Review - Sufjan Stevens - The Lonely Man Of Winter

Thanks to fellow blogger Mimi, I was hip to a unique once-in-a-lifetime listening party experience. In a nutshell, Alec Duffy won a contest last year that in turn gave him ownership rights of a new never before heard Sufjan Stevens song, entitled "Lonely Man of Winter." You can read his story in full here.

In deciding what to do with his new found treasure, Duffy entertained simply uploading it to the Sufjan fan site so everyone could have it for free. He also debated selling it in some capacity and even fashioning a stage show around the tune. In the end, in an attempt to repair the social ineptitude caused by the Internet and aptly named "social" networking sites, and the over-availability of music on the net, he decided to invite total strangers - 4 at a time - to partake in an intimate affair aimed at not only allowing fans to experience the tune in a semblance of emotional seclusion, but to rehabilitate and reestablish real life connections between those with similar musical tastes.

I was one of those people. yay! My review after the jump.

Arriving at the apartment, I was greeted by Mr. Duffy and David Molloy, musical director for their theater group, Hoi Polloi, and was offered tea, cookies and a comfy seat on a couch next to the other attendees. We talked for a bit about how we got into Sufjan and music in general as well as who were are. As one of the guests mentioned, after saying how she and her friend were tight on time and had to leave soon, no one had expected this event to actually be fun in and of itself. Rather, we'd enter, listen, and leave. But you did feel a sense of belonging, and at the end of the night I think we were all a little hesitant to leave. But you, reader, care not for these warm and fuzzy details. What about the TUNE?

In one word: Blissful.

Well... I think I can give you more than one. Though a winter themed tune, the song actually has an autumn like feel. This leads me to think that the context of the song is that first night of winter chill, when crisp autumn frosts and the crunchy leaves of October are quickly a memory, replaced by December's gloom and slush.

I promised our hosts I wouldn't write any lyrics and will only tell you that the song is filled to the brim with question after question, and even though there are instances of lyrical suppositions, you're left feeling the need for another song to follow with all the answers.

The tune begins in book Sufjan fashion and never strays, only in that Sufjan himself sings a number of harmonic backing vocals, a rarity if my memory of his catalogue serves me correct. A solo piano steps into frame and is quickly joined by a pair of lovely "Casimir Pulaski/The Predatory Wasp..." styled acoustic guitars. Like dancers the instruments spin around one another fashioning a net for Sufjan's erudite and wordy poetry we've all become acquainted with. The song continues to dense up and subsequently loosen itself in cycles, with vocals, guitar and piano trading stereo field positions, like snowflakes slaloming to the ground.The song concludes with a beautiful solo piano outro, a chance for Sufjan to show off the fact that he is not only a prolific lyricist but also a competent and talented composer/musician.

Maybe only due to my familiarity with his material, the melody sometimes ventures into thematic areas similar to his earlier works. This only makes it difficult to pinpoint at which point in time Sufjan wrote this delightful ditty.

As Mimi pointed out, as to prevent fans from thinking that Sufjan tossed a fan a song destined for the junk pile, it should be stated outright that this tune can and will stand up to the rest of his catalogue, easily surpassing many to take up a comfortable place in my Top 5.

Kudos Alec and David for allowing me the privilege to experience this.