The Crying Light

Antony and the Johnsons

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 20, 2009)
• Original Release Date: January 29, 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Secretly Canadian
• ASIN: B001MW0IY8
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,111 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A soul stirring new work with daring compositions and captivating vocals. This isn't a heart breaking; it's a heart waking." --The Oregonian

Product Description

The follow-up to "I Am A Bird Now" shifts thematic focus and explores Antony's relationship with the natural world. The intimacy of the Johnsons' sound is enveloped by avant-classical composer Nico Muhly's symphonic arrangements.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Out-of-this-word vocals with thoughtful, sumptuously crafted music. , January 28, 2009

By	smoothjazz_views (Beverly Hills, CA) - See all my reviews

"Intense, intoxicating... just plain odd, the voice of Antony Hegarty seem less human, more angelic, as if a Renaissance cherub had decided to sing the blues".
An emotional mix of Little Jimmy Scott, Nina Simone and Boy George, some others say.
Others have described Hegarty's songs as more akin to classical lieder, which seems a better description of its emotional weight.
Following up his breakthrough album, the 2005 British Mercury prize winning "I Am Bird Now", Antony Hegarty turns his attention to his relationship with the natural world for "The Crying Light".
2005 was the most dramatic and costly year on record for natural disasters. From the aftershocks of the Asian tsunami to the hurricanes and earthquakes that occurred across the globe, it became apparent that something was up with Mother Nature and that we might have something to do with it.
And the whole album pivots around "Another World" - something of a farewell anthem to this world, the simple piano gilded with what sounds a cross between whale song and The Clangers.
The track - which was already on his five-song EP "Another World" - is the tear-jerking heart of "The Crying Light", a kind of Bridge Over Troubled Water for a dying earth.
Hegarty is greatly helped by Nico Muhly's symphonic arrangements, never more so than in the beautiful climax "Everglade", which resembles the soundtrack music from the denouement of a tear-jerking movie.
There are no showstoppers that grab you instantly by the emotional scruff of the neck like "Hope There's Someone" or "You Are My Sister", arguably the standout moments from "I Am A Bird Now".
With repeated listens though, the gems do start to shine through. "Kiss My Name" is perhaps the closest thing to a pop song with its shuffling beat, swooping strings and insistent piano riff.
"One Dove" is a stately ballad sung with heartbreaking passion and "Everglade" is a musically exquisite tone poem that brings proceedings to a delightfully serene close.
"There's no voice anywhere quite like Antony Hegarty's. Pitched somewhere between classic jazz diva and the plaintive cries of a wounded beast, it is a thing of rare beauty, pathos and soul, and as on the Anglo-Americans' earlier releases, it is absolutely central to The Crying Light".- BBC
Certainly the album is not the kind of record to stick on in the car or while doing the washing up, but it is a deep, philosophical, poetic album that will withstand playing for a long time.
My highlights: "Another World", "One Dove" and " Everglade".
I Am a Bird Now
Another World
Easy Come Easy Go

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Antony does it again!, January 20, 2009

By	104-9827-0000 - See all my reviews

This is Antony's best album yet. Though I enjoy his previous albums immensely, I have had to listen to them several times before I realized the sheer genius behind them. This album, however, I fell in love with from the first listen (which was only a few hours ago as it was officially released the day of this writing). Literally every song is a masterpiece of heartbreaking and fragile beauty. The instrumentation alone is suberb and awe-inspiring. Add to that Antony's ghostly, gentle, and emotionally-charged vibrato, and what you have is an incredible work of art that is in a league totally of its own, far surpassing the stagnant and dull world of most contemporary music. The songs here transcend all categorization, including that of "happy" or "sad." They sound instead like dispatches from "another world," a world where our petty concerns are lost in an overwhelming tide of beauty and purity. Rarely does a CD provoke such feelings in me. Thank you Antony, thank you.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Singer of rare beauty, February 4, 2009

By	Ashwin Dixit - See all my reviews

Antony Hegarty came to my attention at a tribute Leonard Cohen concert and I did not know what to make of him -he just looked like this large woman with a voice of an angel. His voice can be described as smooth and brittle as porcelain. You could call him Jazz-Avante gard, channelling Marlene Dietrich- whatever, he is probably the most exciting thing out there at the moment. With three albums out there plus the disco one he did he has a body of work worth investigating- if he keeps at this rate he will one day ranked with Bessie, Billie,Ella and Nina this is how good he is.