Scar (Joe Henry album)

Scar
Studio album by Joe Henry
Released	May 15, 2001
Recorded	September 7–10, 2000
Studio	The Sound Factory, Hollywood
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, guitar, keyboards, percussion
• Marc Ribot – guitar
• Bobby Malach – reeds
• David Piltch (as David Pilch) – bass
• Brian Blade – drums, percussion
• Ornette Coleman – alto saxophone solo
• Brad Mehldau – piano
• Meshell Ndegeocello – bass
• Abe Laboriel Jr. – drums
• "Orchestra" on tracks 1, 4 and 9:
  • Bobby Malach – reeds
  • Sandra Park – violin, concertmaster
  • Sharon Yamada – violin
  • Robert Rinehart – viola
  • Elizabeth Dyson, Gene Moye – cello
  • Stacey Shames – harp
  • Eric Charleston – vibes, percussion
  • Orchestra arranged and conducted by Steven Barber

References[]