69 Love Songs [Box] by The Magnetic Fields

Pros: A Great Box Set of 69 Fantastic Songs of Love by Stephin Merritt & Co.

Cons: None.

The Bottom Line: 69 Love Songs is a Fun, Ambitious Collection of Love Songs from Stephin Merritt & Co.

Review: Whether in being in side projects like the Gothic Archies, the 6ths, and the Future Bible Heroes, Stephin Merritt truly has an uncanny knack for pop music with his unique ability to write catchy pop songs in a variety of styles. While he often does ...

Pros: a work of genius

Cons: er...

The Bottom Line: Buy it! Buy it! Buy it!

Review: Ask twenty Magnetic Fields fans to name their favourite track on 69 Love Songs and you'd probably get twenty different answers. That's if you can find twenty fans in the first place. I haven't encountered any other Stephin Merritt obsessives, and I've ...

Pros: Clever wordplay. An astonishing number of great songs.

Cons: Occasionally too clever. Those few songs that you just won't be able to stand

The Bottom Line: Released in 1999 these CDs have never gone more than a couple weeks without being listened to. These albums could replace whatever Webster's definition of love is.

Review: ... some of it is just really dumb" The Book of Love The Magnetic Fields' "69 Love Songs" is a musical achievement on a level that few would ever attempt and even fewer could ever achieve. Over the course of its three, sprawling discs it examines the ...

Pros: Impressive variety. Innovative lyrics. A pop album that dares to be different.

Cons: Tendency to overdo sentimental feeling

The Bottom Line: An amazing album! Buy it! It enlarges our horizons subtly while making sure we are properly entertained. Innovative. Something new to hear - every time you put it on

Review: 69 Love Songs: As the album title suggests the theme is "love". This word carries with it a vast array of connotations such as: affection, romance, sex, marriage, happiness, meaning, beauty etc. But also: despair, pain, grief, betrayal, death and ...

Pros: Beautiful, Well crafted Indie Pop Songwriting.

Cons: Too show-tuney at times.

The Bottom Line: Great Songs, Intelligent Lyrics, Awesome performances. Brilliant concepts.

Review: Stephen Merritt is one of those rare pop songwriting geniuses. If the music doesn't get you, the lyrics will carry you through. If the lyrics are boring (which they rarely ever are), the music makes it all right.
In the world of indie-pop,...

Pros: impressive variety of witty and wistful love songs

Cons: the occasional obnoxious track you want to skip

Review: I'm not a long-time Magnetic Fields fan, as a lot of other people seem to be. In fact, I'd never even heard of them until a couple months ago, when I heard two of my friends cryptically discussing them, and was intrigued. After that, I kept hearing...

Pros: Put's the "Fun" back into fundamentalism (That's a joke--I don't really mean that)

Cons: Can't think of any

The Bottom Line: One of those albums that will make your friends jealous. After they listen to it they will also want to prominently display it in their collections.

Review: This boxed set is a must for collectors of Indie Rock. Mr. Meritt and company have developed the most intellectually stimulating conceptual album in years. "69 Love Songs" encompasses what we expect in independent labels; a music group that fears no...

Pros: Catchy, poppy, songs for helpless romantics

Cons: Not for homophobes, metal heads, or anyone who hates synth-pop

Review: There is hope for pop-rock in the new millenium, friends. His name is Stephin Merritt, and he fronts the Magnetic Fields. Their newest, and best, release on Merge Records is called '69 Love Songs'. The record is in fact 3 separate works, each with 23 of...

Pros: Playful.

Cons: Painful.

Review: Painful, playful songs. There's something about the lyrics...I can't put my finger on it...something to do with being old enough to know better, with selective denial and playful tendencies. Something to do with passionate restraint, with world-weary...

Pros: The best pop music you'll hear this year, and maybe all decade.

Cons: A more organic style than past albums, which may deter some.

Review: Being a long time fan of the Magnetic Fields, I preordered 69 Love Songs last year. Absorbing a new work by a favorite artist, be it in music, writing, or art, is always a tricky task-- the artist may go into a new direction that you don't like, or the...