I've been somewhat psycho about Liz since the week Exile in Guyville came out. I have no desire for her to release the same album over and over, so I welcome this new record for the excellent piece of pop/rock that it is. There are so, so many great vintage Liz songs here, like "It's Sweet," "Take A Look," "Little Digger" "Firewalker," "Love/Hate Transmission" and "My Bionic Eyes." Yeah yeah yeah, the Matrix songs aren't really a lot like old Liz, unless you're enough of a fan to know "Rocket Boy," or to realize that "Jealousy" and "Johnny Feelgood" are really the same kind of songs.

Indie rockers, just grow up and admit you love Styx, Cheap Trick and Journey, and allow yourself to love this record too. And don't let some cheap sexism and ageism make you proclaim that songs like "H.W.C." are stupid and embarrassing. If it had appeared on either of Liz's first two albums, it would be proclaimed a subversive masterpiece.

Don't be an indiesnob. If you like Liz Phair the album, just let yourself like it!

Let me start off by saying the clean version is just as good without the explicit content and lyrics. Liz Phair's voice is pretty. My favorite songs are Extraordinary, Red Light Fever, and Why Can't I. This album is soothing and flowing without any foul language, or bad songs. I'd recommend this cd to anyone who'd rather have a good, clean version of this instead of explicit.

Ever feel like you're living in a Monty Python movie? Remember the scene in "The Life of Brian" where Brian tells the masses outside his window that they must learn to think for themselves, and the crowd replies in unison, "Yes, we must learn to think for ourselves!"? That's what it seems like when I read the same story, over and over again, about the "sell-out" this CD is. You people need to learn to think for yourselves!

Have we reached a point of lo-fi snobbery that nothing is good that wasn't recorded on a Teac 4-track cassette deck in somebody's basement? Is tape hiss, saturation, and accidental distortion a sign of higher art?

Ever wonder what the world was like when Bob Dylan strapped on the electric guitar for the first time at that folk festival? I guarentee you it was EXACTLY like this. Liz Phair is an artist trying to grow, and in that growth has put everything into play, assuming nothing. The CD that came out of this process is a pop/rock music triumph. Think Pat Benetar's "Crimes of Passion" or the Pretenders' first album.

There are NO bad songs on this CD. You dont' even get to my favorite cut, "My Bionic Eyes", until track 12! (This should have been the single, folks!). It is an incredibly solid collection of melodic, hooky, intelligent songs that just keeps blasting away at you. "Extraordinary", "Red Light Fever", "Why Can't I?", "It's sweet", and "Rock me", the first five tracks, are ALL potential hit songs. When's the last time you listened to a CD with so much depth? And it's just getting started. Other gems like "Favorite", "Love/hate" with its infectious cadence, and the gripping "Friend of mine" follow up, filling out a set of songs that will leave you humming melodies and looking forward to replays for weeks.

"H.W.C.", which is basically the "throw-back to a previous Liz Phair era" song, does seem a bit out of place amongst the more grown-up lyrics that surround it, and ends up feeling more like parody than cool. "Little Digger", a very emotional ballad about a child dealing with constantly changing father figures also is a departure of style stuck in the middle of the CD, causing a bit of a rock and roll speed bump. I think this would have made a much better closer than "Good Love Never Dies", which is the only thing that even remotely resembles filler on this effort.

That NO ONE is buying or hearing this CD is a travesty. Honestly, if when an artist releases something as great as this we do nothing but complain about it because its not like the last thing an artist did, then we deserve whatever pre-processed garbage we get from the music industry.

Here's hoping that Liz Phair finds a way to escape what's becoming her "Elvis Costello" syndrome of producing great records that just can't seem to break through, but everyone considers to be classics 20 years from now. I'll appreciate this one now, thank you.

To all the people who are distraught over this album: seriously, what is wrong with you? Not only is it ridiculous to reject an artist simply because their style has evolved, it eludes me how anyone could think that "Liz Phair" is an all-out terrible album. This record - which a lot of people seem to be calling "pop" - does an excellent job of incorporating many different styles of music. You've got pop songs, rock songs, and even a couple ballads. The diversity of "Liz Phair" is impressive in itself, but what makes this album really successful is Liz Phair's slightly-perfected vocals and characteristically witty and poignant lyrics. On songs like "Take A Look," "Little Digger," and "It's Sweet," Liz Phair's talent - both vocal and literary - really shines. Even the song "HWC," which seems to be the most critically maligned track on the album, retains the wit, humor, and even grace that fans have grown to expect from Liz Phair, who has a knack for making any situation - even the most intimate and, well, messy - seem amusing, important, and utterly natural.

Some fans and critics bemoan the fact that, since the release of "Exile in Guyville," Liz Phair has moved further and further away from her indie-priestess roots. I strongly believe, however, that these are the same fans and critics who would criticize Liz Phair if she only put out albums that mimiced the alt-rock sound established on "Guyville." The easiest thing Liz Phair could have done was stick rigidly to that sound and receive great press for the rest of her career. I admire the fact that she was willing to take a risk with "Liz Phair." And regardless of how the naysayers feel, I think that risk was well worth it.

I suspect that there will be an outrageous backlash against Liz for "selling out" on this album. My answer to those "loyalists" is that Liz's wanting to be a bona-fide star after a decade in the business is her choice to make - not yours. After all, why should less-talenting jokes like Avril Lavigne get paid millions and grace magazine covers while actual songwriters like Liz get relegated to indie status? In my opinion, WhiteChocolateSpaceEgg was a masterpiece - far better than Exile or Whip-Smart. So if you didn't like SpaceEgg, you won't be buying this one anyway. My problem with 'Liz Phair' isn't the production, it's with the many bland choruses. There are some terrific verses in these songs, and some great sounding music, but some of the choruses can be downright hokey. A great example is "Rock Me," in which a promising song is destroyed by an uninspired chorus. What would a Liz Phair CD be without an overtly sexual tune and "H.W.C." delivers in fine fashion. The real hidden gem here is "Little Digger," which will bring tears to your eyes if you have a heart in your chest. For sheer summer candy, I'll take "Why Can't I" over anything on the radio right now. And pay attention to the lyrics, because it's classic Liz through and through. Maybe the sound has changed, but so has she, and so have all of us. This album will grow on you, and it's pretty consistent from start to finish. Overall, this is a slightly above-average album, but it's certainly not bad. Sure, the glossy production renders even the lesser songs radio-friendly, but this is Liz's shot at stardom and as a long-time fan, here's hoping she gets it.