City Newspaper Archives - 10/2007
Joe Henry "Civilians"
ANTI
Published by Frank De Blase on Oct 03, 2007
Joe Henry's observations, ruminations, and seemingly out-of-nowhere jabs make something as mundane as looking for a sock somehow poetically beautiful and poignant. Henry seems of another time despite the total lack of any vintage shtick or antiquity. "Civilians" is Henry's follow up to 2003's heartbreakingly beautiful "Tiny Voices." This disc comes off a little less chaotic but no less intense and charming. Henry employs vets like Van Dyke Parks and Bill Frisell to elegantly flesh out his tales with a lilting Americana bop and swing. But it's Henry's love and execution of language within simple tales that really amazes. Take "Our Song," where Henry bumps into Willie Mays as he shops for garage door springs at a Scottsdale, Arizona, Home Depot.
Joe Henry's fingerprints as a producer are all over stuff by the Reverend Solomon Burke, Ani DiFranco, Aimee Mann, and Allen Toussaint/Elvis Costello, to name a few. But his genius lies here. "Civilians" is an utterly amazing platter. Believe.
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