Scar (Joe Henry album)

Scar
Studio album by Joe Henry
Released	May 15, 2001
Recorded	September 7-10 & 27-29, 2000
Studio	The Sound Factory (Hollywood, California) Sear Sound (New York City, New York)
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	57:59
Label	Mammoth
Producer	Craig Street Joe Henry
Joe Henry chronology
Fuse (1999) Scar (2001) Tiny Voices (2003)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Alternative Press	8/10 [2]
The Guardian	[3]
Los Angeles Times	[4]
Pitchfork	4.0/10 [5]
Q	[6]
Rolling Stone	[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[8]
Spin	8/10 [9]
Uncut	[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:

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

• Joe Henry – vocals, keyboards, guitars, percussion
• Brad Mehldau – acoustic piano
• Marc Ribot – guitars
• Meshell Ndegeocello – bass
• David Piltch (as David Pilch) – bass
• Brian Blade – drums, percussion
• Abe Laboriel Jr. – drums
• Bobby Malach – reeds
• Ornette Coleman – alto saxophone solo

Orchestra (tracks 1, 4 & 9)

• Steven Barber – arrangements and conductor
• Sandra Park – concertmaster
• Bobby Malach – reeds
• Elizabeth Dyson and Gene Moye – cello
• Stacey Shames – harp
• Robert Rinehart – viola
• Sandra Park and Sharon Yamada – violin
• Eric Charleston – vibraphone, percussion

Production

• Joe Henry – producer
• Craig Street – producer, back cover booklet photography
• S. Husky Höskulds – recording, mixing
• Aaron Franz – assistant engineer
• Todd Parker – assistant engineer
• Adam Samuels – assistant engineer
• Greg Calbi – mastering at Sterling Sound (New York, NY)
• Caroline Sprinkle – production coordinator
• Anabel Sinn – designs
• Rosãngela Rennó – front cover photography
• Henry Diltz – photo of Richard Pryor (1968)
• Melanie Nissen – additional photography

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).