Bird of Paradise (album)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[10]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[8]
MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide	[11]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[12]

The Sun Sentinel wrote that Djavan's "voice is a clear, strong, masculine baritone, his guitar distinctly grounded in but not enslaved to the samba beat, the melodies are long, lilting, undulating lines rising above a plush, complex harmonic carpet."^[13] The Boston Globe thought that "Djavan's upbeat Anglo-Brazilian pop will appeal to West Coast jazz fusion fans as well as pop listeners."^[14]

The Washington Post determined that, "as slick and predictable as it is, though, the album is redeemed by a few of Djavan's lyrics, including the compulsive love song 'Madness' and the temptress tale 'Miss Susanna'."^[5] The New York Times concluded that, "as a singer, Djavan doesn't have the angelic, impeccable intonation of Mr. Nascimento or Mr. [Caetano] Veloso; he sounds a little more fallible and earthly, perhaps more approachable for American pop listeners."^[15] The Philadelphia Inquirer deemed the album "predictable, Westernized funk."^[16]

AllMusic called the album "full of strong, haunting, lusciously melodic songs often backed by that gently jumping, uplifting rhythm that runs through much of his material."^[10]