JOE HENRY – BLOOD FROM THE STARS

Joe Henry is equally comfortable on either side of the microphone. Over the last decade he has spent more time producing other artists that penning his own material, and the likes of  Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, Elvis Costello and Solomon Burke have benefited greatly from his largesse. For album number 12 Henry has chosen to take his platform of choice, the blues, and make it all but unrecognisable. Blood From the Stars was recorded in the collaborative way that has become Henry’s trademark as a producer, and includes saxophone work from his award-winning son Levon, and some sultry coronet riffs by guitarist Marc Ribot. With top notch players and understated arrangements, Henry coaxes each tune along on a wave of mood and atmosphere, letting his penchant for words linger, “I’m going to dig my well from the bottom to the top / A long ways up from here /  I’m going to change my name until it rings a bell”. Perhaps Joe Henry’s truest contemporary is Tom Waits, although Henry is not so much a teller of tales (dark or otherwise) as he is a man of images and mood: “We keep it all / Hid like laughter / And sing ‘How dare’ / Death to the storm”. Top notch.

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