mannny

Andrew Bird - Music of Hair (1996)

Fresh out of college, (Northwestern University) Andrew Bird was playing music around Chicago in clubs and fairs and such. He played with the band Charlie Nobody for a brief period of time. He was also featured on several albums from swing-jazz band, Squirrel Nut Zippers, which was a period of musical growth for Bird and introduced him to some new music. In 1996 he self-produced and released his first album, Music of Hair when he was only 23.

This album is very different from Bird’s later career. This music is not very contemporary. It includes several folk songs that are borderline bluegrass as well as many tracks that showcase Bird’s virtuosity on the violin. Nuthinduan Waltz and Ambivalence Waltz are folk tunes that have some twangy violin and Bird crooning the solemn lyrics. Oh So Insistent is a song played on solo violin with some guitar backing, which sounds like it belongs in a Renaissance fair. St. Francis Reel is an old Irish tune played wonderfully on violin. The two tracks that follow are also Bird on solo violin. Minor Beatrice is a highlight of the album. At roughly ten minutes long, it is a jazz-swing jam session featuring some nice guitar work and bowing as well as pizzicato on the violin. The album closes with a somber jazz song with Bird on the violin soloing over bass and drums.

This album is not a representation at all of what is to come from Andrew Bird. It probably won’t appeal to everyone as it is not the most contemporary music but I still think it is an interesting album with some great violin work. This is where Bird showcased everything he’s learned from his long classical training on the violin. If you are looking to get into him, this is probably the last thing you should listen as his most recent release sounds nothing at all like this. But still, a solid album.

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