Joe Henry has collaborated with or produced some of the most significant songwriters of our time (Louden Wainwright III, Elvis Costello, Aimee Mann, and Ani DiFranco). His own profound songwriting skills are splayed out across the tracks of Civilians, which get some assistance from guitarist Bill Frisell, organist Patrick Warren, and drummer Jay Bellerose.
“Pray for you, pray for me / sing it like a song,” he sings out on the title track, amid verses that each manage to capture the essence of living in America in 2007 in eight lines or less. Take this gem: “Girls crowd into bathroom stalls / boys smoke in their cars / the General, he’s in Civilian clothes, standing at the bar.”
Henry, a singer/songwriter with jazzy nuances, specializes at capturing moments, and the record is plush with vivid imagery on war and love. Like his voice, the lyrical content of his songs is at once timeless and relevant. “Civil War” gets to the racial divide between American citizens, whereas the ambiguous nature of “You Can’t Fail Me Now” could find inspiration in a forlorn love affair or faltering politicians.
– Andrea Myers
Joe Henry: www.joehenrylovesyoumadly.com
Anti-: www.anti.com