Scar (album)
| Scar | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Joe Henry | ||||
| Released | May 15, 2001 | |||
| Recorded | The Sound Factory, Hollywood | |||
| Genre | Alternative | |||
| Length | 57:59 | |||
| Label | Mammoth Records | |||
| Producer | Craig Street, Joe Henry | |||
| Joe Henry chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Allmusic |   link |
Scar is the eighth studio album by Joe Henry, released in May 2001 on Mammoth Records. 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.
Another track of note is Stop, a tango originally 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". Apart from the lyrics, the two songs have nothing in common.
Lizz Wright recorded a jazzy take on "Stop" which she included in her 2005 release "Dreaming Wide Awake".
Track listing
All songs written by Joe Henry, except where noted.
- "Richard Pryor Addresses a Tearful Nation" – 6:21
- "Stop" – 4:40
- "Mean Flower" – 4:50
- "Struck" – 5:24
- "Rough and Tumble" – 4:53
- "Lock and Key" – 4:46
- "Nico Lost One Small Buddha" – 3:23
- "Cold Enough to Cross" – 3:12
- "Edgar Bergen" – 6:03
- "Scar" / "Richard Pryor Reprise" (Henry, Coleman) (hidden track) – 14:22
Personnel
- Produced by Craig Street and Joe Henry
- Recorded and mixed by S. Husky Höskulds
- Recorded between September 7–10, 2000 at The Sound Factory, Hollywood, CA
- Additional recording: September 27–29, 2000 at Sear Sound, New York City, NY
- Engineering assistance by Adam "Hammy" Samuels at The Sound Factory, and by Todd Parker and Aaron Franz at Sear Sound
- Orchestra arranged and conducted by Steven Barber
- Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, New York City, NY
- Project coordination by Caroline Sprinkle
- Musicians:
- Joe Henry – guitar, vocals, keyboards, percussion
- Ornette Coleman – saxophone
- Brian Blade – drums, percussion
- Meshell Ndegeocello – bass
- David Pilch – bass
- Marc Ribot – guitar
- Brad Mehldau – piano
- Photography: Rosângela Rennó (front cover); Henry Diltz (Richard Pryor, 1968); Craig Street (booklet back cover); Melanie Nissen (additional photography)
- Design by Anabel Sinn
- "Dedicated to the vision of Richard Pryor, the invention of Ornette Coleman, and the memory of Neilo Anthony Ciccone (1925-1999)."