The Magnetic Fields
69 Love Songs (disc 1)

THE REVIEW

Reviewing this work is one of the most difficult things for a music critic. But I'm not one, so it should be easier for me. The fact is that we are not dealing with a "CD" of more or less beautiful songs. We are facing 69 love song fragments. The original idea of the Magnetic Fields' leader (that is, Steohin Merritt) included 100 songs. Too utopian as an idea. And so the number was reduced to 69: a number as emblematic and explanatory on the subject matter that will be discussed.

69 songs, therefore, 3 compact discs, 23 songs for each disc.
Before listening, the more you think about it, the more you realize how enormous and ambitious it is to produce so much music and how, in theory, it seems impossible to maintain the quality of the work. How is it possible to create 69 musical moments, if not all excellent, at least above average?

And then you gather your courage and decide that it is still just a pop work. Nothing simpler. And so you insert disc number 1, listen to it in one breath. And you do the same with the second disc and the third. The feeling you get is one of amazement. You say, "this song is beautiful. I think it's the highest and most inspired point of the entire work", but punctually, about sixty times or so, you have to rethink and don't know which tracks to choose as the best songs out of such a vast thing. In fact, I decided not to name even one out of respect for the other 68. You move seamlessly from 60s-style pop tunes to synth-pop experiments to acoustic tunes to almost reggae or 80s dance rhythms to echoes of Cohen or Van Morrison, to 30-second tunes to 5-minute songs, from Merritt's heavy male voice like a boulder on the moon to the voices of various guests crowding the work. This for almost 3 hours straight. Impossible not to fall in love with a song. Each of the 69 will become ours or will connect to our experience or feeling or we will simply adore it. And then you realize that this isn't about chart pop. This is pop seen as artwork (both in music and in the magnificent lyrics). As it originally was. And here there's everything. There's everything that has been said in this genre and on this theme for the past 40 years. A magnificent work by a genius, Merritt. A true masterpiece in music history. Perhaps the last truly great masterpiece. Perhaps it's the box set that contains all the best records in history. Perhaps these records could disorient you or confuse you or deceive you or make you fall in love. The fact is, we are all in this record. This is Popular Art.