Search - Joe Henry :: Shuffletown

The Sound Of Rain In The Desert

icb | 07/01/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Shuffletown is an American album and as such I will always think of it as music to drive across the country by: the lonely stretch between Amarillo and Albuquerque, or the years of difference between Salt Lake City and Logan, Utah. It somehow bridges the gaps, one of those rare records that becomes a personal possession as you ride out the storm. Joe Henry's images recall small town America, with a sepia-tinged sadness that might fall somewhere between Tom Waits and Robbie Robertson. Sonically it's a triumphant mystery, and it's my guess that producer T-Bone Burnett is to thank for using the trumpets, double-basses, and two-track recording that went the way of cool jazz in the early 60s. Consequently it sounds like no other album recorded in the late 80s/early 90s - it's got a slow burn to it, and matches Henry's lyrics and singing with a curious sympathy. Its sound is unlike all his other records (each distinctively terrific), it creeps up on you ("Land"), swells like the ocean ("Charlevoix"), is powerfully quiet ("Drowning in the River Half Laughing"). It's one of the few albums I own that I never tire of."

One of the great hidden treasures of the last 10 years

D. Rubin | Redwood City, California | 02/20/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a great record, no question about it, and it deserves wider recognition. The production and recording are exceptional--thank you, T-Bone. (And why don't more artists have the courage to do less rather than more in the way of production?) Beautiful, intelligent songs, highly evocative of small-town America, they hold up as memorable and moving over years of listening. I've been listening to Shuffletown steadily for 6-7 years now and I continue to find new levels of intelligence and expression in it. (I've also given it as a gift to many people.) My favorite of Joe Henry's recordings, by far."

This is the place to start.

Bt | 06/23/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Forget all you know about music. Give Shuffletown a listen, and you will restructure your outlook. This album not only builds a mood, but also a community full of Average-Joes (no pun intended), villiage idiots, garden poets, and, of course, the ultimate Southern griot."