Birds Flying Away

Mason Jennings | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 21, 2002)
• Original Release Date: 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Bar/None Records
• ASIN: B0000658O2
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #139,062 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #35 in Music > Indie Music > Rock > Singer-Songwriters

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An often overlooked album, March 6, 2006

By 

Daniel Martin "dantheduckman" (Worthington, WV United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Birds Flying Away (Audio CD)

Very overlooked. Just look at how many people have written reviews of this album as compared to his others. Basically I am writing this review to contest all those reviewers out there comparing Mason to Jack Johnson. I am a little tired of this happening. They are not close to being the same. Let me take that back... yes, they both play acoustic guitar, yes, they both are males, yes they both wear pants. I should say right now that I like Jack Johnson, I like his music. He writes cool little ditties that are very infectious. They tend to worm their way into your head and not want to leave, but the songs stop there. They don't leave you blown away; they don't leave you absolutely amazed; the lyrics don't leave goosebumps on your arms. No, Jack Johnson's music is light, friendly and void of any real emotions.

Mason Jennings, on the other hand, has the amazing ability to write goosebump songs that will blow you away. He writes with such an intesity that is almost frightening. His lyrics mean something, his melodies arc over the songs in such a way that one might think that the song was never really written, it was just always there, waiting to be sung. He is an amazing songwriter. I also love his voice. I've noticed some people writing reviews saying that they don't like it, that he sings slightly off key. I'm not disagreeing with this. He does sing slightly off key, he also plays in a flat tuning, but that's not the point. It's just part of his charm. Look at all the amazing songwriters that have sung off key... two that immediately pop to mind are Bob Dylan and Neil Young. Those two made it acceptable for future songwriters, such as Mason, to sing slightly off key.

So no, Mason is nothing like Jack Johnson. And I, for one, am glad for that. (No offense to Mr. Johnson.)

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gooooooooood stuff, January 26, 2002

By 

"julie_mccoy" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Birds Flying Away (Audio CD)

One thing that really annoys me is when people constantly write reviews in which they compare one artist to another. I mean, I like Elliott Smith, too, but it would be ridiculous to say that Mason Jennings is "like" Elliott Smith. Can we, perhaps, rise to the challenge of saying something original about the artist without drawing invidious comparisons? Let me tell you a story about this cd, instead. Just about two and a half years ago, I was living in Minneapolis, moving out of a much-beloved apartment after a not-so-beloved period in my life. "Train Leaving Gray" came on the radio (a live, studio version prior to the cd's release). I put the broom down in my now-empty apartment and cried. May you be lucky enough to have such an experience. Really pretty songs; really scary songs; really real songs.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Birds Flying Away, June 3, 2004

By 

Blackberries (PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Birds Flying Away (Audio CD)

I recently purchased this record at a small, independent record store in Philadelphia. Mason's name was mentioned among the likes of other neo-folk troubadours like Jack Johnson, Jon Swift and G. Love, all of whom I like, so I decided to give "Birds" a chance. I was slightly unimpressed after my first listen. Few songs were memorable to me, with the exception of Ballad for my One True Love, but like most good albums, this one definitely grew on me. Certain songs like Black Panther and Dr. King, as another reviewer mentioned, are too entrenched in obsolescent, beatnik idealism, but when Mason sings of love (Ballad for my One True Love, Train Leaving Gray) and distress (The Mountain, The Light), he shines quite brightly. Although Birds Flying Away emits a great deal of sunny positivity, it also possesses a dark, brooding undertone that is contrary to the work of nearly all of his contemporaries. Few musicians accurately balance dichotomous themes that manage to shed light upon both subjects at hand and maintain a steady cadence throughout the album. Mason Jennings; however, is capable of such craftmanship, and with "Birds Flying Away", he has evinced a stirring conglomeration of songs that touch upon the age-old ideas of love, hate, madness, evil, corruption and violence in a confident and copacetic way.