Sufjan Stevens is brilliant. This is the first thing I noticed about his album, "Illinois." What he has created here is a masterpiece of sound, history, and emotion. Perhaps the best way to describe many of his best songs is as the sound of a country orchestra. Stevens has a penchant for guitar and banjo and fiddle, but unlike their traditional uses, which call for improvisation, Stevens has written out parts for each of these instruments. A prime example of this can be found on the song, "Jacksonville," in which violins and guitar and banjo weave in and around one another, providing real texture to the music. At the same time, he definitely has a feel for pop music, as you can hear the poppy synth in the song, "Chicago."

Stevens is not just a master of music; he is a student of history. The album, as the name suggests, is all about the state of Illinois. Stevens, who did part of his growing up there, always finds ways to give the past new meaning in the face of today. For example, "Casimir Pulaski Day," tells the story of a person dying on a holiday named after a Polish soldier for the Americans during the revolutionary war. He has really dug into Illinois here, and writes about such little known events as UFO sightings, and the fact that Superman was created in Chicago. I certainly hope he makes a CD about the state I live in, that I might rethink it in my mind as I have the state of Illinois.