Civilians (Joe Henry album)
Encyclopedia
Civilians is the eleventh studio album by Joe Henry
, released on August 18, 2007. It was his first album of new material since his 2003 album Tiny Voices
. Joe recorded the album at The Garfield House in South Pasadena, California
between January 9-12 and February 22, 2007. The album also includes guest musicians Loudon Wainwright III
, Bill Frisell
, Greg Leisz
, and Van Dyke Parks
.
"God Only Knows," the final track on the album, was used in Turner Classic Movies
's 2008 "TCM Remembers" TV spot, a video memoriam of actors who had died in 2008.
The photograph on the album's cover is of visual artist Mary Frank
, circa 1960. The back cover's photograph features artist Red Grooms
crossing Third Avenue in 1960.
. Thom Jurek of Allmusic praised the album for its straightforward sound, and that Civilians is "the evidence of what pop music can and should be, profound without being self conscious, elegant while wearing its seams in plain view, and full of speech both lyrically and musically that invites the listener in for a real conversation." Dan Ouellette of Billboard
was impressed with the anecdotal qualities of the album, especially on the track "Our Song." Meanwhile, Joshua Klein of Pitchfork Media
criticized the album for its sound, describing the tempo as "dour," and expressed some dissatisfaction for the album's social commentary on American life.
Joe Henry
Joseph Lee "Joe" Henry is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Henry's musical style spans several genres, including alt. country, rock, jazz and folk.- Early years :...
, released on August 18, 2007. It was his first album of new material since his 2003 album Tiny Voices
Tiny Voices
Tiny Voices is the ninth studio album by Joe Henry, released in September 2003, and his first release on the ANTI- label. Tiny Voices features a unique production sound, quite discordant and unpolished in comparison to Henry's previous album Scar in 2001. Joe assembled a group of accomplished...
. Joe recorded the album at The Garfield House in South Pasadena, California
South Pasadena, California
South Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 25,619, up from 24,292 at the 2000 census. It is located in in the West San Gabriel Valley...
between January 9-12 and February 22, 2007. The album also includes guest musicians Loudon Wainwright III
Loudon Wainwright III
Loudon Snowden Wainwright III is a Grammy Award-winning American songwriter, folk singer, humorist, and actor. He is the father of musicians Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright and Lucy Wainwright Roche, brother of Sloan Wainwright, and the former husband of the late folk singer Kate McGarrigle.To...
, Bill Frisell
Bill Frisell
William Richard "Bill" Frisell is an American guitarist and composer.One of the leading guitarists in jazz since the late 1980s, Frisell's eclectic music touches on progressive folk, classical music, country music, noise and more...
, Greg Leisz
Greg Leisz
Greg Leisz is an American multi-instrumentalist, playing lap and pedal steel guitars, guitar, mandolin, and bass.- Biography :Leisz was influenced early on by the Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers, especially pedal steel player "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow...
, and Van Dyke Parks
Van Dyke Parks
Van Dyke Parks is an American composer, arranger, producer, musician, singer, author and actor. Parks is perhaps best known for his contributions as a lyricist on the Beach Boys album Smile....
.
"God Only Knows," the final track on the album, was used in Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
's 2008 "TCM Remembers" TV spot, a video memoriam of actors who had died in 2008.
The photograph on the album's cover is of visual artist Mary Frank
Mary Frank
Mary Frank née Mary Lockspeiser is a visual artist known primarily as a sculptor, painter and printmaker/illustrator.- Biography :...
, circa 1960. The back cover's photograph features artist Red Grooms
Red Grooms
Red Grooms is an American multimedia artist best known for his colorful pop-art constructions depicting frenetic scenes of modern urban life...
crossing Third Avenue in 1960.
Concept
In an interview with Impose Magazine, Henry stated that he wanted the album to be less about the production, and geared more toward the feel of "a band playing in a room." This approach is evident from the more stripped-back and raw feel of the album compared to the polish and sophistication heard on his previous three albums. Civilians is less upbeat and more influenced toward jazz and folk, which have melancholy undertones.Reception
The album received generally strong praise across the board, achieving an average score of 77 on MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
. Thom Jurek of Allmusic praised the album for its straightforward sound, and that Civilians is "the evidence of what pop music can and should be, profound without being self conscious, elegant while wearing its seams in plain view, and full of speech both lyrically and musically that invites the listener in for a real conversation." Dan Ouellette of Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
was impressed with the anecdotal qualities of the album, especially on the track "Our Song." Meanwhile, Joshua Klein of Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
criticized the album for its sound, describing the tempo as "dour," and expressed some dissatisfaction for the album's social commentary on American life.
Track listing
All songs written by Joe Henry, except where noted.- "Civilians" – 4:36
- "Parker's Mood" – 4:16
- "Civil War" – 4:42
- "Time Is a Lion" – 3:55
- "You Can't Fail Me Now" (Henry, WainwrightLoudon Wainwright IIILoudon Snowden Wainwright III is a Grammy Award-winning American songwriter, folk singer, humorist, and actor. He is the father of musicians Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright and Lucy Wainwright Roche, brother of Sloan Wainwright, and the former husband of the late folk singer Kate McGarrigle.To...
) – 4:13 - "Scare Me to Death" – 4:54
- "Our Song" – 6:20
- "Wave" – 4:30
- "Love Is Enough" – 4:49
- "I Will Write My Book" – 4:12
- "Shut Me Up" – 6:16
- "God Only Knows" – 5:03
Personnel
- Produced by Joe Henry
- Recorded by Ryan Freeland at The Garfield House, South Pasadena, CA
- Mixed by Ryan Freeland at The Garfield House
- Mastered by Gavin Lurssen at Lurssen Mastering, Hollywood, CA
- Musicians:
- Joe Henry – vocals, acoustic guitar, handclaps, knee slaps, and corduroy
- Bill FrisellBill FrisellWilliam Richard "Bill" Frisell is an American guitarist and composer.One of the leading guitarists in jazz since the late 1980s, Frisell's eclectic music touches on progressive folk, classical music, country music, noise and more...
– electric and acoustic guitar - Greg LeiszGreg LeiszGreg Leisz is an American multi-instrumentalist, playing lap and pedal steel guitars, guitar, mandolin, and bass.- Biography :Leisz was influenced early on by the Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers, especially pedal steel player "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow...
– acoustic guitar, mandolin, Weissenborn, and lap steel - Patrick Warren – piano, Chamberlin, pump organ, and more
- David Piltch – upright and electric bass
- Jay Bellerose – drums and percussion
- Loudon Wainwright IIILoudon Wainwright IIILoudon Snowden Wainwright III is a Grammy Award-winning American songwriter, folk singer, humorist, and actor. He is the father of musicians Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright and Lucy Wainwright Roche, brother of Sloan Wainwright, and the former husband of the late folk singer Kate McGarrigle.To...
– backing vocals
- Special guests:
- Van Dyke ParksVan Dyke ParksVan Dyke Parks is an American composer, arranger, producer, musician, singer, author and actor. Parks is perhaps best known for his contributions as a lyricist on the Beach Boys album Smile....
– piano on "Civil War" and "I Will Write My Book" - Chris Hickey – additional backing vocals on "Civilians" and "Time Is a Lion"
- The Section Quartet on "Our Song": Eric Gorfain – first violin; Daphne Chen – second violin; Leah Katz – viola; Richard Dodd – cello
- Van Dyke Parks
- Strings arranged and conducted by Patrick Warren
- Photographs by John Cohen, from the collection There Is No Eye (2001)
- Additional photography by Michael Wilson
- Design by Anabel Sinn