''Weather Systems'', released in 2003, is

Andrew Bird Andrew Wegman Bird (born July 11, 1973) is an American indie rock multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Since 1996, he has released 16 studio albums, as well as several live albums and EPs, spanning various genres including swing music ...

's second solo album and his first after disbanding Bowl of Fire. Bird has said that the album was simply a side project during his four or five year recording of ''

Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs ''Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs'' is the third album of Andrew Bird's career post- Bowl of Fire, released in 2005, following his ''Weather Systems'' in 2003. The album art, along with track illustrations in the accompanying bookl ...

''. At least two of the songs on the album suggest this fact: "I" is a slower, more dreary version of ''Armchair Apocrypha'' "Imitosis," and "Skin" is a similarly slow, instrumental version of ''The Mysterious Production of Eggs'' "Skin is, My." The disk features an eight-minute film by Bob Trondson about Bird and the recording of the album. The cover art was done by Jay Ryan. The first track, "First Song," borrows its title and most of its lyrics from a poem in

Galway Kinnell Galway Mills Kinnell (February 1, 1927 – October 28, 2014) was an American poet. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his 1982 collection, ''Selected Poems'' and split the National Book Award for Poetry with Charles Wright. From 1989 to 1 ...

's book, ''What a Kingdom It Was'', published in 1960. The penultimate song, "Don't Be Scared," is Bird's version of a song written and performed originally by

The Handsome Family The Handsome Family is an American music duo consisting of husband and wife Brett and Rennie Sparks formed in Chicago, Illinois, and as of 2001 based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They are perhaps best known for their song " Far from Any Road" from ...

Track listing

Other appearances

* The track "I" is an early version of "Imitosis", which appears on ''

Armchair Apocrypha ''Armchair Apocrypha'' is American singer-songwriter Andrew Bird's fourth studio album and his third post-Bowl of Fire album. The album features more electric guitars, a change from the more acoustic-oriented ''Eggs'', though the songs are simila ...

''. * "Skin" appears on the album '' The Mysterious Production of Eggs'' as "Skin is, My". * "Don't Be Scared" is originally performed by

on the album '' Down in the Valley''. A newer version by Bird appears on the cover album, '' Things Are Really Great Here, Sort Of…''. {{Authority control Andrew Bird albums 2003 albums Righteous Babe Records albums