Antony and the Johnsons I Am A Bird Now Vinyl LP 
 
There is a myth that great artists operate in seclusion. One need look no further than to the ten songs of Antony and the Johnsons' 2005 album, I Am A Bird Now, to realize this is an utter fallacy. To be sure, with his androgynous features, the singularly named Antony is an original. Have you ever heard a voice like this, imbued with the transcendental emotion of the blues, yet deployed with an unadorned simplicity reminiscent of medieval music practice, and graced with a top note of childlike wonder?
 
I Am A Bird Now, the second full-length from this extraordinary New York artist and his cohorts, features contributions from both Antony's peers (Rufus Wainwright, Devendra Banhardt) and heroes (Lou Reed, Boy George). Their involvement reflects both their admiration for Antony, and his unique place in the contemporary arts community. "Everyone's presence on the record shows them at their most unique, making a special contribution that is specific to them," says Antony.
 
He arranged each one with painstaking precision, like a director creating an extended tableau on stage. "Bringing other people in makes me feel less lonely," adds Antony. "I was making the album intuitively, the way I felt it wanted to be made. A lot of these people helped inspire this record."
As a youngster in California, Antony was smitten by the beguiling image of Boy George on Culture Club's 1982 debut album Kissing To Be Clever.
 
"George was really the first reflection I saw of myself in the world," he explains. "I saw him and thought, 'Okay, that's what we do when we're like this: We become singers.'" Twenty two years later, Antony found himself sitting at a piano, recording the haunting "You Are My Sister" with his icon. "When he was in the studio, I just felt this big, long circle connecting in my spirit."
 
 
Antony and the Johnsons I Am A Bird Now Track Listing:
 
 
 
1. Hope There's Someone   
2. My Lady Story   
3. For Today I Am a Boy   
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 Guhl