Customer Reviews

Noble Beast / Useless Creatures (Deluxe Edition)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As with Bird's previous albums, including Armchair Apocrypha and the Mysterious Production of Eggs, the lyrics and melodies of Noble Beast's tracks are intelligent, magical and playful. Double and triple entendres continue to unfold, even in connection with words that aren't real but somehow make sense anyway. The vocals are dreamlike and strings sublime. I LOVE this stuff. Bird's music is brilliant while still being impossibly catchy and fun.

Anonanimal may be my new favorite, with cool segues that hit the spot perfectly and had me involuntarily dancing around the house ....

I rarely purchase extra/bonus tracks, but couldn't resist the ones made available by Andrew Bird here. Useless Creatures is populated by instrumental works that again reveal Bird's raw genius - and it rocks! Carrion Suite is reminiscent of symphonic ballads like Prokofiev's Peter & the Wolf, but without the narration and more exotic, sexy and modern. Nyatiti is so alive and contagious.

The only trouble is that the music of *other* artists - with the possible exception of a few folks like Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood and Jeff Tweedy -- seems so flat/two-dimensional compared to the countless dimensions in which Bird's music thrives.

This album is worth every penny, and then some. So lucky to have this as part of the soundtrack of life.

I previously purchased Noble Beast on itunes and immediately fell in love with the album. I can't stop listening to it. "Anonanimal," "Not a Robot, But a Ghost," and "Masterswarm" are my favorite tracks, although "Anonanimal" is the song most often stuck in my head. I decided to buy the deluxe set after learning about the instrumental album Useless Creatures. I received my set yesterday and immediately opened up the package to play it. The only downside is that the packaging, although beautiful, makes it difficult to get the cds out without ripping the package a bit. The set comes with liner notes that feature whimsical artwork and Bird's complex lyrics are arranged in such a way that it is almost like having a little booklet of poetry. Useless Creatures on its own is worth the price of the set. The music is absolutely beautiful and mesmerizing.

I had hoped that they had cleared up the problem of the missing second disc, but obviously not. I just got my copy yesterday and again, no second disk. What gives?! the one CD that got here is great, just wish I had the other. What a hassle.

I only got the one disc! 14 tracks in total... What a bummer! Gotta head back to the store or something.

The album is still fantastic. If you've enjoyed his work so far, this is a no-brainer. More of the same, but every song still feels so unique.

i gifted 'noble beast' cd to friends for christmas.
all were pleased and quite intrigued by andrew bird's creativity.
our modern dance improv group in ann arbor, mi.is delighted to be dancing to both the lyrical 'noble beast' cd and 'useless creatures' instrumental' cd.

This album is satisfyingly original and engaging from beginning to end. The more I listen, the more I hear. This album is all about delicious details. The second disc of instrumentals is excellent, too. Bird's violin playing calls to mind another great record, Tiny Resistors, by Todd Sickafoose.

This is my first Andrew Bird album and it took a while to sink in. The songs are a bit complex, with unexpected left turns and unusual structures.
So the first thing that caught me was the whistle. Suddenly I found myself whistling these songs and then the rest just followed and I understood how clever and sophisticated Bird's songwriting is.
Well, not everything works here. Some of the songs fail to grab my attention even after repeated listening. Other songs are too oddly structured. For instance Not a Robot, But a Ghost starts off really nice but half the way through it changes completely, and then again, and again, never to return to its original form - I find it a bit hard to chew.
But at least half of the album is close to sublime and quite unique. And most importantly, it makes me want to check out his previous albums.

The deluxe edition features a stunningly beautiful package and an extra cd with impressionistic instrumentals (interesting enough to play it for a couple of times).

Andrew Bird is extremely talented in the way he can use tones, melodies and even whistling to take you on a ride through a musical journey. This is such calming, relaxing, good feeling music it will make anyones day brighter. I suggest " You Woke Me Up" it is by far my favorite song. I had both CD's ( for some people this was a problem) and the case is gorgeous.

This is a great album, start to finish- beautifully done. It's easy to get lost in. The bonus, Useless Creatures, features nine instrumentals- a bit more like looking into the process of the music and it's evolutions, rather than "completed" songs. The quality of this album is awesome. Thanks again, Mr. Bird!

I honestly believed that Armchair Apocrypha, Andrew Bird's previous release, was going to be the last good album that he wrote, but Noble Beast sure does tickle the ears in a magical way.
Bird has simply found an amazing home in the studio, and you can tell the crazy amount of production in this CD w/o it sounding overproduced.
And the writing! Oh my, the songs are phenominal.
From the beatiful chorus of Effigy, the lovely acoustic guitar of Nomenclature, or even the instantly catchy "whistle solos" of Masterswarm and 'Fitz and Dizzy Spells', it simply comes together wonderfully. But the highlight of the CD, Not a Robot, But a Ghost, is probably the best song Bird has ever done. It is practically indescribable. Just download that one song to get a taste. Buying the Deluxe Edition is probably not neccessary if youre new to Andrew, but please check out the main disk if you enjoy any combination of Indie Folk Rock, an extremely varied selection of instruments, or even Bird's insane whistling ability. Please enjoy.