GAMES: GameSpot | GameFAQs MUSIC: Last.fm | MP3.com MOVIES: Metacritic | Movietome TV: TV.com
Home | About Metacritic | About Metascores | What's New | Wireless Versions | Discussion Forums | Advertising Inquiries | Contact Us | RSS
Metacritic.com: We Deal With Criticism
     Help
> Switch to Advanced Search  
Film Video/DVD Music Games TV

Music

Upcoming Release Calendar
All-Time High (And Low) Scores
Best Of 2008
Best Of 2007
Best Of 2006
Best Of 2005
Best Of 2004
Best Of 2003
Best Of 2002
Best Of 2001
Best Of 2000
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Music In Our Forums

 

Upcoming & Recent Releases

sort by name sort by score

64 A Camp
78 Akron/Family
73 Dave Alvin & the Guilty Women
74 Amazing Baby
62 Tori Amos
54 The Answer
74 Anti-Flag
74 Art Brut
71 Au Revoir Simone
65 Zee Avi
70 Bachelorette
77 Bat For Lashes
68 Big Business
76 Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses
67 Black Dice
57 Black Eyed Peas
74 Black Moth Super Rainbow
71 Blank Dogs
65 Booker T.
54 The Boxmasters
65 The Boy Least Likely To
74 Brakes [aka brakesbrakesbrakes]
68 British Sea Power
66 Jeff Buckley
75 Busdriver
59 Busta Rhymes
64 Cage The Elephant
82 Bill Callahan
80 Camera Obscura
68 Cam'ron
79 Casiotone For The Painfully Alone
58 Chester French
82 The Church
61 Ciara
72 Clues
69 The Coathangers
74 Jarvis Cocker
90 Leonard Cohen
70 Elvis Costello
66 Graham Coxon
76 Crippled Black Phoenix
71 The Crocodiles
69 Cryptacize
71 Crystal Antlers
56 The Crystal Method
69 Dananananaykroyd
76 Danger Mouse And Sparklehorse
71 De La Soul
77 Death Cab For Cutie
68 Deer Tick
81 Deerhunter
70 Depeche Mode
78 Dinosaur Jr.
85 Dirty Projectors
86 DJ Quik & Kurupt
77 Doves
68 Dredg
76 Bob Dylan
82 Steve Earle
70 Eels
62 El Grupo Nuevo de Omar Rodriguez Lopez
58 Eminem
60 Empire Of The Sun
54 The Enemy
67 Jeremy Enigk
68 Nathan Fake
85 The Felice Brothers
79 The Field
65 Fink
60 Fischerspooner
77 Flatlanders
62 Flo Rida
64 Franz Ferdinand
77 Gallows
72 Melody Gardot
59 Ginuwine
71 Golden Silvers
61 Gomez
69 Grand Duchy
73 Great Lake Swimmers
59 Great Northern
72 Green Day
86 Grizzly Bear
75 The Handsome Family
69 Ben Harper And Relentless7
75 PJ Harvey & John Parish
66 Heaven & Hell
85 Levon Helm
74 The Hold Steady
79 Patterson Hood
75 Jon Hopkins
82 The Horrors
69 Hanne Hukkelberg
74 Ida Maria
65 Immaculate Machine
75 The Intelligence
76 Iron & Wine
79 Isis
68 It Hugs Back
88 J Dilla aka Jay Dee
61 Jadakiss
86 Japandroids
61 Joan Of Arc
84 Joe Lovano Us Five
72 John Doe & The Sadies
70 Joker's Daughter
62 Jonas Brothers
53 Mike Jones
71 The Juan Maclean
76 Junior Boys
68 Kasabian
74 Diana Krall
56 Lady Sovereign
43 Ben Lee
68 The Lemonheads
76 Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard
77 Lindstrom & Prins Thomas
65 Little Boots
79 The Low Anthem
67 Jason Lytle
75 The Maccabees
76 Magik Markers
80 Major Lazer
70 Malajube
71 Manchester Orchestra
85 Manic Street Preachers
57 Marilyn Manson
66 The Mars Volta
68 Dave Matthews Band
62 Maximo Park
70 Meat Puppets
80 Method Man & Redman
77 Metric
75 Micachu & The Shapes
69 Chrisette Michele
76 Miike Snow
67 Mika Miko
75 Rhett Miller
49 Mims
72 Mr. Lif
72 Moby
78 Moderat
70 Mandy Moore
80 Mos Def
70 Bob Mould
74 Nadja
72 New York Dolls
72 Nite Jewel
67 NOFX
76 Noisettes
60 Paolo Nutini
67 Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band
74 Papercuts
76 Passion Pit
74 Peaches
71 Pet Shop Boys
68 Peter Bjorn And John
82 Phoenix
76 Pink Mountaintops
63 Placebo
66 Pomegranates
64 Iggy Pop
67 Prefuse 73
81 Ramblin' Jack Elliott
76 Rancid
54 Rascal Flatts
68 Lionel Richie
77 Alasdair Roberts
73 Rick Ross
55 Asher Roth
72 Savath & Savalas
61 Polly Scattergood
65 The Shortwave Set
60 Shout Out Out Out Out
66 Silversun Pickups
85 Todd Snider
78 Sonic Youth
72 The Soundcarriers
61 The Sounds
74 Regina Spektor
63 Spinal Tap
65 Spinnerette
81 St. Vincent
59 Still Flyin'
58 Street Sweeper Social Club
87 Sunn O)))
82 Sunset Rubdown
84 Super Furry Animals
74 Richard Swift
78 Taking Back Sunday
85 Tanya Morgan
81 Otis Taylor
71 Telekinesis
70 Telepathe
80 Thee Oh Sees
79 The Thermals
74 Rob Thomas
64 Thunderheist
74 Tiga
57 Tinted Windows
72 Tortoise
82 Allen Toussaint
71 Trembling Bells
69 Two Fingers
84 UGK
68 Keith Urban
71 John Vanderslice
85 The Vaselines
74 The Veils
73 Viva Voce
63 Patrick Watson
79 White Denim
77 White Rabbits
57 The Whitest Boy Alive
74 Wilco
80 Wildbirds & Peacedrums
78 Wolves In The Throne Room
65 The Wooden Birds
67 Wooden Shjips
81 Yeah Yeah Yeahs
70 Pete Yorn
93 Neil Young
60 Neil Young
72 Yusuf

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

 



Printer-Friendly Version Email This Page Discuss In Our Forums

The Mysterious Production Of Eggs
by Andrew Bird

Andrew Bird reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 85 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
9.4 out of 10
based on 21 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 83 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

You don't see many musicians described as a "whistler" but Chicago's Andrew Bird (who is also a singer-songwriter, guitarist, and originally, a violinist) fits the bill. This is his fifth release (and second for Ani DiFranco's record label), which finds him backed by several members of his group Bowl Of Fire.

LABEL: Righteous Babe
RELEASE DATE: 08 February 2005
DISCS: 1 disc
GENRE(S): Indie, Rock

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

90
All Music Guide
An utterly mesmerizing and magnetic album, almost unfair in how incredibly ambitious and impressively pulled off the whole thing is.
Read Full Review
90
Billboard
Taking all the best parts of Jeff Buckley, Devandra Barnhart and Rufus Wainwright, Bird can be noisy, charming, frivolous, haunting and playful all at once.
Read Full Review
90
Lost At Sea
The bar has been raised for 2005.
Read Full Review
90
Delusions of Adequacy
Genre mash-ups this ambitious aren’t easy to come by; albums that accomplish that goal with the effortless grace of Eggs are even rarer.
Read Full Review
90
Paste Magazine
An eminently pleasurable album that reveals more with each spin. [Apr/May 2005, p.148]
90
Trouser Press
The production is lush and detailed but the songs are strong enough to withstand all the fuss, making this a most ambitious and accomplished record.
Read Full Review
90
Magnet
What makes the album exceptional is its thematic unity and storybook approach. [#67, p.85]
83
Pitchfork
The Mysterious Production of Eggs might wrestle with unsavory topics, but it does so with a shrug of the shoulders, a wry smile, and a heart full of awe-inspiring song.
Read Full Review
83
Stylus Magazine
It’s hard to say that Andrew Bird is anything but a master-songwriter, capable of penning a song for any sort of occasion. It was the hardest challenge, however, for Bird himself to understand this power and to control it. He’s finally tamed that quivering urge and, in the process released one really long perfect moment in adult contemporary pop.
Read Full Review
83
cokemachineglow
Although The Mysterious Production of Eggs lacks the gleeful variety of Swimming Hour, it is obvious that Bird has created his most cohesive statement to date.
Read Full Review
83
Entertainment Weekly
Peaks again and again. [11 Feb 2005, p.63]
80
PopMatters
It's a densely melodic place composed of layered instruments so intricately intertwined with each other and Bird's lyrics that repeated listenings inevitably reveal a hidden but grandiose vision of what a pop record can be.
Read Full Review
80
The Onion (A.V. Club)
He collides substances that shouldn't mix to create a sound that not only survives the impact, but thrives in the aftermath.
Read Full Review
80
Playlouder
'The Mysterious Production of Eggs' is unmalicious, delicious classical indie with enough originality to mark it apart, and what it lacks in jaw dropping charisma it somehow makes up for with songwriting and instrumentation of the highest order.
Read Full Review
80
Uncut
Folk songs given a rarefied air by his elegant wordplay and multi-tracked chamber strings. [Mar 2005, p.108]
80
Tiny Mix Tapes
An incredibly compelling collection of inventive folk-tinged melodies.
Read Full Review
80
Junkmedia
Possessing a richly elastic set of vocal chords, Bird is in league with such silver-throated singers as Jeff Buckley and Rufus Wainwright, but he rarely if ever over-emotes, a common criticism leveled at Buckley and Wainwright.
Read Full Review
80
Almost Cool
Bird seems to have really reached a stride in terms of his overall sound and the result is one of my favorite albums of the year so far.
Read Full Review
75
Village Voice (Consumer Guide)
He shows off discreetly, underplaying his vocal chops and musical command, even his familiarity with scientific arcana--nay, his intelligence itself.... But discretion exacts a price in identity, clarity, and meaning.
Read Full Review
70
Q Magazine
Given time and a little effort, [his songs] begin to cast their own rewarding chamber-pop spell. [Mar 2005, p.98]
68
ShakingThrough.net
Eggs fails to engage with the unpredictable inventiveness of Swimming Hour, and lacks the skillful brevity of Weather Systems.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this album is 9.4 (out of 10) based on 83 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Joe G gave it a10:
Baroque pop, wIth Joanna Newsom, Rufus Wainwright and Sufjan Stevens is in fine shape and AB is up with the best of them. The ballads are sweet and sensual, while the uptempo numbers have these wonderfully clever twists and turns in the music that make most artists seem mundane. Add to that AB's handsome and limber voice, and Nora O'Connor's perfectly matched harmonies. If there's a better whistler or violinist in pop music, I'd love to here them.

martin c gave it a10:
This may sound odd, but Andrew Bird rekindled my passion in music with this album. I altogether gave up looking for any new artists being burned so many time by 1 hit CD's, but I ran into this album while traveling, and fell in love with every track on this album. The feel, the tempo, the playfullness is what makes these songs superior to just about any new artist out there today!

Daniel K gave it a10:
Genius.

Morgan G gave it a9:
A great laid-back album. This is something you would listen to on a nice summer day while sitting on your porch. Some of the lyrics are convoluted and senselss in Bird's efforts to rhyme, but the songs aren't meant to be taken seriously. A little more energy would've helped. He has a very sexy voice.

I give this the bird gave it a4:
This is almost as bad as the Decemberists. Completely lacking in genuine emotional intensity. Whiney vocals with pretentious, uninteresting lyrics. Enough with the whistling already. Save your money or buy a Nick Cave record.

Alex W gave it a10:
Please marry me, Andrew Bird.

R G gave it a10:
i bought the cd a week before i was going to go see him live. Two experiences are totally different but the core of his music stays the same. brilliant lyricist, obsessed with science and he can play any instrument. i cannot get enough of this album

Read more user comments...

Discuss this album in our forums

Return to top of page
Home | FILM | DVD/VIDEO | MUSIC | GAMES | TV | Forums | About Metacritic metacritic.com

Popular on CBS sites: iPhone 3G | Fantasy Football | Moneywatch | Antivirus Software | Recipes | E3 2009

About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use