Cheap Scar (Music) (Joe Henry) Price

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Customer Reviews of Scar

Paper Cut
As with all artists of this ilk, fans scatch their heads in amazement over why Joe Henry isn't a big star. Here are two reasons: he can't sing and he can't write songs. Vocally, Henry by turns evokes the latter day Dylan, Randy Newman and, surprisingly, Bob Marley, but in each of these guises, mix in a dreary dose of Tom Waits -- and at least Waits has a sense of humor. Actually, the first three songs are pretty good, but the album quickly descends into the petty nastiness of "Struck," the icky-poo cuteness of "Rough and Tumble," continuing to deteriorate until it reaches the exquisite torture of the title track, by which point Henry has abandoned all pretense of melody or rhythm. Along the way is a jazz-rock fusion number that seems to have stumbled in from a John McLaughlin record (complete with some inane title involving Nico and two Buddhas)-- the guitarist does a pretty good McLaughlin imitation, but stick with "Devotion" or "Inner Mounting Flame" to hear the real thing. And speaking of jazz, the presence of the great Ornette Coleman graces this record for some reason, but the presence is much much much too brief. This record may be "dripping with atmosphere," as one reviewer wrote, but after a few minutes you might just find yourself desperate to dry off.

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The Equal of "Fuse"?
Joe Henry's 'Fuse' was one of 1999's best albums (in the top five in the New York Times Critics' Poll); with 'Scar,' Henry has created a worthy follow-up. The new album is darker than 'Fuse,' and the songs are mostly slower (a notable exception is "Mean Flower"). Ornette Coleman, Marc Ribot, and percussionist Brian Blade help out, with several solos by Coleman appearing throughout the album. The songs themselves are excellent. The title track, in particular, may be Henry's best song. "Richard Pryor Addresses a Tearful Nation" is another standout. The album is not quite perfect; the instrumental "Nico Lost One Small Buddha" is jarring in context with the rest of the album. In the end, though, 'Scar' is one of Henry's best efforts to date, and nearly the equal of 'Fuse.'

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A mark so fine, yet still a scar.....
Madonna's brother-in-law, JH has his original song, "Stop" on this cd, which she turned into the country-pop of "Don't Tell Me." His version is a slinky, slow to resolve, eastern-influenced shuffle worthy of many, many, many repeated listenings! The second best song, "Scar," is a soft, yet shattering lament followed by 3 minutes of silence, and then, a rocking 10-minute jam session as a hidden track! If you're new to JH, I suggest "Fuse" as your first purchase, as the songs on "Scar" can get long-winded, fast.