I Am a Bird Now
| I Am a Bird Now | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Antony and the Johnsons | ||||
| Released | February 1, 2005 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 35:27 | |||
| Label | Secretly Canadian | |||
| Producer | Anohni | |||
| Antony and the Johnsons chronology | ||||
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| Singles from I Am a Bird Now | ||||
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I Am a Bird Now is the second album by New York City band Antony and the Johnsons. It won the Mercury Prize on September 6, 2005. After winning the prize, the album shot up the UK albums chart from #135 to #16 in one week, the biggest jump in the history of the Mercury Music Prize.[2] As of September 2011, UK sales stand at 220,000 copies.[3]
The album features guest appearances by Rufus Wainwright ("What Can I Do?"), Devendra Banhart, Joan Wasser and by lead singer Anohni's childhood heroes Boy George and Lou Reed.[4] The cover is a photograph by Peter Hujar of Warhol Superstar Candy Darling on her deathbed (aptly titled "Candy Darling on Her Deathbed").[5]
Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 88/100[6] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [7] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+[8] |
| The Guardian | [9] |
| Los Angeles Times |  [10] |
| NME | 7/10[11] |
| Pitchfork Media | 8.6/10[12] |
| Q | [13] |
| Rolling Stone | [14] |
| Spin | A−[15] |
| The Village Voice | B−[16] |
I Am a Bird Now received very positive reviews. On the review aggregate site Metacritic, the album has a score of 88 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim."[6]
Drowned in Sound's Anthony Gibbons gave the album a score of 10/10, writing "It's not an exaggeration. This isn't hype. I Am A Bird Now is a beautiful, emotive, glorious, and sometimes sinister album that will top many a critic's list come the end-of-year polls, and justifiably so."[17] Tiny Mix Tapes also gave the album a perfect score, writing "This music grabs a hold of you and doesn't let go. It feels timeless and gorgeous and bigger than life. It may not be 'soul' in the strict, music appreciation 101 sense, but it could make even the most jaded atheist approach a metaphysical regard... I'd put on my critic's cap and dive into scrutiny, but I am too enraptured by this artist's music."[18] Pitchfork Media's Brandon Stosuy praised the vocals, writing "The ultimate draw is Antony's voice, and within the first two seconds of the album, it should be very clear to even the most unaware newbies that Antony has an amazing Nina Simone/Brian Ferry/Jimmy Scott vibrato, a multi-octave siren that would sound painfully lovely no matter what he was saying."[12]
The album has appeared on several end of year lists. Mojo named I Am a Bird Now the best album of 2005.[19] Pitchfork Media ranked the album #5 on its list of the top 50 albums of 2005.[20] On the same website, the track "Hope There's Someone" was ranked #28 on their list of the Top 500 Songs of the 2000s and was selected as 2005's best single.[21][22]
Track listing
All tracks written by Anohni.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hope There's Someone" | 4:21 |
| 2. | "My Lady Story" | 3:33 |
| 3. | "For Today I Am a Boy" | 2:36 |
| 4. | "Man Is the Baby" | 4:09 |
| 5. | "You Are My Sister" | 3:59 |
| 6. | "What Can I Do?" | 1:40 |
| 7. | "Fistful of Love" | 5:52 |
| 8. | "Spiralling" | 4:25 |
| 9. | "Free at Last" | 1:36 |
| 10. | "Bird Gerhl" | 3:14 |
Personnel
The following people contributed to I Am a Bird Now:[4][5]
Antony and the Johnsons
- Anohni – organ, piano, vocals
- Julia Kent – cello
- Todd Cohen aka Tahrah Cohen – drums
- Jeff Longston – bass
- Maxim Moston – violin
- Doug Wieselman – saxophone
Additional personnel
- Devendra Banhart – guitar (Track 5), vocals (Track 8)
- Steve Bernstein – horn
- John Bollinger - drums (Track 5)
- Keith Bonner - flute
- Boy George – vocals (Track 5)
- Parker Kindred - drums (Track 7)
- Danielle Farina - viola (Tracks 2,9)
- Jason Hart – piano (Track 6)
- Rainy Orteca - bass (Track 7)
- Lou Reed – guitar and vocals (Track 7)
- Paul Shapiro – horn
- Rufus Wainwright – vocals (Track 6)
- Joan Wasser – viola
- Julia Yasuda - Morse Code, vocals (Track 9)
- Emery Dobyns - Engineer and mixer.
Charts
Album
| Chart (2005) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart | 16[23] |
| Austrian Album Charts | 71[24] |
| Belgium Album Charts | 16[24] |
| Danish Album Charts | 38[24] |
| French Album Charts | 45[24] |
| Netherland Album Charts | 58[24] |
| Norwegian VG-lista | 4[24] |
| Swedish Album Charts | 22[24] |
Singles
| Year | Song | Peak positions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [23] | |||||||
| 2005 | "Hope There's Someone" | 44 | |||||
| 2005 | "You Are My Sister" | 39 | |||||
References
- ↑ "100 Best Albums of the 2000s". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ↑ Antony & The Johnsons album sales soar. NME. 13 September 2005. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
- ↑ "Mercury Prize Winners - The Guardian Google spreadsheet". Retrieved 2012-03-06.
- 1 2 Antony And The Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now. Discogs. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
- 1 2 I Am a Bird Now - Credits. Allmusic. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
- 1 2 "Reviews for I Am a Bird Now by Antony and the Johnsons". Metacritic. Retrieved July 3, 2011.
- ↑ Monger, James Christopher. "I Am a Bird Now – Antony and the Johnsons". AllMusic. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
- ↑ Feliciano, Kristina (January 31, 2005). "I Am a Bird Now". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
- ↑ Clarke, Betty (March 11, 2005). "CD: Antony and the Johnsons, I Am a Bird Now". The Guardian. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
- ↑ Cromelin, Richard (March 20, 2005). "It's a compelling cabaret, old chum". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
- ↑ "I Am a Bird Now". NME: 58. March 12, 2005.
- 1 2 Stosuy, Brandon (February 10, 2005). "Antony and the Johnsons: I Am a Bird Now". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
- ↑ "I Am a Bird Now". Q: 118. April 2005.
- ↑ Fricke, David (February 10, 2005). "I'm A Bird Now: Antony and the Johnsons". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 8, 2009. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
- ↑ "Breakdown". Spin. 21 (3): 92. March 2005. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
- ↑ Christgau, Robert (January 10, 2006). "Consumer Guide: Extraordinary Machines". The Village Voice. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
- ↑ Gibbons, Anthony (May 31, 2005). "Album Review: Antony And The Johnsons – I Am a Bird Now". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
- ↑ Willcoma (December 14, 2006). "Antony & The Johnsons – I Am a Bird Now". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
- ↑ Mojo End Of year Lists. Rocklist.net. Retrieved 3 July 2011
- ↑ Pitchfork: Staff. Top 50 Albums of 2005. Pitchfork Media. 31 December 2005. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
- ↑ Pitchfork Staff. The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s: 50-21. Pitchfork Media. 20 August 2009. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
- ↑ Pitchfork Staff. Top 50 Singles of 2005. Pitchfork Media. 30 December 2005. Retrieved 3 July 2011
- 1 2 "ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS - The Official Charts Company". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Antony And the Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now - australiancharts.com". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
External links
- I Am A Bird Now (1 Feb 2005, Secretly Canadian)<
/sub> at Discogs - I Am A Bird Now statistics and tagging at Last.FM
- I Am A Bird Now press release at Secretly Canadian