Liz Phair - Liz Phair ((Vinyl))

This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both reular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.
Personnel: Liz Phair (vocals, guitar, samples); R. Walt Vincent (electric guitar, guitar, harmonica, Wurlitzer electric piano, bass, background vocals); Buddy Judge (guitar, background vocals); Wendy Melvoin (guitar, bass); Pete Yorn (guitar, drums); Michael Penn (guitar, bass, samples); Corky James (guitar); Patrick Warren (piano, keyboards); Jebin Bruni (keyboards); Mike Elizondo, David Sutton (bass); John Sands, Victor Indrizzo, Matt Chamberlain, Mario Calire, Abe Laboriel Jr. (drums); Lenny Castro (percussion); Alison Clark, The Matrix, The Wizards Of Oz (background vocals).
Producers: The Matrix, Michael Penn, Liz Phair.
This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both reular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.
Personnel: Liz Phair (vocals, guitar, samples); R. Walt Vincent (electric guitar, guitar, harmonica, Wurlitzer electric piano, bass, background vocals); Michael Penn (guitar, bass, samples); Wendy Melvoin (guitar, bass); Pete Yorn (guitar, drums); Buddy Judge (guitar, background vocals); Corky James (guitar); Patrick Warren (piano, keyboards); Jebin Bruni (keyboards); Mike Elizondo, David Sutton (bass); John Sands, Victor Indrizzo, Matt Chamberlain, Mario Calire, Abe Laboriel Jr. (drums); Lenny Castro (percussion); Alison Clark, The Matrix, The Wizards Of Oz (background vocals).
Producers: The Matrix, Michael Penn, Liz Phair.
Who knew that all Liz Phair ever wanted was to be a pop star? Surely, her debut, Exile in Guyville, with its cinematic lo-fi production and frankness, never suggested as much, nor did its cleaner sequel, Whip-Smart, but on her eponymous fourth album she makes a long-delayed stab at superstardom, glamming herself up like a Maxim MILF of the Month and pitching herself somewhere between Sheryl Crow and Avril Lavigne, on one side working with Michael Penn and adult alternative singer/songwriter Pete Yorn and on the other hooking up with 2003's hitmakers du jour the Matrix. As "Extraordinary" starts the album with a heavy guitar downstroke, it's clear that Liz Phair is now a pop star making music that not just fits comfortably with Lavigne's, but follows her sounds and stance. This may be disarming to die-hard fans of Exile who could never have dreamed that, of all the directions she could have gone, she chose this, but in "Extraordinary" and "Why Can't I?" Phair has a pair of catchy modern pop singles that offer a fascinating juxtaposition to the deeper tunes here. In fact, when pop tunes about a cougar on the prowl are combined with soul-searching ballads, it could be argued that Liz Phair might be the singer/songwriter's most directly confessional album -- nearly every song is in the first person, with many songs drawing parallels to her recent well-publicized divorce. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

• RSD Release Date: n/a
• Genre: Rock