Liz Phair＜限定盤/Gold Colored Vinyl＞

Liz Phairの2003年発表4作目のスタジオ・アルバムは、このインディー界のアイコンが洗練されたポップ・ロック・サウンドを追求した作品だ。
大ヒット曲「Why Can't I?」と壮大なアンセム「Extraordinary」を収録したこのセルフタイトル作は、メインストリーム・プロダクションへの躊躇のない飛躍を遂げている。
スタイルは一新されたものの、Liz Phairは彼女の代名詞である率直で機知に富んだソングライティングを維持。
現代の恋愛や大人の複雑な問題を、中毒性のあるポップなフックとロックの自信を融合させて描いている。
彼女のディスコグラフィーにおいて、反抗的で必聴の作品だ。
限定ゴールド・カラー・ヴァイナル。

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