Review by LarryG
4 stars out of 4
This debut, formatted as a response to the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main
Street, is a fascinating self portrait. Exile has the feeling of a bright
young woman's diary. The most immediate impression is made by deliberately
provocative songs like Dance of the Seven Veils, F**k and Run & Flower,
where she sings "I want to be your blow job queen." They show
a youthful urge to shock and establish a distinctive identity and have
the feeling of play acting. On closer inspection, the songs are both
confident and confused, showy and thoughtful. Phair shows her ambivalence
on songs like Canary and Divorce Song. Neither her singing nor her playing
is great but it's always interesting, relaxed and distinctive. The musical
settings are varied but always have a personal feeling whether it's
basically just her and her guitar on songs like Glory and Dance of the
Seven Veils or on likeable loose limbed band rockers like 6'1", Help
Me Mary and Never Said. Exile in Guyville is consistently very listenable,
introducing an interesting new talent who felt she had an interesting
personality to share with the world and was right.
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