This appeared in "Buzz!", July 1997, which is a "south wales entertainment guide" July 1997. It's free in local shops. Unfortunately it doesn't have as wide a distribution as 'Q'.
Mutton Birds 'Envy Of Angels' Virgin
Although scandalously overlooked in this country, New Zealand's
Mutton Birds continue to mine a rich seam of intelligent songwriting
with inequitable guile and attention to detail. Frontman Don
McGlashan is back to his infectious best on a series of extravagantly
melodramatic vignettes complete with elusive playing cooked up by
producer Hugh Jones (Dodgy, the Bluetones)... 9
I've also found some more EoA reviews in my rovings across the www...
Found at http://www.xtra.co.nz/realgroove/47-197/reviews/197-the_mutton-envy_of.html was this (Real Groove Reviews)
It has been four years since The Mutton Birds gave us their superb self-titled 1992 debut album... and two years since the less satisfying Salty (1994). Nowadays, The Mutton Birds are based in the United Kingdom. Envy Of Angels - their third album - was recorded in Wales during July and August 1996. Perhaps due to the change in landscape, their combined talents - especially the brilliance of Don McGlashan's songwriting and singing - shine more brightly than ever. More likely, the years of experience, hard work and practice have moved them all closer to perfection in their chosen craft. This album works like a text-book of how and why the modern pop song - in the hands of expert artisans - can sometimes stake a genuine claim to enduring art. Pick any example... say, "Straight To Your Head". At face value, this is a simple love song. But it is no slapdash three-chord throwaway. Its easy gracefulness and elegant structure disguise a far from simple harmonic design. The deceptively clean arrangement is spiced with weird sounds in the subliminal mix. And let's not forget the slightly sad poignancy of McGlashan's voice quality... a voice just made to sing his songs, or vice versa. The result is as near perfect as mortals generally get. And we are only on track one. And track one is not - repeat not - the best track. (Actually, "While You Sleep" is.) Yes, there are one or two weaker spots - "Crooked Mile" is an OK instrumental which seems intended mainly as a backdrop to the real songs (as such it is not out of place). "Come Around" is competent and also not musically out of place - but it is just a little too predictable to qualify for excellent. However, this is carping and others will disagree. There are 13 tracks on this album. By any count, nearly all of them - let's say 11 - are impeccable. Taken together they represent a classic album. (10)
And yet another... this time from http://www.xtra.co.nz/auto/entertainment/cdreviews/past/muttonbirds.html - Dee Chord pages.
This is record which takes a while to grow on you. On first listen it seems, well, slightly bland, very slick, and not really like the Mutton Birds of old - there's no 'Dominion Road' here. But after a couple of listens you'll find yourself inexplicably humming tunes from it. It gets in your head. Apparently most of the material for this CD was recorded at a remote studio in rural Wales; the same studio where Queen recorded Bohemian Rhapsody. The Mutton Birds have spent the good part of the last two years in the UK and Europe, playing various festivals and getting rave reviews. You would expect their sound to have changed because of this. It's amazing, then, that there is still a very "kiwi" feeling to most of these songs. I think this is partly because of Don McGlashan's poetic lyrics, and his ability to write songs about simple, everyday events; meeting a new flatmate; going swimming at night, driving on new tar-seal; it's all stuff we can instantly recall. The songs are very slickly produced; there's less jangly guitar and more lilting poppy tunes than on previous Mutton Birds releases. The first single from the album, 'She's Been Talking', is not the strongest song here, although it is very catchy. The first track; 'Straight to Your Head' should be a hit, 'While You Sleep' is a beautiful romantic ballad, and the title track, 'Envy of Angels', is quite lovely; a moody, goosebumpy song which is a perfect finish to a pretty interesting and ultimately, very satisfying listen. Give it some time to grow on you too.
Now... ammittedly these are both from NZ so are likely to be better than those in the UK... but I think well deserved!!
This review was in the November 1997 issue of Country Music International.
>>The Mutton Birds - Envy Of Angels *****
[Ratings: ***** Excellent; **** Very Good; *** Average; ** Poor; * Avoid]
[Out of 48 album reviews, 5, including Envy, were given 5 stars.]
The Mutton Birds? In a country music magazine? Surely some mistake! No
mistake at all. For The Mutton Birds have staked out a pitch that draws in
equal measure from the tuneful accessibility of The Eagles to the experimental
arrangements of The Byrds. In lead vocalist and chief writer Don McGlashan,
The Mutton Birds have a voice that manages to embrace a pastoral nostalgia
that is curiously English. For that, some of the credit can be ascribed to
producer Hugh Jones, who - by pushing the violin well up in the mix on the
opening "Straight To Your Head" - sets a tempo and mood for the whole album.
However, rather than dwelling upon specifically countryish facets to this
album, more it is the feeling that permeates it. And the harmonies. In the
harmonies, there is a breadth and depth that only the Byrds managed to
achieve when David Crosby was still in tow. With songs such as "She's Been
Talking", "Another Morning" and "Turn Around", this is the type of material
that would improve the programming on any radio station of any generic
persuasion. A five star classic.
Hugh Gregory
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If you have any reviews of any Mutton Birds stuff then email it to me on mr_sneeze@geocities.com.
Last update 16 Feburary 1998