Beautiful & gorgeous...:)

best album of the year... sublime is the word, absolutely overwhelming, beautiful, haunting and poweful

Don't know what everyone is getting excited about?? This idiot is almost as folorn and self indulgent as damien rice!!!!! Can someone tell me what is so good about him??

simply astonishing!!!

A very beautiful way of presenting unconventional and often wrongly overlooked topics

Best male voice I've heard since Jeff Buckley. Less swooping than Jeff, but more lovely; amazing balance to have such naked emotion without falling into excess a la Meatloaf and other overwrought big voiced singers.

Very good album, as much despite of as because of yr man Anthony's voice. He can sing when he wants to, but often he puts a rather melodramatic vibrato on which begins to grate after the third listen. Also, four of the tracks have an utterly superfluous guest star, which seems like a rather cynical attempt to boost sales. 'Hey, if you like Lou Reed, you'll like what Lou Reed likes!!!'. Still, the actual music is pretty damn good, and the album is definitely worth a listen. I'm glad this pipped The Kaiser Chiefs to the prize, because whilst this album is a little overrated, their album is ridiculously overrated.… Expand

Tiny Tim is alive and well, and scraping his nails down a chalkboard! I refuse to believe this music isn't a prank of some kind.

Hoping beyond hope that this album wasn't WEIRD or BIZARRE or HERMAPHRODITIC or AN INSULT TO THE KAISER CHIEFS (because what, after all, could possibly be worse than that) I engaged an open mind and found an original, moving new sound. You can do it too maybe, unless your box of convention interferes with your ability to hear and feel.

Definately the most beautiful album of 05. Antony's voice is angelic, and the music is just intoxicating. Keep up the good work Antony!

Amazing album. Great guests. Tender and sweet. Just look at the album cover.

A great record. More positive than his first. A masterpiece.

i think this album is kinda paralyzing in its beauty

A laughably bad disc. Next to M.I.A., this is the most overrated album of the year! The guy sounds like Tiny Tim. I simply can't believe this is getting good word of mouth. Simply awful.

This is an excellent album, Antony's voice being the clear standout. Beautiful and haunting, doesn't let you down even on repeated listenings. Thanks to CocoRosie and Devendra Banhart for discovering another true gem in the world of pop mediocrity :))

This album is a really kitsch and junk. For the first 2 songs I thought it is a parody. Suprisingly it is not. Really funny, what people are listening...

Men Are From Mars, Anthony Is From Venus ~ Like the gospel drenched in raw spirit and soul, there is beauty incarnate seeping from the ravishing voice of each veil that creates who and what Antony is. His attestation willful and willed, his sacred writ both born and borne, the timeless transcendence in each poem translates to the very core of the human condition, life's frailties, it's death and resurrections. Boy George duets with his most powerful vocal ever, Rufus Wainwright as usually assured. Nothing will prepare you for the dramatic earthquake or heart-rendering impact. My grade: A+… Expand

This is the best thing i ever heard in my all life. ... no music, no lyrics, no performance, no voice, no city, no bird, no nothing ever touchet me the way Antony and the johnsons did. God bless u Antony

Words can't descibe how amazing his voice is. On that alone this is worth 10 out of 10.

There are several solid songs on this album but also quite a few clunkers. With songs almost wholly dependent on the quality of the lyrics (though I'd say one's appreciation of the album is wholly dependent on his understandably divisive voice), Antony walks a fine line between heartfelt authenticity and somber camp and, to say least, his foot is far from steady. Worth previewing if you have the means, but I feel a lot of people will ultimately be underwhelmed with this release.… Expand

There are few voices that effect me so much- Ian Curtis, Morrissey, Thom Yorke, and now Antony. Fantastic album.

Simply awesome

Would have never thought a voice like Antony's could affect me so much

he is the best. with a beautiful voice he turns their musics wonderful.

Bizarre how so many people say this is "overrated". Look at all the 10s. People love this album. It moves people. It moved me from the the opening chord to the end. Less deserving of the Mercury Award than the Kaiser Chiefs?!! Give me a break! Have you no hearts OR souls?

not always easy to listen to. different . intriging and in parts truely amazing

The Best Thing I Heard This Year

Not always, but if the mood is right...

went to his Glasgow gig. was totally enveloped. like never before....even managed to shake his hand at the end and have a wee word with him. his whole persona is exquisite.

Album of the year. Album of the decade? Antony is a genius!

Damn. I didn't expect this album to be that great. "I Am A Bird Now" - is an album of the year, it's a record full of sadness and beauty, so simple and difficult at the same time. Antony's voice should be heared to be believed. One of the best records of the decade.

Original...perhaps. Disappointing...definitely. Whoa...nothing on this disc jumped out at me. I lasted for 3 songs, my wife made it through 1, and the two friends I lent it to didn't get much farther, either.

The fact that this bunch of seemingly no-hopers managed not only to make it tothe top but also deprive the excellent kaiser chiefs of the mercury music prize is a fact that i, like many i am sure, will take a very long time to get to grips with. Utter, utter trash!!

Evocative of a time gone by; Antony's vocals echo the gay 70's torch songs that belted from Juke boxes in and around the Schoneberg district.

soaring throught tears, wonder and pure joy, i find myself speachless.....Antony has said it all, for now....

The only drawback to this cd is how short it is.

poetic and heart-felt.

This is the best cd I have heard in years. Antonys voice is SO beautiful ...

I don't think this album lives up to the hype- everyone seems to have been caught up in the swell of "if it's different, it's good".

Just a good voice... but after to listen to this work it reminded me how a great band was The Platters (but not a hype in those years).

Awsome!

Impressive stuff. Great songs. Great set of mates too. Shame his voice is so annoying after a while.

God, where did this come from?

I was transfixed when I first heard Antony played on Radio 1. I felt awe at the emotion heard in Antony's unique voice and lyrics - amazing!

This album is hauntingly hypnotizing. The intensity of emotion in the lyrics and music is captivating. I keep listening to this album over and over again. I would drive 100 miles to hear this artist live in concert. I was turned on to this album by the NPR review that I happened to hear by chance.

Outstanding

Utterly spellbinding and gorgeous. "You Are My Sister" is the standout track but the whole album is haunting and deeply moving.

There has never been an album that has moved me as deeply as this album. There has never been an artist who was capable of making me wanting to hold someone, and cry tears of joy at the same time. Get this album, and be blown away. Matthew W cannot sing like this, nor can anyone else. This is a truly unique voice that needs to be experienced.

Whether he seems to be singing for me, everyone or for himself, his languid, melancholic voice is always mesmerising, powerfully emotive and transcendental in its beauty - a rare and special talent!

I heard this on radio 1, it caught my attention without me really liking it. The next time I heard it I fell in love with it. The best album I have bought in the last 10 years. Some of the subjects dealt with are a little alien to me, but musically this is audacious and fantastic, I'd recommend it to everyone. Class

Wow... this album really surprised me! I wasn't sure what to make of Antony's "vibrato" voice at first ... but it sweetly complements the truly beautiful lyrics. FISTFUL OF LOVE is probably my favorite track, followed by HOPE THERE'S SOMEONE. I can understand some of the negative feedback, this is will not be to everyone's taste... but hey, give it a try... you might be surprised by what you hear.… Expand

this album has become one of my favorites and i kthink will stay that way for a long time.

Absolutly Fantastic!!!!!!!!

Along with Sufjan Steven's "Illinoise", simply the most lush, gorgeous album of the year. Love, loss, and death are standard subjects for popular music, but rarely have they been addressed with such raw emotion and beauty. Whether you like this album will depend on how you react to Antony's neo-Nina Simone warble. This is how I imagine angels sound--androgynous and stunningly beautiful. I'm struck by the divisiveness of the user comments; Generally, people either really love, or really hate this album. In my opinion, if you aren't moved by this, you aren't human.… Expand

I don't get the love for his voice - sounds like he was kicked in the crotch and someone recorded the crying. Truly awful.

I don't get it... Only like the song with rufus ! Won the Mercury Price ? Come on...

An album full of sadness, regret, hopelessness and hope. Its a bright light in a world full of imposters, posers and the insincere. Never once does the music sound mawkish nor does it asscend into mopey, emo style 'torturous' voals. The pain is real, the confusion obvious. And yet amidst all this is all sounds transcendant and beautiful, flying high above the mediocrity in the music world and soaring to new levels of grace. Loads of superlatives i know but its just that kinda reoord and nothing i write here will do it justice. LISTEN NOW!… Expand

There's only 3 good songs on the album: "Hope there's someone," "Fistful of love" and "Bird gurl." The rest is ANNOYING and WEIRD! The many references to hermaphrodites makes for bizarre subject matter. Listening to the some guest singers is EXCRUCIATINGLY PAINFUL!!!!!!!!!!! Guest singers on tracks 8 and 9 deserve to have their larynx ripped out and buried into the center of the earth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!… Expand

best album since kid a

nadrealni, postapokalipti?ni gotski kabare... plo?a izvan svih žanrova...masterpiece!

Hugely overrated album. I can't believe people actually listen to this snoozefest.

Mommy, I want to be Nina Simone.

stunningly beautiful

so pretty.

It must be a 7,because we all know what Mont Everest is, but trully beautiful, maybe he used to listen 1st Roxy Music album...

best music i have heard for years and i am 49

Like nothing i've heard before. Fascinating vocals, with a live, unplugged feel. Quite amazing!

At first, when I heard some of the songs from this album through the PC speakers of my colleague, the sound really annoyed me. What kind of fake, drag-queen voice is this? OMG.. Yes, I do have some minor homophobic issues, sorry - can't help it yet but well that's me. Then, a few weeks later I started to look out for new music on several music review sites and played many of the high-rated unknown CD's/artists in YouTube, hoping to find good vitamin M. Of course, there was Antony and the Johnsons and I recognised the drag-queen sound again. But now, being in the ambience of my living-room, I deceided to give it a fair chance and listened carefully without prejudice. I discovered that Antony has a stunning voice, actually. Initially I didn't want to admit it, but I just can't keep telling to myself that someting is yellow whilst it's clearly green. So a few days later I deceided to buy the CD I'm a bird now.. I have it for 2-3 weeks and I've played it maybe 6,7 times Everytime this music gives me shivers, which is actually quite rare for me. And it only seems getting better. Unfortunately I am not a native English speaker, hence I probably cannot find the right words to precise my enhousiasm. So I'll just write what I literally think when I listen to it: "Wooooow...This album is f*ck*ng gorgeous man!!!" I cannot imagine how a music album is getting any better than this. Different maybe, but rarely better. Giving it less than a 10 would be a matter of principles, not of absolute appreciation. I'm going to play it again guys, right now. I'm in love. Although I really don't want to be ;-)… Expand

I just can't believe how beautiful this album is. It's .. stunning. I just don't have words.

An outstanding beautiful voice, very good instrumentalists and some unbelievable touching lyrics. I like to listen to this songs a real lot from time to time. 10 points from me.

Don't submit your ears to unnecessary pain and torture.

Beautiful and haunting, i've never heard a voice like this before. If you enjoy the warbling vibrato of Devendra Banhart, listen to Antony, the true master. HIs beautiful floating voice is complimented by the piano dancing languidly under his fingertips.

I hate people who start giving bad ratings just because others think it's awesome. If you're just some whining bitch who doesn't like the music without a reason, then shut up! Awesome record here by the way. Still leaves me speecless...

I have just recently bought this album based on the numerous recommendations following the mercury prize awards. I can honestly say without any doubt that I have not heard anything this year or even this decade, as emotionally charged and with such a subtle undertone of chilling beauty, it defies any understanding as to what really moves and stirs the matters of the heart. This comforts the unrequitted love in all of us. amazing!!!… Expand

My favourite album of 2005. Understand that it's not for everyone give it a chance though. Don't get hung up on the voice, you'll not notice it once you've got into it.

Everybody has an understanding of the concept of originality. You take something that is different to many other albums, take a new spin on things, then try to get it published. However, many people fail to draw the line between originality and total lack of talent. I am trying to emphasise that too much emphasis is put on this in the field of people who believe in real music. If i was to release an album consisting of a mere collection of sounds strung together would this mean i was talented? No. I can honestly say i am disgusted that originality is so overemphasised in todays supposedly, in my opinion, very much musically-informed society. Dont get me wrong. I do not conform to the traditional ways.If i like a song, i like it-simple as that!! However, I can honestly say that i have never, in my long life, ever, ever, seen a better example of originality overrated by genuine talent than anthony and the johnsons. I will be forever sickened that a band like this could win such a prestigious prize as the mercury. I sincrelely hope that an utter, utter, travesty like this disgrace will never, ever, ever, happen again… Expand

Briliant, moving, beautyfull...I've bought 4 copies to present my friends on Xmas!

I can't help but think that the majority of the negative reviews are overtly trans-phobic ("if he wants the damn transexual (spelled incorrectly I might add) operation then he should just get it instead of crying to listeners about it!" Reeks of bigotry to me.)....and all of the people who disparage Antony's voice should resume listening to their insipid Bright Eyes albums in their parent's house while lamenting the fact that the derivative sonic fecal matter that passes as musical innovation (i.e. Kaiser Chiefs) is critically reviled for its mediocrity and poised to fade into the obscurity from whence it came.....This album is poignant and compelling but not necessarily consistent, it does require tolerance and patience (like an unruly child) so if you consider yourself to be a top 40 mainstream sycophant then perhaps you should just invest your money on more faux vintage clothing, and the new Coheed and Cambria album....(Claudio has an unconventional voice too, but at least he's a heteronormative misogynist with MTV promoting his pretentious prog-emo atrocities). Fistful of Love, My Lady Story, Hope There's Someone and Bird Guhl (or girl) are brilliant....but the duet with Boy George is overly sentimental and dull. Spiralling is ruined by Devendra Banhart's affected vocals, which sound nothing like he would usually, and the Rufus Wainwright song is only good if you perceive Wainwright as "the gay messiah" (I emphatically do not!!!) So borrow this CD from the library, sample sound clips at amazon, use soulseek, purchase the album if it appeals, but by all means do not post inarticulate diatribes about how Antony does not sound like Julian Casablancas (whose voice isn't that good either, but he's dirty-trendy, hip, and hetero and ripping off Gang of Four....) Because contemporary music is a grave robbing multi-million dollar industry that appropriates indie and marginal talent, bringing their music to any idiot with an eighth grade vocabulary and a keyboard.… Expand

awesome. this cd has called out the homophobes. scatter you cockroaches.

This is not only music, it is also politics. Here we have a man who dares be truly "feminine" and vulnerable and still he is truly a man. Ths music and the image is new and fresh. Innovative.

Easily one of the best albums of the year or any year.

monotonous (emotionally and musically). really dull.

desperately beautiful

jesus I nearly cried after about the first ten seconds. Antony has the most amazing voice that gets right at you and you'll love this album after the first listen.

best album this year with You are My Sister the standout track

Unforgettable voice!

His voice and music has an aching and melancholic beauty. Best album so far this year. I know it is a differnt kind of music, but this makes Bright Eye's lastest album(s), though very good, seem sophmoric.

I'm not really into my tenors, but this album really is very very good. Can't say it'll start off a whole movement, but it certainly makes a nice change.

If you are a fan of the "successful" singers on American Idol, you will hate this CD. (I'm not in that category.) If you are one of those people who likes something strange and castigates others for not understanding something so obviously beautiful and lip-quivering, you will LOVE this. I find some of these songs to be beautiful in a Brian-Ferry-singing-gospel way. But I'm not prepared to say I agree this is brilliant. Overly mannered? Yes. Brilliant? No.… Expand

Craig L doesn't like american idol. which is good, because people who'll find this record boring DEFINATELY dig american idol. pfft. ok, so, obviously, i'm not a huge fan of this, and it's not for the singing but utter lack of activity within this album.each song just cascades through your brain and the only impression it'll leave you was that you've had enough melodrama until the next xiu xiu album. antony may have the greatest things in the world to say, but it fails to stimulate on the most basic level… Expand

Exquisite, Simply Beautiful

sunshine for heart and soul

i had never heard of antony and the johnsons until yesterday on radio 1. he made me stop what i was doing and listen, that hasn't happened for a long time. what a voice

emotive, uncertain, souless. he needs faith.

This album is amazing. I heard For Today I Am A Boy on the radio and instantly had to buy it. Antony's voice is hypnotic, and I cannot stop listening to him.

This music is laughable. I played this album for my mother and brother and they couldn't stand it. The guys voice sounds like he pinched his adam's apple and moved his hand in a vibrated fashion. Truly awful sounding. I don't understand the talk about his emotion through his voice. He sounds horrendous, i could without a doubt sing the same way. Critics and apparently people alike seem to like this which boggles my mind. This is TERRIBLE music.… Expand

For the life of me I don't understand how anyone can listen to this. This is some of the worst music I have ever heard.

I Am A Turd Now