Exile in Guyville

This album just about saved my life when’s it first came out. I was her exact target demo and this was released during a tough life year for me. Her “I am going to create music that tells my truth no matter that it sounds like nothing anybody else is doing” attitude was and remains inspirational.
Thirty years later I am a bit more aware of some vocal shortcomings, that musically it may not live up to some five star albums. But I remember what this album meant. And I can hear what this album meant to female rockers decades later. Liz Phair paved the way with this one. It is historically significant and emotionally powerful.

Interesting. Definitely some Hole-esque riot-grl vibes combined with some "white guys play R&B in the late 60s" vibes.

Not entirely sure my boat was floated enough to make this one I'll return to, but enjoyed the discovery none-the-less

I don't think I'm the target audience for this album and I felt like I wasn't the target audience the entire time listening to it. Her voice is unique, not good, but not terrible. It's different. And the lo-fi and stripped down production is good. But I was pretty bored listening to a lot of it.

I'll have to give it another try sometime in the future, but for now, it was just okay.

I'm at least familiar with Liz Phair, having heard her comeback album Soberish back in 2021. It was a decent experience from what I recall, but what we got here is her debut from when the hunger was fresh.

From what I can gather, this album is framed with similar compositions and pacing to the Rolling Stones album Exile on Main St., which I unfortunately haven't listened to fully yet on this journey. Based on the songs I've heard off of Exile on Main St. thus far, there could be some merit to the comparisons. "6'1"" kicks the door down in the same way "Rocks Off" does, "Never Said" is as big and catchy of a single as "Tumbling Dice", and "Fuck and Run' does come off as a narrative flip of "Happy" where the woman is having trouble with finding a committed relationship.

But I feel like there's more than just putting a spin on one of the Stones' classic albums. While it undoubtedly rocks, there's a lot more production techniques going on from the teamwork of Liz and Brad Wood that makes Guyville stand out, such as how the feedback of "Shatter" ebbs and flows in the background. Also lyrically, a lot of the content here is very transgressive, where Liz comes into a very male-centric scene with a lot of swagger in finding her place and exploring the various ways women have been taken advantage of in the past, with a bit of humor and wit thrown in. It's certainly commendable.

I enjoyed this album a lot more than I expected. Guyville is one of those albums that is locked to a very feminist point of the early 90's, yet like other 90s classics this has stood the test of time. Check it out.

I think I first heard of this album via the Pitchfork 'Best albums of the 90s' list a couple years ago. If I remember right, it was in the top 10, and one of two albums in the top 10 I had never listened to. Lucinda Williams was the other one, which I listened to, but never got around to Liz Phair until now. I have to say, I'm very surprised, as I was expecting it to be overrated. It's not at all, I'm very impressed! I love the guitar tone all the way through, and the songwriting is top notch. I get that it is probably a bit too vulgar for some people, but I think to some degree songs like Flower are attempts at trolling, or something similar. Like Courtney Love was doing around the same time, Liz has put out a very "unladylike" album that was definitely on par with the best male artists of tge time.

After listening to this a third time, I was surprised to read on the wiki that most of the songs aren't about Liz herself. Most of them are so direct and confessional in nature that I assumed they were at least semi-autobiographical. That really shows how great the songwriting is on here IMO. Not to mention that there's 18 songs on here and none of them are duds!

Strong songwriting, a bit milquetoast.

Exile In Guyville is a really mixed bag in terms of quality for me. On one hand, there were songs that sounded great, had cool musical ideas, and had some pretty good singing by Liz but on the other hand some of the songs could be really boring, follow basic melodies, or just be way too repetitive and i also did find the pace of the album to be a bit too breakneck at points. The album mostly was good throughout its runtime but the bad parts were rather noticeable.
Best Song: Canary
Worst Song: Girls! Girls! Girls!

This album is indie rock similar to PJ Harvey or Hole. Liz Phair has that annoying strong feminist feel to her, similar to Sinead O'Conner. That kinda indie/punk phase. I'm a feminist. Fuck men. Look at my tits. As a matter of fact, the album cover features her tits. Because feminism.... I guess?? Just fuckin weird.

Favourite songs: Fuck and Run, Divorce Song, Never Said, 6'1"

Least favourite songs: Dance of the Seven Veils, Glory, Canary

2/5

This album was sterile, and an absolute bore. It was only just under an hour, but with 17 tracks I kept hoping it would end so I could move onto something more substantive. I won't listen to this again. 1/5.

Hun har godt nok en træls stemme.. Tænker at pladen er på listen på grund af nogle tekster, men det er svært at tænke på når de bliver leveret så ringe..

This was sooo much better than I expected. Loved it. Almost a 5 star. Loved her voice and the instrumentals too. Well mixed album for sure.

I don't like this kind of singer-songwiter

No conocía a Liz Phair y estaba listo para hacer un chiste de que me gusta más Ric Flair (WOO!), pero me ha gustado bastante. Buen rock, buenas letras y buena voz: buen disco.

Listening to 'Exile In Guyville' I understand why the critics at the time were and still are lyrical about Liz Phair's debut album, but I also understand why this album did not sell by the millions.

Liz is a great songwriter and the album is quite lo-fi, which adds to the rawness of the songs.

At the same time, Exile In Guyville is a blueprint for the indie rock that would later be mass-produced in the 1990s. Liz Phair's debut album could not commercially match Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill, released two years later, but has been much more influential musically.

Sounds very 90's alt-singer-songwriter. I guess because it is. It's alright, but I'm not really into it that much.

Not what I was expecting. Can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I think definitely worth another listen

This sucks. It just doesnt go anywhere. Her music is just so tired sounding. Flower is just really uncomfortable to listen to.

mé

This was way better than expecting. I was figuring it would be a Alanis Morissette situation, but this is a bit more personal feeling than that! It's got an alt-rock vibe from the 90s that feels right on the edge of being mainstream and more lo-fi, and it makes it so while not every song song here is notable, a lot of it is at least interesting, and usually pretty good at that. It's at the very least way better than the Rolling Stones album this is riffing on.

This album ticks a lot of boxes, sounds way ahead of it’s time, hence clearly very influential on the bedroom pop we hear in the 2020’s, good concept themes, and a comparison to a Rolling Stones classic album. More than deserving of being on the list.