Like so many other artists, Joe Henry decided that the best way to spend his downtime due to the pandemic was to try to generate something positive: that meant writing. What resulted, the world-class singer-songwriter and producer (Rhiannon Giddens, Joan Baez, Bonnie Raitt) has said, are 14 of the most personal songs of his career. The words he sings confirm it, but what he does all eye can see a particularly notable addition to Henry’s significant canon is that his innermost thoughts can also simply become our own. To resonate with a listener, Henry doesn’t need to write directly about the loneliness, fear, and isolation that permeated all of humanity in the time immediately following the release of his previous album, 2019. The gospel according to the water. Instead, find common ground by opening up, completely and without barriers. Henry searched his contact list for help, and those perusing the guest list are sure to find some familiar names: Daniel Lanois, Marc Ribot, The Milk Carton Kids, Bill Frisell. It goes without saying that his presence – and this is usually a very big-sounding recording – fleshes out Henry’s well-crafted lyrics, but ultimately it’s the artist’s vision that makes these songs hit home. There are no wasted words, and the images shine. “Someone broke into my eyes and took what they could see/Took my breath away and held it too long, the crowd trembled from the hanging,” she sings at the beginning of “Small Wonder,” one of several numbers that straddle both sides. of a fine line between the minimal and the massive. “Near to the Ground” is another whose phrase begs to be contemplated: “Yes, we were there, on the floor of your room? talking long and hard about your mother / counting her scars like tree rings / telling stories of lightning and thunder / you couldn’t go on living in that fallen world, no matter love or treasure, both buried alive”. Of course, it’s just as rewarding, maybe even more so, to give up all that close attention, pay attention, and just soak it all in. Either way, he wins.
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