Scar (Joe Henry album)

Last updated
Scar
JoeHenry-Scar.jpg
Studio album by
Joe Henry
ReleasedMay 15, 2001
RecordedSeptember 7–10, 2000
Studio Sound Factory, Hollywood, California
Genre Alternative rock
Length57:59
Label Mammoth
Producer Craig Street, Joe Henry
Joe Henry chronology
Fuse
(1999)		Scar
(2001)		 Tiny Voices
(2003)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Alternative Press 8/10 [2]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [4]
Pitchfork 4.0/10 [5]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Spin 8/10 [9]
Uncut Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [10]

Scar is the eighth studio album by Joe Henry, released in May 2001 on Mammoth Records. Co-produced by Craig Street, it marked another shift in direction for Henry's music, and a foray into the genres of jazz and soul music. The opening track is a homage to comedian Richard Pryor (whom the album is also dedicated to), and according to Henry's essay "The Ghost in the Song," he was "called by a vision" to collaborate with free jazz artist Ornette Coleman. Henry wrote:

Contents

I had a dream. A "vision," I'm tempted to say. And the vision had a voice, and the voice spoke a word: Ornette. It didn't need to speak the other word, for I knew. I needed Ornette Coleman's musical voice to complete the song with which I was at that precise moment struggling.

Henry eventually convinced Coleman to record a solo for the track "Richard Pryor Addresses a Tearful Nation," and also contributed a reprise at the very end of the album as a hidden track. Henry discusses his interactions with Coleman at length as the last part of a 2016 interview. [11]

Another track of note is "Stop", a tango written by Henry. His wife, Melanie, sent an early demo of the track to her sister Madonna, who re-used the lyrics for "Don't Tell Me". Henry often quips during live gigs that "I recorded my version as a tango, and she recorded hers as a hit".

Lizz Wright recorded a jazzy take on "Stop" which she included in her 2005 release Dreaming Wide Awake , also an album produced by Craig Street and recorded by S. Husky Höskulds.

Track listing

All songs written by Joe Henry, except where noted.

  1. "Richard Pryor Addresses a Tearful Nation" – 6:21
  2. "Stop" – 4:40
  3. "Mean Flower" – 4:50
  4. "Struck" – 5:24
  5. "Rough and Tumble" – 4:53
  6. "Lock and Key" – 4:46
  7. "Nico Lost One Small Buddha" – 3:23
  8. "Cold Enough to Cross" – 3:12
  9. "Edgar Bergen" – 6:03
  10. "Scar" / hidden track: "Richard Pryor Reprise" (Henry, Ornette Coleman) – 14:22

Personnel

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References

  1. ↑ Jurek, Thom. "Scar – Joe Henry". AllMusic . Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  2. ↑ "Joe Henry: Scar". Alternative Press (156): 71. July 2001.
  3. ↑ Aizlewood, John (September 14, 2001). "Joe Henry: Scar (Mammoth/Edel)". The Guardian . Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  4. ↑ Appleford, Steve (May 13, 2001). "Joe Henry, 'Scar,' Mammoth". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on October 25, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  5. ↑ Juzwiak, Richard M. (May 29, 2001). "Joe Henry: Scar". Pitchfork . Archived from the original on October 21, 2002. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Joe Henry: Scar". Q (182): 122. October 2001.
  7. ↑ Abowitz, Richard (May 24, 2001). "Joe Henry: Scar". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on June 9, 2008. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  8. ↑ Sarig, Roni (2004). "Joe Henry". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp.  376–77. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
  9. ↑ Weisbard, Eric (June 2001). "Joe Henry: Scar / Mark Eitzel: The Invisible Man". Spin . 17 (6): 145–46. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  10. ↑ "Joe Henry: Scar". Uncut (49): 110. November 2001.
  11. ↑ , Steve Dawson, Music Makers and Soul Shakers Podcast, Episode 16 - Joe Henry (Part 2).
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