Joe HenryCivilians | Anti-  September 12,
2007 11:05:29 AM
|
Like T Bone Burnett and Tom Waits, whose latest albums share this disc’s elegant, elemental sonic approach, Joe Henry is an unlikely candidate for a protest CD, even one this subtle. But “Our Song” is Civilians’ emotional heart, and it’s an essay about the nation’s lost soul. On his 11th release, poetic lyrics rub up against a vision for arranging that’s as organic as stone. The 12 songs are rhythmically warm and appealing thanks to Jay Bellirose’s spare-cymballed drumming and the beautifully knotty guitars of Henry, Bill Frisell, and Greg Leisz. There’s also plenty of open space — still the key to conjuring the American landscape even after so much malling. “You Can’t Fail Me Now” is the most seductive tune, thanks to its gliding steel-guitar hook and Henry’s sweetest melodic vocal, even as it signals fading hope for the future. Henry has recently produced excellent recordings for Bettye LaVette, Solomon Burke, Susan Tedeschi, and the team of Allen Toussaint, Irma Thomas, and Mavis Staples. Civilians is a reminder that he’s a performer of equal rank.
Joe Henry | Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Ave, Boston | September 21 | 617.369.3393
|
 |
|
- Scambaiting turns the tables on Internet con men. But when the clever pranks turn dangerous and degrading, where does the moral compass point?
- One Cape Cod blogger is getting the scoops and setting the pace for Massachusetts casino coverage — for better or worse
- Moore’s the pity at SxSW
- Anniversary party: The FBI celebrates 12 years of failure
- Dynasties? Americans love ’em when Heather Locklear or Michael Jordan is involved. But will they embrace the Clintons?
- Never mind its tough-girl alt-porn feminism: SuicideGirls has already moved on to a new generation
- Dynasties? Americans love ’em when Heather Locklear or Michael Jordan is involved. But will they embrace the Clintons?
- One Cape Cod blogger is getting the scoops and setting the pace for Massachusetts casino coverage — for better or worse
- Exploring the larger side of Burlesque at the Millky Way, September 5, 2007
- Bresca’s chef expands on her pastry heritage
- Notes on Gary Cherone's latest musical venture
- Carcieri takes another run at cutting state workers, but the outlook is murky
|
-
The best of the season’s roots, world, folk, and blues
-
The Storm | Category 5
-
Grace Potter makes a major-label smash
-
Juke Joint Duo | Soul Is Cheap
-
Drums along the Hudson | Cooking Vinyl
-
Big Science | Nonesuch
-
Suzanne Vega gets into the sounds of the city
-
Bobby Rush digs his roots
-
Going Way Out with Heavy Trash | Yep Roc
|
- Fabrications | Die Stadt
- Attack Decay Sustain Release | Interscope
- Shout Factory!
- Street Symphony | High Street
- Signature Sounds
- Marissa Nadler’s icy, transporting gothic folk
- The Storm | Category 5
- Recycled Recipes | Lost Highway
- Our Love to Admire | Capitol
|
|
|
|