak tracks or filler, and one of few from that era that I still listen to on a regular basis. In the last several years, Guyville has become harder to find, especially as a digital download, but come June 24th, we get a remastered version with a few bonus tracks and a DVD of Ms. Phair interviewing some of the "guys" that populate Guyville.

I've heard the remastered tracks, and they truly shine brighter than those on any other reissues I've heard in the last several years. As a music lover, it's an ecstatic experience to listen to an album you've heard hundreds of times and all of a sudden hear new elements you didn't know were there. Kudos to Liz for finally re-releasing this and doing such a great job of it. Check out the trailer below for the DVD featuring the likes of Dave Matthews, John Cusack, and Ira Glass--but be warned--those Chicago musicians, most notably Phair herself, are known for their indelicate language, so watch out for the F-bombs!

On her subsequent albums, Liz Phair never really recaptured the magic that she caught on Guyville, but now that she's switched over to the Dave Matthew's-owned ATO Records, I have renewed hope. The (slightly bitter) cherry on top of all this reissue excitement is that Liz Phair will be playing four shows in three cities of the album in it's entirety (all of which I cannot attend, hence the bitter). One might ask: why no full tour? However, what I really want to know is: Ms. Phair, will you ever release all of your notorious Girlysound cassettes? Please?

--Alan Wiley