Red Bird [Import]

Heather Nova | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 15, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Sony/Bmg Int'l
• ASIN: B000AAFH3U
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #549,519 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Welcome

2. I Miss My Sky (Amelia Earhart's Last Days)

3. Motherland

4. Redbird

5. Done Drifting

6. Overturned

7. Mesmerized

8. Singing You Through

9. A Way to Live

10. Wicked Game

11. This Body

12. The Sun Will Always Rise

Editorial Reviews

2005 studio album. 12 tracks in all including the first single, 'Welcome' co-written with Dido. Also included is her cover of Chris Isaak's classic, 'Wicked Game'. 2005. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fiery "Red Bird", October 8, 2005

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Red Bird (Audio CD)

Heather Nova emanated a sexy, dark vibe in her first albums, "Oyster" and "Siren," with angry-sexy lyrics and sensuous guitar-driven pop music. It was unique, driven and strong musically.

After that, surprisingly, her music seemed to lose some of its edge -- it was still good, just not as intense. Now, in her first album after her daughter's birth, Nova returns some of that intensity to her music, albeit in a slightly more mellow, meditative manner.

Things open on a strong note with the driving guitar of "Welcome," which blossoms into a swirling rock song full of sensuous riffs and Nova's strong voice. "And there's so much I can do for you/Given time I know that I can prove/Now my world is offered up to you/Come inside..." she calls out, sounding more powerful than ever.

That sound doesn't continue, though. The next song, a tribute to Amelia Earhart, is an enchantingly soft ballad that is complete lament, one of the loveliest songs that Nova has ever done. "Motherland" seems to be a song to her child, both marveling at her and promising to protect her.

Then a bit of Nova's earlier sound returns, with slow-burning sultriness. She sings of redbirds, oceans, veiled erotic allusions about tasting pomegranates, a lover who makes her cry with his beautiful face, and a darkly beautiful cover of Chris Isaac's "Wicked."

She finishes up the album with a pair of more uplifting songs -- one which yearns for love, and refers to her body as "sacred ground/Waiting here to be found." The outro is a sweet ballad that assures "darling" of love, comfort, and that "Remember/The sun will always rise/And bring the light..." It sounds corny, but it is rather uplifting.

In a word, "Redbird" straddles the line between the the more sensuous tunes of her early career, and the more mellow, relaxed sound in recent years. It's not surprising -- Nova has grown and matured, and reflects in one love song that "This body has traveled onThis body is fine and strong/This body has given life...."

If Nova seems to be balanced out between sensuality and maturity, then so is her songwriting -- for every sexy rocker, there's a loving ballad that assures love and comfort. She seems to be balancing out Nova the nurterer with Nova the woman, and it works surprisingly well.

There are a few dud songs, such as "A Way to Live," which suffers from rather simplistic lyrics, and a vocal style that makes Nova sound a bit shrill. However, more often than not, the richness of her vocals and the smooth instrumentation make these songs shine. While the acoustic guitar as the center of things, Nova also depends on trembling organ melodies and tinkling piano.

Heather Nova has grown up, and so has her music. "Red Bird" is one of her mellower albums, but has regained the sensuality and edge of her early work. This bird flies.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What I've come to expect, September 14, 2005

By 

MainCharacter - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Red Bird (Audio CD)

I started listening to Heather Nova 6 years ago when a friend introduced me to a few tracks off of Siren on a tape; I didn't think much of her at first until I started humming Winterblue, so I requested a taped version of Siren.

I went out and bought it after wearing the tape out. Since then, I've collected as much of Nova's stuff as I could, ending up with Glow Stars, Oyster, Live From the Milky Way, Siren, South, Storm, and now Redbird.

Redbird follows the same path as her last two albums; she's growing, she's changing, and you can hear it in the music. Each album is incredibly different; Glow Stars is experimental while Oyster is angsty and haunty. Siren and South were her more mainstream albums, and Siren is considered by many fans to be her best work. Storm split from the pressures of her record label to conform to popular standards and addressed a more melodic tone. Redbird, in itself, though sounding like a combination of previous efforts rolled into one, does it's own thing.

Redbird has become one of my favorite albums by her mainly because it's so interesting, bare, and she seems very happy just to be doing it; the lyrics have improved and so has her voice.

I believe she'll continue to change over the years and her records will show that. Go Heather.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Magic, June 21, 2006

By 

Geezer47 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Red Bird (Audio CD)

I came across this album on a transatlantic flight where the rest of the audio program didn't seem too great so I thought, give this one a try (I remembered the name Heather Nova from one of my daughter's birthday wish list - which I guess dates me - but had never consciously listened to her). I wound up listening to "Redbird" for five hours, again and again. Back in Europe I bought the CD (too bad it's available in the US as an expensive import only) and have become completely entranced by it. Unlike so many other popular albums that you can listen to a dozen times with pleasure and then get bored by, this one gets better and better. Every time I put it on I discover something new, some nuance or phrase that just grabs me. "I Miss My Sky" and "The Sun Will Always Rise" are my favorite tracks. This is magic, a true work of art. Thanks, Heather. Thanks, Lufthansa. Thanks, daughter.