Category:
Rock / Roots

Try if you like:
David Gray, Loudon Wainwright Iii, Rufus Wainwright

I've never been a huge Joe Henry fan. I know lots of avid fans and they always try to get me converted with suggestions of trying a certain album. This album may have sold me though. Or maybe I'm getting old and less feisty. Regardless, I found a lot of qualities on Civilians, Mr. Henry's tenth album to date. Now one of the best qualities of the songs here are the musicians. Noted guitarist Bill Frisell is here providing his wonderfully original guitar sound to Joe's music and it just seems like magic. 

There are some amazing stories on Civilians as well. In the way that only Henry could possibly craft, he has taken stories of average individuals and turned them into moving songs. Try on "Scared To Death" for a case in point. Joe stated that his last album, 2003's Tiny Voices was intentionally chaotic. Civilians is stripped back even if the instrumentation seems thick. Songs are simple and yet grandiose. It's pretty amazing to be able to do that. Van Dyke Parks is contributing on Civilians as well providing some beautiful piano lines. The track "Civil War" may just go down as the best track he has ever penned.

Now Joe Henry has been tagged as an Americana songwriter but an album as beautiful as Civilians can only be flagged as a grand masterpiece. Seriously, if you haven't enjoyed Joe before check this album out and give him another chance. It is a wonderful album that deserves some attention.