Liz Phair tries to grow up

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Liz Phair

Matador Records 1998

Yes, Liz Phair graduated from Oberlin. If you didn't know that already, now you do. Her first album, Exile in Guyville, was nominated for album of the year by Rolling Stone . The Village Voice named her artist of the year, the first female to be so designated since Janis Joplin! Who else could sing the lyric "every time I see your face I get all wet between my legs / I want to fuck you like a dog / I'll take you home and make you like it" so convincingly?

What happens after that talent gets married and has children? Two albums after Exile in Guyville, we find a 30-something Phair becoming all-grown-up and mature.

She still sings about men - primarily her bad experiences with them - but she also draws on other subject matter that rounds out the album's subject matter, making it more expansive than either Exile or her sophomore Whipsmart.

Phair still keeps the irony and lacerating lyrics that earned her recognition as a musician from the beginning, but she tempers them with a softer, gentler side. "Only Son," "Uncle Alvarez," "Shitloads of Money" and "Perfect World" all show her more-removed view of the world and not necessarily her account of relationships gone wrong. It is a nice change from the overtly bitter Phair of the past.

Her stellar songs, however, still revolve around men. "Johnny Feelgood" and "Polyester Bride" are obvious singles of the album, with straightforward music and sing-a-long lyrics. "Polyester Bride" is charming, though, while "Johnny Feelgood" feels more reminiscent of her first album, where she sings "Never realized I was so dirty and dry / Till he knocked me down, started dragging me around / in the back of his convertible car..."

"Go On Ahead" rings of Phair's married life, and while the lyrics reflect her relationship she makes her feelings so visceral and forthright it stands as one of the most moving songs on the album.

The music on the album is altogether more radio-friendly and pop-oriented than some of her earlier work, yet remains fairly diverse. Phair has noted she's working on her marketability with this album, including an attempt to conquer her stage fright and go on tour.

Production credits are spread through the album as well, which accounts for some of the diversity of sound. Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Bill Berry of R.E.M. contribute to the album, and she's borrowed some music from Scott Litt. Brad Wood, who produced Phair's first two albums, is credited with producing one-fourth of the album, where Litt, Jason Chasko and Phair herself also produce this album.

Liz Phair is growing up, and her music has to have evolved from seven years prior, when Exile made its debut. But this album, like her first, still rings honest. As she sings in one song, "you leave ... knowing my opinion won't make you love me if you don't care to." While Phair may not be as raw and naughty-girl as she was in the past, she has no desire to mask who she is. "It's nice to be liked / But it's better by far to be paid / I know that most of the friends that I have don't really see it that way," and she doesn't expect anyone else to have a problem with that either.