Joe Henry

Add Date: October 25 

Artist: Joe Henry 

Album: Reverie 

Label: ANTI- 

Genre: Folk, country, rock 

Comments: Joe Henry is a multi-Grammy-winning producer. Most recently, he won Best Traditional Folk Album for producing the Carolina Chocolate Drops' 2010 LP, Genuine Negro Jig. Meanwhile, Reverie is Henry's 12th studio album. Henry himself describes it as "raw, noisy and scruffy work." Even if this is true, this album is very well-done and just all-around good. Although at times I felt as if it was a little overwrought, it's a solid record. The lyrics are definitely well-written and the tunes catchy and very unique.

What I like most about this is the intensity of the album. It's clear that Henry worked very hard to make this the best that he could; every aspect of this album is carefully performed. Take "Deathbed Version", for example (track 10). You can faintly hear a dog howling in the background throughout parts of this song, which gives it exactly the eerie quality that makes it unique and particularly stirring.

If you like Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan and Randy Newman, you'll probably like this album as well. Start with track 2, and then listen to 4, 5, 10 and 12. Yeah, that's a lot to go with, but it's a good album, and you won't regret it.