The Greatest Gift (mixtape)

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
Mixtape by Sufjan Stevens
Released	November 24, 2017 (2017-11-24)
Length	48:24
Label	Asthmatic Kitty
Producer	Sufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens chronology
Planetarium (2017) The Greatest Gift (2017) The Decalogue (2019)

Critical reception

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
Source	Rating
Metacritic	71/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Pitchfork	[2]
The Observer	[3]
Paste	[4]
Clash	8/10[5]
Drowned in Sound	[6]
The Independent	[7]
London Evening Standard[8]	4/5[8]
The Guardian	3/5[9]
Under the Radar	[10]

Track listing

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

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

References

1. "The Greatest Gift by Sufjan Stevens". Metacritic. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
2. 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. 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.