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List Price: $10.98 | | Label: EMI Distribution
Salesrank: 1405609
Released: August 11, 1998 |
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| Media: Audio Cassette |
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Editorial Review:
Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville proved that a debutante-attractive woman rocker singing about oral sex could earn the attention of the mostly male rock press corps. But Whitechocolatespaceegg confirms--much as her second album, Whip-Smart, attempted--that Phair can be a pop tunesmith as well. Her songs snap and crackle with giddy doses of '80s new wave, Buddy Holly pop, and Stones rock; her husky voice mostly overcomes its previous, potentially off-putting wobble. And while the clangy "Johnny Feelgood" recalls Phair's earlier tough-sex scenarios, "Polyester Bride," which eavesdrops on a conversation between an advice-giving bartender and a wide-eyed female patron (maybe this season's answer to Semisonic's "Closing Time"), is more demonstrative of Whitechocolatespaceegg's thematic maturation: less titillating but no less womanly. And no less feisty. --Neal Weiss
whitechocolatespaceegg Reviews:
Some great stuff, but not completely satisfying 
2002-06-23 - The three stars are relative to what I think she is capable of, not a comparison of her with her female pop contemporaries (that would be a 4 1/2 star rating). It is undeniable that this is a great-sounding CD. She generously supplies her songs with strong hooks and totally appropriate arrangements, and you can put this CD on loud while cleaning the house and you will enjoy it immensely. No two songs sound alike, and that alone makes the CD sound fresh at each listen. Why only three stars then? Well, from her I expect more than just good hooks and clever turns-of-phrase, since Guyville proved that we could have it all: the hooks, the wit, the insight, and the concept sustained throughout an entire album. The difference between Guyville and WCSE is the difference between a landmark album and just a collection of cool-sounding songs with some deep songs thrown in for "texture". The strongest tracks on here are an evolution of the best material on Guyville: complete snapshots of relationships and mixed feelings such as "Polyester Bride", "Go On Ahead", and "What Makes you Happy". These three songs are all about what she does best as a lyricist: evoking an entire relationship with all its discomfort and complexity in a few anecdotal, conversational lines. If you are the type of listener prone to recognizing yourself in a song, you will identify with the object of these songs as much as with the subject. That is how skilled and fair-minded she is. If every song were done in that confessional style, however, it would be a little heavy for one album. She never makes that mistake, and here there's plenty of variety: the lovely "Uncle Alvarez", the impossibly catchy "Headache", and the poignant (I'm not kidding) "S**tloads of Money". Next to these songs, some of the other material has me scratching my head and wondering "What am I missing?" I am completely puzzled as to why she would include tracks like "Johnny Feelgood" and "Girl's Room", which, lyrically, are lazy knock-offs of her earlier smart-but-insecure-college-girl gems. Facile has no place on a Liz Phair CD, but apparently, she sees some concept value in it. I sure don't. There are other problems too, but with 16 songs, it would be a little tedious to critique each one. Overall, there is too much filler here for this album to stand on its own as an artistic statement. There is a magnificent EP in here somewhere. I am still waiting for Liz to provide the great, lasting follow-up to Guyville that she could write if she put her mind to it.
"edited" -explained 
1998-10-28 - I haven't seen this edited version of the album myself, but the general consesus among Liz's internet fans is that it is exactly the same as the normal whitechocolatespaceegg, except that the track-listing on the cover is altered. As you can see from the tracklisting here, "Sh**tloads" has been substitued in the title for "Shitloads of Money." This slightly changed version of w.c.s.e is also known as the "clean cover" copy of the album. As far as I know, the other graphics and the musical content is still the same, so go ahead and reference the normal whitechocolatespaceegg reviews - it's definitely a 5 star album with broad appeal - I love it, as a longtime fan - and it has appealed to my non-fan friends as well. So whether you have heard Liz before or not (if not, you've been missing out), you will like this album.
