# Scar (Joe Henry album)

Professional ratings :
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Alternative Press | 8/10 |
| The Guardian | |
| Los Angeles Times | |
| Pitchfork | 4.0/10 |
| Q | |
| Rolling Stone | |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
| Spin | 8/10 |
| Uncut | |
Scar is the eighth studio album by Joe Henry, released in May 2001 on Mammoth Records. Co-produced by Craig Street, it marked another shift in direction for Henry's music, and a foray into the genres of jazz and soul music. The opening track is a homage to comedian Richard Pryor (whom the album is also dedicated to), and according to Henry's essay "The Ghost in the Song," he was "called by a vision" to collaborate with free jazz artist Ornette Coleman. Henry wrote:
   I had a dream. A "vision," I'm tempted to say. And the vision had a voice, and the voice spoke a word: Ornette. It didn't need to speak the other word, for I knew. I needed Ornette Coleman's musical voice to complete the song with which I was at that precise moment struggling.
Henry eventually convinced Coleman to record a solo for the track "Richard Pryor Addresses a Tearful Nation," and also contributed a reprise at the very end of the album as a hidden track. Henry discusses his interactions with Coleman at length as the last part of a 2016 interview.
Another track of note is "Stop", a tango written by Henry. His wife, Melanie, sent an early demo of the track to her sister Madonna, who re-used the lyrics for "Don't Tell Me". Henry often quips during live gigs that "I recorded my version as a tango, and she recorded hers as a hit".
Lizz Wright recorded a jazzy take on "Stop" which she included in her 2005 release Dreaming Wide Awake, also an album produced by Craig Street and recorded by S. Husky Höskulds.

## Track listing

All songs written by Joe Henry, except where noted.
* "Richard Pryor Addresses a Tearful Nation" – 6:21
* "Stop" – 4:40
* "Mean Flower" – 4:50
* "Struck" – 5:24
* "Rough and Tumble" – 4:53
* "Lock and Key" – 4:46
* "Nico Lost One Small Buddha" – 3:23
* "Cold Enough to Cross" – 3:12
* "Edgar Bergen" – 6:03
* "Scar" / hidden track: "Richard Pryor Reprise" (Henry, Ornette Coleman) – 14:22

## Personnel

* Joe Henry – vocals, keyboards, guitars, percussion
* Brad Mehldau – acoustic piano
* Marc Ribot – guitars
* Meshell Ndegeocello – bass
* David Piltch (as David Pilch) – bass
* Brian Blade – drums, percussion
* Abe Laboriel Jr. – drums
* Bobby Malach – reeds
* Ornette Coleman – alto saxophone solo
Orchestra (tracks 1, 4 & 9)
* Steven Barber – arrangements and conductor
* Sandra Park – concertmaster
* Bobby Malach – reeds
* Elizabeth Dyson and Gene Moye – cello
* Stacey Shames – harp
* Robert Rinehart – viola
* Sandra Park and Sharon Yamada – violin
* Eric Charleston – vibraphone, percussion

### Production

* Joe Henry – producer
* Craig Street – producer, back cover booklet photography
* S. Husky Höskulds – recording, mixing
* Aaron Franz – assistant engineer
* Todd Parker – assistant engineer
* Adam Samuels – assistant engineer
* Greg Calbi – mastering at Sterling Sound (New York, NY)
* Caroline Sprinkle – production coordinator
* Anabel Sinn – designs
* Rosãngela Rennó – front cover photography
* Henry Diltz – photo of Richard Pryor (1968)
* Melanie Nissen – additional photography