Editor Reviews:

Amazon.com:
Violinist Andrew Bird earned well-deserved acclaim for his 1998 debut CD, Thrills, and its cabaret-meets-hot-jazz energy. Oh! The Grandeur is the much-anticipated follow-up and is every bit as quirky and darkly perfect. It's got Bird's astringent fiddle cutting a wide swath through Colin Bunn's riff-strummed and breezy cool guitar and the clomping rhythms of Josh Hirsch's bass and Kevin O'Donnell's drums. And it's got Bird's round-edged voice rolling over lyrics that are alternately moody and slaphappy. The music is clearly indebted to the hot club jazz that's been built on the duo of Stephane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt, but it also owes props to Kurt Weill and even Bob Wills. Bird might not ever make the morning talk show circuit in the U.S. (unlike his former band, Squirrel Nut Zippers), but he's got a lock on taking a wealth of American traditions and rolling them into an odd, endearing whole. --Andrew Bartlett

Rating : - Old time is new again
Quirky and bizarre as we've come to expect from Bird, but sounding more like Venuti and Lang or the Hot Club of Paris than ever before, Bowl of Fire and their leader managed to not only hit the high standard they set for themselves with "Thrills," they surprassed it in both songwriting and playing.

As usual, the lyrics are often nonsensical and humorous ("Dora Goes to Town", "(What's Your) Angle"), even when the subject isn't ("Tea and Thorazine", about autism). The melodies will stay in your mind for weeks to come ("Wishing for Contentment"). The band is tighter than SNZ ever were, and the solos show a real appreciation for 20s/30s hot music. This band could play circles around some others born in the swing fad of the late 90s, and could probably sit right in with any of the small combos they idolize. "Candy Shop," at last minute addition to the record, shows the band in what must have been a quickly thrown together studio session for an addition to a movie soundtrack but is nonetheless impeccably played.

Gone, however, are the country blues songs that ended "Thrills", but a consistant theme flows through the record, something that felt missing from the first album. The production also manages to hold a retro aspect without becoming muddy or too lo-fi for the casual listener. A few songs from the middle and end drag from lack of energy or creativity, but the good stuff far outweights the bad.