Since its release, this CD remains as a one of the musical milestones from the 1990s. It topped the lists of many critics, propelled Matador Records further into the big time, and helped open the door for Alanis, Fiona, Meredith Brooks and a hundred other female artists to follow. With a title adapted from an Urge Overkill song ("Goodbye to Guyville" from their 'Stull" EP), this impressive debut was supposedly structured as her song-by-song response to the Rolling Stones' "Exile On Main Street" album. Brad Wood's subtle production brings her sound out of the bedroom without sacrificing the intimacy and honesty of her "Girlysound" days. Several of those songs get updated, including the explicit "F&@k and Run" and "Flower." Pottymouth lyrics aside, the songwriting is outstanding and her quirky guitar riffs perfectly compliment her dry singing style. The subject matter is much more blunt than her later work (where her perspective was changed by marriage and motherhood), and the instrumentation has a stripped-down feel. For those just discovering this album, the freshness of the material will no doubt suffer a bit in the wake of Lilith Fair and the media's "Women In Music" saturation, but it's still superior to a lot of what came after it. Highly recommended.

There are few truly rivetting albums out there, and few artists capable of demanding my attention on first listen. Liz Phair, on her debut album, "Exile in Guyville," is one of that rare breed.

I originally sought out this album after reading Rolling Stone's rave review of the album, but was dubious that she could really live up to the hype. I listened, spellbound, the first time through. Then played the CD again. I've worn out mix tapes of her albums, bought multiple versions of her latest CD and built my own little Web shrine to Liz ....

Liz's musicianship on this effort is sometimes uneven, her vocal performance hardly revolutionary but her writing ... such songs.

Her songs touch the heart, engage the mind and stimulate the ... well, she's gotten a reputation as a pottymouth girl, although she's much, much more. "Divorce Song" rips out your heart and stomps on it with the brutal honesty of how breakups truly feel, "Soap Star Joe" casts a dubious eye at the sensitive dudes who cruise the single scene (not that I was EVER one ... ahem) and, quite frankly, Liz still remembers how to rock.

I have not before or since encountered an artist who was able to capture the pain, anxiety and hopefulness of post-collegiate singlehood as Liz did, and "Exile in Guyville" remains one of my perennial favorites.

A must-listen for fans of singer-songwriters, rock and roll or women in music. Liz Phair's "Exile in Guyville" is simply one of the all time great rock albums.

his album is a hit-or-miss case. I have friends who can't stand it, and I have friends who love it and claim it in their Top 10 of all time. It's worth listening to just to see where you stand. There isn't much debate about whether or not Liz can sing...she can't. She had to take singing lessons for her latest album. So ignore her voice...its whining, its monotone, it cracks, and it sounds like she was singing in her garage. That's also one of the strong points to those people who loved this album so much. When Liz's voice cracks, its usually because of the emotion in it. That's generous, given she doesn't really show much emotion...but she does deliver angst, longing, despair, guilt, and a little raw hatred. Her lyrics are witty, yet sometimes simple, but what her voice fails to deilver, her words do. Take the warnings of parental advisory seriously...she doesn't edit her feelings at all. It took me a long time to love this album. The songs don't work the first, oh, let's say 10 or so times you hear them. But if you think you hear something in her style, then listen some more. Memorize the songs...because they will grow on you, and infect you, and take you over. This is an ideal album for someone who just got out of a relationship. It runs the full range of emotions about breaking up...longing, hope, anger, guilt, despair, anguish. But ultimately the real charm of this album lies in its simplicity...most of the songs feature Liz as the sole musician. The songs seem as if they were recorded by Liz, her guitar, and a tape recorder (and actually, most of the songs came right from the demo tape that got this album recorded). The production quality may disapoint those looking for a studio-hyped album with richly woven melodies. I personally thought that the power and the charm of the album came from the fact that it was nothing more than Liz, stripped down to nothing but herself and her guitar. You'll either love it or hate it. But those who love it never take it out of their CD players.

The first song blew away me from the beginning. Punk dissonance followed by a peppy 60's beat? She takes more chances than you realize, and they work. No way to pick out highlights, (every track is a winner) but I especially liked 6'1", Help Me, Mary (pulls on trad. Rock riffs), the jangly rocker "Never Said," Mesmerizing," f**k and run ("whatever happened to a boyfriend, the kind of guy who tries to win you over. . .I wan' all that stupid old sh*t, like letters and sodas...letters and sodas"), the dreamy, incredibly romantic "Shatter," and "Strange Loop?" The whole album is infused with the spirit of rock.

Finally, a pared-down, somewhat minimalist album where every note counts. Co-Produced by band members Phair and Brad Wood (with Asst. Engineering credited to guitarist Casey Rice), each short song is a small gem, with the intimacy and immediacy of a garage recording (without the ego and the lousy sound).

Liz Phair's voice is not particularly noteworthy, but that's not the point. The word paintings are as vivid as Patti Smith, and as cutting as Tracey Chapman. Her sometimes monotonic, weary voice has undertones of strength and defiance, and the lyrics are as poetry perfect and emotion-tinged as Lene Lovich or Joni Mitchell. (And there's an interesting Midwest accent to boot).

"The fire you like so much in me. . . is the mark of someone adamantly free"

This (too cool fer school) persona could go stale after a while, but she doesn't seem pretentious or announce how hip she is (with the possible exception of some of "Divorce Song"). Rather, the tone is matter-of-fact; she knows when to let the music do the talking. The only artifice is her perfection of the virgin/whore male fantasy in such explicit songs as "Glory," "Dance of the Seven Veils," and "Flower." This got a lot of almost-hysterical attention from critics (she's the FEMALE Mick Jagger!!), and if it helped sell a lot of records, fine.

But that would miss the point. She knows how to construct an intense, personal statement with no waste, and she has a knack for the engaging hook. Every song shines on this CD: It's amazing how the power she achieves with some piano and harmonica, jangling/droning guitars, some background vocals, and peppered drumming. It's a tribute to the SONG qualities of rock, and especially, to the emotional complexity and accuracy of Ms. Phair's writing.

With the release of two excellent follow-ups, Liz Phair has proven she's no one-CD wonder. That was one question when she burst on the scene with this "Rolling Stone Album of the Year." And, though her output has been less than prodigious, this CD alone stands as one of the best of the nineties.

Liz Phair's debut album is, quite simply, one of the best debuts ever. It is no wonder that "Guyville" is consistently ranked highly in almost every "best of" and "must have" alternative album list to ever exist. From the stutter-drum introduction of "6'1" to the discordant instrumentation at the end of "Strange Loop?," "Guyville" will hold you captive and pound itself into your brain.

Most people mistakingly assume that the majority of "Guyville" came from Phair's earlier Girlysound demos, recorded in her basement, but this is false. Only 6 of the 18 songs on "Guyville" are from these early recordings, and all of them have been at least slightly rewritten from the previous versions. (Also, the Girlysound demos did not immediately prompt Matador Records to sign Phair--at the signing, they had only listened to a scant few of the demo songs.)

"Guyville," however, retains the lo-fi feel of the early demos, with relatively simple instrumentation, imperfect vocals, and a much less glossy production than her later albums ("Whip-Smart" and "whitechocolatespaceegg"). The songs are almost like diary entries, with Phair baring her soul to the world in blatantly open, sometimes shocking, ways.

Many people characterize Phair as "angry female rock," but I don't see it. Phair is many things on this album--self-deprecating, sad, arrogant, and sexual--but I don't see a lot of overt anger. Rather, her songs deal simply with the wide range of emotions everybody feels with regards to life. Sometimes her issues are complex, such as in "F*** and Run," where she desires a stable relationship but is at the same time ashamed and seemingly incapable of having one. Sometimes they are simpler, like in "Help Me Mary," a reaction against the male-dominated independent music scene. Sometimes she even finds what she's looking for, like in "Strange Loop?"

Also, much has been said about her sexuality with regards to these songs. Phair takes traditional male viewpoints and standards with regards to women and sex and turns them on their head. She pokes fun at men and their conventions, but then, she pokes fun at herself, too. "Flower" especially, with its graphic sexual imagery, has to be taken with a grain of salt. She asks the question: Why is it that we react so harshly when these words are spoken by a woman, when we accept them from a man?

Musically, the strongest songs are probably "F*** and Run," the poppy "Never Said," and "6'1." The most memorable songs are probably "Flower," "Girls! Girls! Girls!" (again turning the male-female dynamic in relationship upside down), "Glory," and the infinitely sad "Divorce Song." My personal favorite is "Mesmerizing," in which Phair asks her lover to think of her in better terms than what he does ("You said things I wouldn't say / straight to my face, boy").

Phair has made many claims regarding "Guyville's" relationship to the Rolling Stones' 1972 double album "Exile on Main Street," calling "Guyville" a "female response" to the Stones' album. I highly recommend that you listen to the two albums together sometime. They really do work amazingly well together (plus, "Main Street" is just a great album, anyway).

"Guyville" is a feminist work, and any woman who wants a fresh perspective on male-female dynamics should certainly check it out. However, it transcends that and becomes a commentary on life in general, for everyone, and the complicated emotions we have to face every day. Therefore, I recommend "Guyville" to anyone who likes their music to be thoughtful and fresh.

Whether you're a hard-core indie music fan or someone who is just discovering the genre, "Guyville" is a definite must-have. More listener-friendly than many independent albums, "Guyville" has something for just about everyone.