 Reviewers of Illinois have compared Stevens ' style to Steve Reich , Vince <unk> , the <unk> <unk> , Neil Young , Nick Drake , and Death <unk> for <unk> . Stevens ' use of large orchestral arrangements in his music — much of it played by himself through the use of multi @-@ track recording — has been noted by several reviewers . Rolling Stone summarized the musical influences of Illinois , saying " the music draws from high school marching bands , show tunes and ambient electronics ; we can suspect Steve Reich 's Music for 18 Musicians is an oft @-@ played record in the Stevens household , since he loves to echo it in his long instrumental passages . " A review in The A.V. Club referred to some of the vocal work as " <unk> <unk> <unk> " , but found Stevens ' music overall to be " highly developed " . The song " Come On ! Feel the Illinoise ! " uses a saxophone part from " Close to Me " by The Cure . 
