Antony and the Johnsons

THE WIRE Issue 197 July 2000

Antony & The Johnsons self-titled debut is such an inspired combination—hallucinogenic Blakean vision married to gospel bombast and soaring strings—that leaves you wondering why no one thought of it before.

Product Description
"Every emotion in the planet is in that gorgeous voice" - Diamanda Galas

Antony and the Johnsons is the self-titled debut release from the virtuosic English-born singer on David Tibet's DURTRO label through World Serpent Distribution in London.

Antony and the Johnsons

Antony and the Johnsons,Antony and the Johnsons,Secretly Canadian,Pop,Rock,Rock/Pop

---

Antony and the Johnsons

Average customer rating: Moody and evocative Antony & The johnsons A great voice, unusual Either good or bad, this will affect you A Bride on Fire

I am a Bird Now Antony and the Johnsons Manufacturer: Secretly Canadian ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Chamber Pop | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Baroque Pop | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man Martha Wainwright Let It Die Fox Confessor Brings the Flood Feels ASIN: B000777J2S Release Date: 2005-02-01

Tracks:

1. Hope There's Someone
2. My Lady Story
3. For Today I Am A Bouy
4. Man Is The Baby
5. You Are My Sister
6. What Can I Do?
7. Fistful Of Love
8. Spiralling
9. Free At Last
10. Bird Gurhl

Amazon.com

It's not often that an album released in January gets called one of the best of the year in near-unison, but the second full length by Antony and the Johnsons is so startlingly beautiful that it simply has to be. Like his friend and compatriot Devendra Banhart, Antony is a super-talented singer-songwriter with a flair for dramatic artsong. But the cherubic Antony is so original he must get mistaken for an alien quite often; he sings like a bluesy opera singer and switches timbre from masculine to feminine in the space of a breath. The only vocal comparison that comes close is Nina Simone. Antony's honest lyrics deal with deep wounds and troubled desires with matter of fact poetry and subtle humor, as in a short story by JT LeRoy. Aided and abetted by a versatile band that's often closer to chamber orchestra than rock act, Antony delivers a visionary album with I Am A Bird Now. Oh yeah: Rufus Wainwright, Devendra, Lou Reed and Boy George all appear on here, too. --Mike McGonigal

Customer Reviews:

Moody and evocative.......2007-06-08

Got a bit of Nina Simone going on here and if you are into Nina you're likely going to enjoy this. It's torch music that's a shade or three sadder.

I bought this on hearing 'You are my sister' on Letterman. Loved that tune, but a whole album of basically the same thing may be a turn off for some folks - it can be a bit tedious.

It's a love it or hate it sort of thing. Not for everyone, but that might be why it's so special.

Antony & The johnsons.......2007-05-19

I couldn't be more pleased with the speed of service and quality of the product.

A great voice, unusual.......2007-05-12

I had been recommended this singer and the music by family abroad. It came up to the glowing reports they gave of it. Thanks!

Either good or bad, this will affect you.......2007-04-12

You can't listen to this and not feel something. Whether it's confusion, annoyance, or awe you are feeling - it's anything but your run of the mill music.
I can't stop listening to Fistful of Love. It gives me chills and makes me want to cry every time I hear it. It's not often you come by music that powerful.

A Bride on Fire.......2007-04-10

It's been a long time since I last felt the desire to share my thoughts on an album. True, I've never been a prolific reviewer. In the past, however, I was more receptive of things musical. Or should I say I was more easily enthused? Quicker at becoming attuned to the ways in which a textual object would lend itself to interpretation? Perhaps I was a keener semiotician then, or liked to think that I was. Perhaps I was more naïve and confident that I could grasp the complexities behind art, or at least that I might be able to uncover (and then convey) one possible meaning treasured within a work of art. Sadly, a lot has changed in my life over the past two and a half years.

Most significantly, I have been through an experience which seems to me to be so close to the one Antony describes incredibly well in I am a Bird Now, by means of the lyrics and the singing style employed. Does he really describe it though? I can't positively say. It sometimes seems like a fallacy on my part, like an easy projection of my life onto suggestions which are polysemous and poetic more than they are specific to any one situation. However, this realization would lead to self-censuring and self-castration. So let's for a minute pretend I'm right. Let's assume that I am a Bird Now is about Loss, about Grieving, about finding Reason or at least Hope and some Beauty in the midst of personal tragedy. Let's presume that it talks about the suffering of someone who doesn't feel at ease in their environment, both physical and psychological.

That Antony is a gender-bending artist is a given. That there is ample use of metaphor in his lyrics is likewise undeniable. While this contributes to making the songs feel painfully sincere, it doesn't strike me as central. Beyond Antony's gender-defying verbal and vocal renditions (which account for my lax use of pronouns), there seems to be a core topic, that of abandonment and loneliness, the sense that something has happened to place the bird in a cage, making it unable to fly. That's how the album starts off. If I am a Bird Now is indeed a story about survival and widowhood, as I like to see it, then it seems also to be a story about communication with those who have left us. There are many instances in which I see the unrequited monologue of the widow to her (my) loved one and her (my) faith that silent answers can be heard through unexpected channels. That's how pain and love become inextricably intertwined well beyond common masochism. Ultimately, the narration seems to develop toward some kind of solution, although it is more about resolve and wishful thinking than it is about actual recovery. It's an animal-like instinct to move on to a new prey, not by virtue of a predatory urge in and of itself, but for the sake of life over death. The most innocent of impulses, the one that truly allows for the bird gerhl to fly and then go to heaven.

Is it all a fallacy on my part, or is I am a Bird Now really to be taken so seriously? I do not know, nor do I care. What I do know is that listening to it made me cry those tears that I had been withholding up until then. That it stirred me and made me feel like someone was expressing the emotions that I myself was unable to express, even though I wanted to and needed to. What I do know is that this is the one CD that I have been wanting to review since I first listened to it, breaking my two and a half year reserve. While this doesn't make my assumptions any more accurate, it does pay honour to Antony and the Johnsons and to I am a Bird Now. This is a thank you, as well as a heartfelt five-star review.

Average customer rating: Unclassifiable beauty The Lotus Opens long live Antony Antony like the "Hope there's someone"

Antony and the Johnsons Antony and the Johnsons Manufacturer: Secretly Canadian ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Chamber Pop | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Baroque Pop | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man Martha Wainwright Leonard Cohen I'm Your Man Rejoicing in the Hands Want Two (CD/DVD combo) ASIN: B0002BO0HG Release Date: 2004-07-20

Tracks:

1. Twilight
2. Cripple And The Starfish
3. Hitler In My Heart
4. The Atrocities
5. River Of Sorrow
6. Rapture
7. Deeper Then Love
8. Divine
9. Blue Angel

Album Description

"Every emotion in the planet is in that gorgeous voice" - Diamanda Galas

Antony and the Johnsons is the self-titled debut release from the virtuosic English-born singer on David Tibet's DURTRO label through World Serpent Distribution in London.

Customer Reviews:

Unclassifiable beauty.......2007-07-07

Hits me like a ton of bricks. A transcendent beauty lies in this man's delivery and notions. Extremely fine production frames all of this. Highly recommended.

The Lotus Opens.......2007-03-25

Most exotic, most intimate, most real -- this extraordinary artist is hard to define. If you opened the petals of an lotus and stared into the heart of the flower it would approximate this experience - synesthesia unleased. Anthony and the Johnson's first release is a must before delving into his subsequent perfect offerings. Oh rapture.

long live Antony.......2007-03-14

I consider my self lucky enough to get to know Antony's music, specialy this album reminded me the feeling of something powerful, something that stays in your mind forever like The Wall-pink floyd or Grace-jeff buckley or led zeppelin III(list goes on). this album is na instant calssic-if you are open minded toward music you should get this one.

Antony.......2007-01-25

I saw Antony on Dave Letterman & was taken by his strange appearance that is so contary to his music which is heartbreakingly beautiful.

like the "Hope there's someone".......2007-01-09

I love them, but the "Hope There's Someone" has much more intensity and truth in the ballads...less instruments, less interference.
still love them though.

Average customer rating: beautiful darkness dancing inside Maria Callas on steroids

Hope There's Someone Antony and the Johnsons Manufacturer: Secretly Canadian ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Chamber Pop | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Baroque Pop | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music Cabaret | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music Similar Items: Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man I Will Internalize Martha Wainwright You Are My Sister Leonard Cohen I'm Your Man ASIN: B0009I8QD6 Release Date: 2005-06-07

Tracks:

1. Hope There's Someone
2. Frankenstein
3. Just One Star

Customer Reviews:

beautiful darkness dancing inside.......2006-06-12

Visiting my daughter & her precious friend in ALBQ, they played Antony while cooking dinner. I was beautifully lost until the 3rd song,and finally asked " who is this?". Like many of us that create art about our pain, journey and forgiveness, it was like I was a child hanging on to a window pane, watching my own life dance and for some reason every thing was ok now. There is a time and place for everything, that was my time to discover this fabulous pouring out of warmth. Antony's vibrations and energy open the bottle of mist that breathes deep in the heart, releasing the suffering breath by breath.

Maria Callas on steroids.......2006-02-01

Antony has what is unquestionably one of the most distinctive vocal styles on the planet today. Initial impressions of Antony can often be violently negative because of this. However, those with the wherewithall to patiently and attentively listen will find themselves just as violently captured by this irresistable music. Ranging between precious and delicate to ferocious, Antony & the Johnsons makes dedicated fans and true believers out of unsuspecting ears. A singular musical experience.

Average customer rating: Gorgeous Songs From A Genuine Artist the beauty will get you Breathtaking Simplicity...

The Lake [EP] Antony and the Johnsons Manufacturer: Secretly Canadian ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Chamber Pop | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Baroque Pop | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man Martha Wainwright Leonard Cohen I'm Your Man You Are My Sister I Fell in Love With a Dead Boy ASIN: B00065TZ6O Release Date: 2004-11-02

Tracks:

1. Lake
2. Fistful of Love
3. Horror Has Gone

Album Description

Conceived as an introduction to Antony & The Johnson's new full-length 'I Am a Bird Now' (due 2-1-05 on Secretly Canadian), 'The Lake' consists of three songs: the lead-off single to 'I Am a Bird Now' and two previously unreleased songs, one of which was featured on Devendra Banhart's 'Golden Apple of the Sun' (Bastet) earlier this year. Less orchestrated than Antony & The Johnson's self-titled debut, 'The Lake' shows a confidence and maturity that many fans in New York have grown to love.

Customer Reviews:

Gorgeous Songs From A Genuine Artist.......2005-08-07

For many people, Antony's arrival is associated with his stunning "I Am A Bird Now" album, but this is far from the beginning of his story. Not only his prior -and first- album is rather impressive and mature- but also, specially if you live in New York, you may know that he's been presenting his work for at least ten years.
This EP consist of three gorgeous tunes, each of which is reason enough for getting this disc. Included are the first single from "I Am A Bird Now," Fistful of Love, and two songs never released before: The Lake and Horror Has Gone.
Of the three, the most remarkable one is The Lake, a song based on an Edgar Allan Poe's poem, and recorded in the studio with Kevin Barker and Julia Kent. Please note that, as it's erroneously mentioned elsewhere in this page, this is not the live version recorded in London at St. Olave's Church, a couple of years ago. So, if you have that one already, buying this EP will give you the only other recorded version of this song. By the way, both are worth owning.
At least as far as I'm concerned, the term "artist" is awarded to many people either too quickly in their careers or without much consideration for the level of achievement and continuous dedication it might entail. In Antony Hegarty's case, the term may not be used often enough.

the beauty will get you.......2005-06-17

I'm a big fan of Antony work...have seen him live twice this year and bought this ep speccialy because of " the lake " song that is performed live in every show.
It's a beautiful beautiful song from a poem of Edgar Allan Poe..and i may say..it's a big responsability to make a song about a poem from this talented writter...and Antony is the perfect person to do it so..a brilliant work. Beautiful piano melody added to his voice...no one could do it better!

"Fistful of love" is a song from the 2nd album " I am a bird now " performed with Lou Reed..another great song if you don't know it...( but for fans who alredy know his work..this ep is worth because of the lake song and the horror has gone )

"The Horror has Gone" is the song that played and plays hundred of times in my radio and there is not only one time that i can't stop everything i'm doing and sing along with Antony. The final part of the song where Antony starts tremoling his voice repeating "the horror has gone" is a spiritual experience...what a voice my god!

The beauty will get you all !!!

Breathtaking Simplicity..........2005-04-22

Like all of Antony's Music, this EP has a chilling and superhuman quality to it. Unlike his other stuff, the production is toned down on the non-album tracks ("The Lake" and "The Horror Is Gone") to a stark, white-faced beauty that for me defines the core of Antony & The Johnsons. The album track, "Fistful of Love", is one of my favourite Antony songs, a soulful and grooving lament that makes a convincing argument for masochism as an uplifting and redemptive fetish.

Though the price is a bit steep, this is a great addition to any Antony fan's library.

Average customer rating: Not What I Wanted Beautifully haunting

You Are My Sister Antony and the Johnsons Manufacturer: Secretly Canadian ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Chamber Pop | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Cabaret | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music 4-for-3 Alternative Rock | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music 4-for-3 Broadway & Vocalists | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music 4-for-3 Pop | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music 4-for-3 Rock | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music 4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man Leonard Cohen I'm Your Man Martha Wainwright Ys I Will Internalize ASIN: B000BCKFV6 Release Date: 2005-10-25

Tracks:

1. You Are My Sister
2. Poorest Ear
3. Forest of Love
4. Paddy's Gone

Customer Reviews:

Not What I Wanted.......2005-12-28

The Title of this CD threw me off; the description and the first review didn't help either. The primary reason for buying this CD was the song "You Are My Sister", but this version is a duet with someone that can't sing. I can't tell which CD has a version of the song as seen on Letterman. Disappointing.

Beautifully haunting.......2005-12-11

I first saw Antony and The Johnsons on David Letterman; I had never heard of them but from the moment he opened his mouth and began to sing "You Are My Sister", I was immediately moved! I've since listened to other music by this beautiful artist and all of his music is haunting, literally, it will linger in your mind and in your heart long after you have listened to it. I ordered "You Are My Sister" for my own sister for Christmas; it explains what I feel for my sister perfectly. This music is very different and more than likely you will either love it or completely hate it, but I think either way, it will stay with you. There is simply nothing else quite like this sound out there anywhere!

Average customer rating:

Cripple and the Starfish/Immortal Bird Current 93 & Antony and the Johnsons Manufacturer: Durtro ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Ambient | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music Alt Industrial | Industrial | Goth & Industrial | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music ASIN: B00004WUSA Release Date: 1990-01-01

Tracks:

1. Cripple and the Starfish - Antony and the Johnsons
2. Immortal Bird - Current 93

Average customer rating:

Antony and the Johnsons Antony and the Johnsons Manufacturer: World Serpent ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Chamber Pop | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Baroque Pop | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music ASIN: B00004TK4Q Release Date: 1997-12-01

Tracks:

1. Twilight
2. Cripple And The Starfish
3. Hitler In My Heart
4. Atrocities
5. River Of Sorry
6. Rapture
7. Deeper Than Love
8. Divine
9. Blue Angel

Average customer rating:

You Are My Sister Antony & the Johnsons (Ft Boy George) Manufacturer: Rough Trade ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music ASIN: B000BCHJN8 Release Date: 2005-11-22

Tracks:

1. You Are My Sister
2. Poorest Ear

Album Details

The Second Single Taken from the 2005 Mercury Prize Winner's Album "i Am a Bird Now", featuring Culture Club Lead Singer Boy George on Backing Vocals. The Title Track is Backed with the NON-LP Song "Poorest Ear".

Average customer rating: Unclassifiable beauty The Lotus Opens long live Antony Antony like the "Hope there's someone"

Antony and the Johnsons Antony and the Johnsons ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Pop | Styles | Music General | Alternative Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music General | Pop | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man Martha Wainwright Leonard Cohen I'm Your Man Rejoicing in the Hands Want Two (CD/DVD combo) ASIN: B00004XOLZ Release Date: 2000-06-01

Tracks:

1. Twilight
2. Cripple and the Starfish
3. Hitler in My Heart
4. Atrocities
5. River of Sorrow
6. Rapture
7. Deeper Than Love
8. Divine
9. Blue Angel

Album Description

"Every emotion in the planet is in that gorgeous voice" - Diamanda Galas

Antony and the Johnsons is the self-titled debut release from the virtuosic English-born singer on David Tibet's DURTRO label through World Serpent Distribution in London.

Customer Reviews:

Unclassifiable beauty.......2007-07-07

Hits me like a ton of bricks. A transcendent beauty lies in this man's delivery and notions. Extremely fine production frames all of this. Highly recommended.

The Lotus Opens.......2007-03-25

Most exotic, most intimate, most real -- this extraordinary artist is hard to define. If you opened the petals of an lotus and stared into the heart of the flower it would approximate this experience - synesthesia unleased. Anthony and the Johnson's first release is a must before delving into his subsequent perfect offerings. Oh rapture.

long live Antony.......2007-03-14

I consider my self lucky enough to get to know Antony's music, specialy this album reminded me the feeling of something powerful, something that stays in your mind forever like The Wall-pink floyd or Grace-jeff buckley or led zeppelin III(list goes on). this album is na instant calssic-if you are open minded toward music you should get this one.

Antony.......2007-01-25

I saw Antony on Dave Letterman & was taken by his strange appearance that is so contary to his music which is heartbreakingly beautiful.

like the "Hope there's someone".......2007-01-09

I love them, but the "Hope There's Someone" has much more intensity and truth in the ballads...less instruments, less interference.
still love them though.

Average customer rating: More Feathers from a Beautiful Bird

Hope There's Someone Antony and the Johnsons Manufacturer: Rough Trade ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Chamber Pop | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Cabaret | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music Baroque Pop | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music ASIN: B00092MIN6 Release Date: 2005-05-17

Tracks:

1. Hope There's Someone
2. Frankenstein
3. Just One Star
4. Hope There's Someone [Multimedia Track]

Album Details

The Album Opener from Lou Reed's Unique Backup Singer's Second Album "i Am a Bird Now". The Song is Backed with Two NON-LP B-sides: "Frankenstein" and "Just One Star".

Customer Reviews:

More Feathers from a Beautiful Bird.......2005-06-08

I must say that Antony has not yet ceased to amaze me. This, his second EP since the release of his sublime sophomore album "I Am A Bird Now," continues to prove -and probe- the depth and sensitivity of Antony's songwriting.
As it was the case with his prior EP, "TheLake," the new, unreleased songs are as good if not better, in some cases, than the material featured from the above-mentioned full length album.
"Songs like "The Lake," in the earlier EP, or these NON-LP B-sides -"Frankenstein" and "Just One Star"- in this one seemed to have taken his lyricisn further, yet stripping it of the dramatic vein common in his songs.
They are indeed moving and vulnerable pieces, managing a certain kind of intimacy born of his intent to connect with you, artist to listener, person to person.
This is also profoundly clear when it comes to visual imagery. Included is the video of "I Hope Thre's Someone," a great song in its own right, which also manages to evoke the type of tenderness and loss and doubt -so present in Antony's lyrics- with very simple yet powerful images.
All in all, a wondrous gift, with plenty to explore and embrace. Quite remarkable a feat for three songs and a video.

Rap Music:

1. Are You Thinking What I'm Thinking?
2. Back to Me
3. Beautiful Soul [Enhanced]
4. Beethoven's Last Night
5. Bittertown
6. Bloom Remix Album [Content/Copy-Protected CD] [Enhanced]
7. Call Off the Search [Enhanced]
8. Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy [Original recording remastered] [Deluxe Edition]
9. Catch the Moon (Book & CD)
10. Chariot Stripped (Bonus CD)

Rap Music

rap music

Recommended Music:

Spirit Bound Flesh [Import]

Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli: In Recital

A-Tisket A-Tasket [Import]

Music: Elizabethan & Jacobean Consort Music

Al's Big Deal/Unclaimed Freight [Import]

Animetal Marathon [Import]

Angel Music

Bach: BWV Nos. 1049, 1050, 1051 & 1059

Alone & Together

17 Exitos

Beet, Maize & Corn [Extra tracks] [Import]

Best of [Import]

Beenden Sie das Rauchen [Import]

Let's Lose It

Yaina