Rolling Stone Magazine recently released their list of the of the 50 Greatest Concept Albums of All Time and selected Liz Phair’s debut album, Exile in Guyville, a high ranking of #6 between the Who’s Tommy (#5) and Rush’s 2112 (#7).
The Concept: A song-by-song response to the Rolling Stones’ Exile on Mainstreet that conveniently doubles as a deconstruction of white, male indie-rock oppression.
The Execution Liz Phair brilliantly followed through on her attack of the male-dominated music scene, creating comebacks corresponding to each song on Exile on Main Street. Compare “Rocks Off” with “6’1″,” or “Happy” with “Fuck and Run,” and you can easily hear the songs as exchanges between Phair and Mick Jagger. With lyrics like “I want to fuck you like a dog/I’ll take you home and make you like it,” she proved her music could be just as wild and raunchy as the Stones’. Heralded by critics as one of the best albums of the 1990s and ranked 56th on our 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, Exile in Guyville is an emotionally honest low-fi masterpiece that stands on its own. —A.W.
Upon hearing the news, Phair herself seemed elated.
Check out Rolling Stone’s official site to view the entire list.
