Two and half years after the release of his masterpiece Carrie & Lowell, Sufjan Stevens offers a follow-up consisting of alternative takes, remixes and demos. Centred around the death of his mother in a resolutely folk mood, the American songwriter returns to a sort of source on this record which he tries here to rub out in order to take things forward into slightly more experimental and electronic territory. The exercise is sometimes a little redundant (like on Death With Dignity whose Helado Negro Remix does away with the original’s virginal beauty) and at other times really quite stunning (with a new lease of life for Exploding Whale thanks to the Doveman Remix). Those left cold or frustrated by the remixes will still stumble across the unreleased song Wallowa Lake Monster. Ultimately, Greatest Gift is fundamentally for Sufjan Stevens fans or completists. © MD/Qobuz