Miss Lucy by Liz Phair | Song Review
In celebration of Exile in Guyville’s 30th Anniversary, Liz treats us with a unreleased gem.
Recently, Liz Phair announced that she would be hitting the road again to both celebrate the 30th anniversary of and perform (in its entirety) her iconic debut album Exile in Guyville. The record, a song by song response to The Rolling Stones Exile on Main Street, solidified Phair’s status as the indie queen of the 90s. Liz has teased many unreleased gems from these recording sessions. For the album’s 20th anniversary, she released studio version’s of prior Girly-sound staples “Ant in Alaska” and her reinvention of “Wild Thing” alongside the prior unreleased “Say You” and “Instrumentals”. For the 25th anniversary, we finally got an official release of the fan sought after Girly-sound tapes alongside the record. Now, she has officially dropped another hidden Exile recording of the Girly-sound song “Miss Lucy”.
The song is a subversive take on the schoolyard classic known by both “Miss Susie” or “Miss Lucy”. This new version beautifully highlights Phair’s skills on the guitar. It’s both mirky and moody in a way that brings to mind the dinginess of a college party. Another fantastic aspect of the song is Liz’s low register. It’s almost hypnotic against the rhythm of her guitar work. My favorite moment comes in the breathy held delivery of the final lines, “And the boys and the boys, they are fucking And the girls and the girls, they are fucking/ And the girls and the boys, they are fucking/ In the dark.” Liz’s label Matador stated in the press release on the song that it was originally slated to be on the album, but was shelved in favor for one of her most iconic tracks “Flower”.
I highly recommend giving this song a listen if you are a fan of Liz’s earlier works. She will begin her tour in November 2023. You can also download Miss Lucy on Bandcamp or stream it on Spotify or Apple Music. I can’t stop listening to this take on a Girly-sound classic.
My overall rating: 10 out of 10.
