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Zero 7
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
The Mysterious Production Of Eggs
Universal acclaim
Based on 21 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 83 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Righteous Babe
Release Date: 08 February 2005
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Indie, Rock
Summary
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.
Also By This Artist: Armchair Apocrypha Noble Beast
Also On The Web: Official Artist Site
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...
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 >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 >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 >Paste Magazine
An eminently pleasurable album that reveals more with each spin. [Apr/May 2005, p.148]
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 >Magnet
What makes the album exceptional is its thematic unity and storybook approach. [#67, p.85]
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 >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 >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 >Entertainment Weekly
Peaks again and again. [11 Feb 2005, p.63]
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 >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 >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 >Uncut
Folk songs given a rarefied air by his elegant wordplay and multi-tracked chamber strings. [Mar 2005, p.108]
Tiny Mix Tapes
An incredibly compelling collection of inventive folk-tinged melodies.
Read Full Review >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 >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 >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 >Q Magazine
Given time and a little effort, [his songs] begin to cast their own rewarding chamber-pop spell. [Mar 2005, p.98]
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
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
