Why is this classified as an EP, I ask you? It is more full of ideas, beauty, pathos, experimentation, and yes, length, than many releases nowadays. I have loved all of Sufjan Steven's work ever since picking up Seven Swans years ago (though Sun and Rabbit are not quite as quality filled, in my opinion), but even I did not expect the effect this cd would have on me. Being an older music fan, longer songs have always appealed to me (yeah, my prog love is showing), and this cd is stuffed with them. But, they never wear on me, I never grow bored...I just want to put on the headphones and tune the world out. I have listened to his cd so many times since buying it, I cannot even begin to count...sometimes several times in a row.

An added bonus is having my 10 year old daughter, after overhearing it in my studio, becoming just as attached to the cd as I am (and even branching out into Simon and Garfunkel because of the repeated homage in one of the songs). After exposing her to more Stevens, she is probably the only 10 year old repeatedly listening to a beautiful song about a serial killer (John Wayne Gacey, from the Illinois album). Is that a good thing? I think it is.

This is the music I want to soothe me on my deathbed.

i know. who cares about my personal listening history with sufjan stevens...? somehow, it seems relevant to me. i bought "seven swans" upon its release all those years ago. i played it; i liked it. i liked some of it a lot. i was not driven to purchase his other releases. what did i care about michigan and illinois(e)? then i saw that some magazine had rated "the age of adz" as the album of the year. i was curious. i bought it. i thought, "this guy is either a genius or the biggest show-off of all time." after a few more listens, i was flabbergasted and was forcing people to listen. i had to know if others heard what i heard....if they would be as overwhelmed as i was... needless to say, it didn't take me long to go out and get "illinoise", "michigan", "enjoy your rabbit", "the avalanche", "a sun came", and, finally, "all delighted people." (i have the christmas set on order.) (the "bqe" will be next. somehow i know it.)

i see the number of reviews some of sufjan stevens' albums have received, and i was shocked to see how few reviews have been written about "all delighted people."

i know i've played it fifty times in the past few weeks. i wonder if people are avoiding it because of it being labelled an ep. it's over an hour of incredible, intense, beautiful, heart-crushing, unbelievable music. i think, with this one, i've answered my own question. he may be a show-off....he MAY be, but, without a doubt, something is going on here. this man is shocking in his ambition...and he pulls it all off. i am astonished; i find myself listening in disbelief. occasionally i have flashes of certain phases of todd rundgren; at other times, i am reminded of van dyke parks' "song cycle," but, ultimately, this is music that, as far as i know, could only have been created by sufjan stevens.

i haven't been this musically obsessed in a long time, and it feels really good. :-)

throughout this intense avalanche of his music, "all delighted people" seems to be my favorite. i wonder how different the listening experience would have been if i had listened to each one upon its release instead of bombarding myself with all of it pretty much all at once. for one thing, i might be less exhausted from the intensity.

i vote "genius."

To call "All Delighted People" an e.p. is a bit of a misnomer. Since the music clocks in at over 60 minutes - much longer than many "full length" recordings (l.p.'s?) - it must simply refer to the relatively few number of tracks (by Sufjan's standards). Many of us probably expected Sufjan to spend the rest of his life finishing his promising "50 States" project. It's obvious by now, that aint happenin'. But that is no cause for disappointment. Anyone familiar with Sufjan's music knows that the only thing you can expect from him is for him to defy expectations, anyway. This latest installment is no exception. While it steps back from the edgy, purely instrumental offering of The B.Q.E., it is easy to see the musical ancestry from that recording to this. What strikes me more than anything on "All Delighted People" is Sufjan's obvious vocal development since his last vocal offering. Known for his soft, plaintively beautiful vocals, Sufjan actually sounds like he is straining himself to reach new heights on this recording. Combined with his "everything-including-the-kitchen-sink musical approach, the results are exciting (not always the first adjective that comes to mind in describing his music), pleasing and impressive. Sufjan is always forging new territory creatively, so you can be assured you won't hear anything else quite like this all year.

Plucks the heart strings like none other; yes, Sufjan has evolved, but he hasn't lost anything of his ability to create the most beautiful, emotive music to be found anywhere. "From the mouth of Gabriel" and "The Owl and the Tanager" are ridiculously amazing songs.

I dont always enjoy everything that Sufjan performs, and I'm STILL not on board with the ADZ album, cos of the electronica is harsh, and not the most original sound right now either. However, Michigan, Illinois, A Sun Game, became favorite albums for me...at least most of the songs were hits on my stereo. ALL DELIGHTED PEOPLE ranks as a true breakthru from MY perspective. (OK, its not a symphony with a film, but it IS filled with top notch songs, filled with Sufjan's amazing music.) Buy this album for two songs, DJOHARIAH, a 17 minute song dedicated to Sufjan's sister, and the "classic rock" version of ALL DELIGHTED PEOPLE. Actually, I downloaded DJOHARIAH and listened to it so much, i bought the whole "EP". While most of the songs have the common folk elements in much of his music, the choirs, the banjo, the religious imagery in the lyrics, the post rock song structures, etc, there are also the rock songs, that truly stand out. FROM THE MOUTH OF GABRIEL ranks as the best of the folk songs, with little bits of electronica seeping in, like in many areas of the album. However, its those two "ROCK" songs that place this title as a VERY important work in his repetoire. DJOHARIAH works, like those long, trippy rock songs, that incessantly build, as some total freakout guitar playing screams on, from the late 60s/early 70s. (PICTURE: the guitar solo from FUNKADELIC's MAGGOT BRAIN meets FRANK ZAPPA's HOT RATS.) Once more, Mr. STevens assimulates a style and transcends it concurrently. NOTHING about this song is dated, unlike some psychedelic styles that hung on from the Classic Rock period. Four chords, wordless voices, and a TOTAL FREAK OUT guitar solo that just keeps coming at you, and coming at you, while DJOHARIAH is repeated like a mantra guarenteed to produce musical transcendance. Maybe 8 or 9 minutes of this incredible build up during the song, with the guitar solo just growing more insane, until the tension breaks, and the song changes gears, for a few verses to discuss the situation at hand. After we find out what's up with Sufjan's sister, we go back to the empowering blow out guitar solo, while EVERYTHING builds up around it, right to a bottomless abyss of psychedelic soundscapes. Those 17 minutes of song glide past timelessly, and takes the breath away. WHen the song ends, after your mind returns, your first thought might be "OH, it ended TOO SOON!", which is exactly what a 17 minute song SHOULD do. The other BIG NUMBER is ALL DELIGHTED PEOPLE (I enjoy the CLASSIC ROCK version). That song begins in a folk vein, vocals and banjo, with little rock instrumentation. The second verse contains horn charts, rhythm section of bass and drums, and the backing vocals. Again, this song's textures build, and contain a wonderful horn chart solo. Interestingly, Simon and Garfunkel's SONG OF SILENCE gets quoted during the song's lyrics repeatedly. Then, the last two minutes of ALL DELIGHTED PEOPLE has that FREAK OUT guitar solo, like what's on Djoriah, but overdubbed with a sonic blast of ambient, atonal electronica.

If you are a Sufjan Steven's fan, I dont think you can go wrong with this album. Personally, I find it closer to his "classic" style from the state albums, especially with the way his textures work, from thick to thin on the turn of a dime. For his long term fans, its the LONG composistion itself, and the freak out guitar solos, that mark this album as unique, and a step beyond Sufjan's music previous to this album. (Plus, this album points the direction he took towards the electronica in ADZ.) So, dont think of ALL DELIGHTED PEOPLE as a minor piece, an "EP". The album version of this "EP" is two records long! Between the melodic folk songs, and the psychedelic art rock experiment dedicated Sufjan's sister Djorahiah as a single mother, you will be, DEFINATELY WILL BE, BLOWN AWAY.