The Greatest Gift (styled The Greatest Gift Mixtape – Outtakes, Remixes & Demos from Carrie & Lowell) is a mixtape by Sufjan Stevens consisting of outtakes and unreleased tracks from Stevens' 2015 release, Carrie & Lowell.

The Greatest Gift
A black-and-white photo of two children wearing 3-D glasses
Mixtape by
ReleasedNovember 24, 2017 (2017-11-24)
Length48:24
LabelAsthmatic Kitty
ProducerSufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens chronology
Planetarium
(2017)
The Greatest Gift
(2017)
The Decalogue
(2019)

Critical reception

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The mixtape received mostly positive reviews upon release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from music critics, the album has received an average score of 71, indicating "generally favorable reviews", based on 15 reviews.[1] Pitchfork Media gave the album a score of 7.2 out of 10, stating "Though too scattered to stand alone, the various demos and remixes culled from Carrie & Lowell add new context and dimension to Sufjan Stevens’ masterful album."[2]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic71/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
Pitchfork          [2]
The Observer     [3]
Paste          [4]
Clash8/10[5]
Drowned in Sound          [6]
The Independent     [7]
London Evening Standard[8]4/5[8]
The Guardian3/5[9]
Under the Radar          [10]

Track listing

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All songs written by Sufjan Stevens.

  1. "Wallowa Lake Monster" – 6:52
  2. "Drawn to the Blood" (Sufjan Stevens Remix) – 5:28
  3. "Death with Dignity" (Helado Negro Remix) – 4:08
  4. "John My Beloved" (iPhone Demo) – 4:17
  5. "Drawn to the Blood" (Fingerpicking Remix) – 2:01
  6. "The Greatest Gift" – 1:51
  7. "Exploding Whale" (Doveman Remix) – 5:26
  8. "All of Me Wants All of You" (Helado Negro Remix) – 3:24
  9. "Fourth of July" (900X Remix) – 6:48
  10. "The Hidden River of My Life" – 4:04
  11. "City of Roses" – 2:14
  12. "Carrie & Lowell" (iPhone Demo) – 1:52 – Digital exclusive / Hidden track on CD

Charts

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Chart (2017) Peak
position
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)[11] 10
US Folk Albums (Billboard)[12] 10
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[13] 23

References

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  1. ^ a b "The Greatest Gift by Sufjan Stevens". Metacritic. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  2. ^ a b Geffen, Sasha. "Sufjan Stevens: The Greatest Gift". Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  3. ^ Empire, Kitty. "Sufjan Stevens: The Greatest Gift review – unreleased Carrie and Lowell gems". Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  4. ^ Salmon, Ben. "Sufjan Stevens: The Greatest Gift Review". Paste. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  5. ^ Wasserman, Milo. "Sufjan Stevens - The Greatest Gift". Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  6. ^ Clarke, Jude. "Sufjan Stevens: The Greatest Gift". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 7 December 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  7. ^ Gill, Andy. "Album reviews: Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Bjork, and more". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-06-18. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  8. ^ a b Cornwell, Jane. "Albums of the week: Bjork, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds and The Staves". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  9. ^ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben. "Sufjan Stevens: The Greatest Gift review – upbeat return to whimsical ways". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  10. ^ Steinberg, Charles. "Sufjan Stevens: The Greatest Gift". Under the Radar. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  11. ^ "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. December 4, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  12. ^ "Sufjan Stevens Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  13. ^ "Sufjan Stevens Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 30, 2021.