God Is In The Details

New Rodney Crowell project 'Lit' due April 3

Rodney Crowell re-teams with producer Joe Henry for a collaborative effort with author Mary Karr entitled Lit (due April 3 on Vanguard Records).  The album, featuring the likes of Emmylou Harris, Norah Jones and Lucinda Williams, among many others - was recorded over a long span in LA, Nashville and New York.  As a fan of Crowell and Karr (and just about everyone else involved), I am really looking forward to this one!

A few 2011 odds & ends...

Well, 2011 saw the end, more or less, to my previous music blog, Houston Ramblings.  I decided to make some effort to keeping this blog a going concern and found very little time (or inspiration) for any additional blogging.  As such, I no longer have an outlet for the usual year-end lists, and I hope you'll indulge me a bit for sharing a few of my favorite musical highlights from the past year.  I've got some detailed notes typed up for each of these albums, but for now I thought you might enjoy a quick rundown of my 2011 Favorite Albums.

1. Joe Henry - Reverie
2. Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter - Marble Son
3. Over The Rhine - The Long Surrender (technically a very late 2010 release)
4. Sam Phillips - Cameras In The Sky (from her subscriber-only digital project The Long Play)
5. Gillian Welch - The Harrow & The Harvest
6. Wilco - The Whole Love
7. The Decemberists - The King Is Dead
8. The Black Keys - El Camino
9. Hugh Laurie - Let Them Talk
10. Hayes Carll - KMAG YOYO (& Other American Stories)

Whew!  Feels good to get that off my chest.

New Bonnie Raitt album will feature Joe Henry-produced tracks

Happy New Year, fellow Joe Henry fans!

Rolling Stone is reporting that Bonnie Raitt will release a new album in April, her first in seven years and the first on her own label.  Better yet, the record will feature some tracks produced by Joe Henry.  It is my understanding that these tracks have been on the shelf for some time, their utlimate fate somewhat uncertain.  It is great news, indeed, to read that they will finally see the light of day.

UPDATE: JamBase has more details, including the tracklisting.  Four of the twelve tracks will be from the JH sessions, which presumably included the two JH songs ("God Only Knows" and "You Can't Fail Me Now") and the two Dylan covers.

Joe Henry on NPR's Tiny Desk Concert

UPDATE:  iTunes download of the video here, audio here.

You can watch JH perform several songs from Reverie over at NPR's Tiny Desk Concert.  Follow the link, or simply watch below...

Joe Henry mix from Paris DJ's

Following Nicolas Ragonneau's great interview with Joe Henry, Paris DJ's has posted a unique podcast mix of his solo and production work.  Notably, the mix includes a couple of rarities, including JH's production of a Swell Season track (from Levi's Pioneer Sessions) and a b-side from the "This Afternoon" single.

Definitely worth your time to download it and check it out!

Joe Henry on World Cafe & Fresh Air

Joe Henry's solo performance and interview was aired on WXPN's World Cafe yesterday.  You can listen to it here.

UPDATE:  Also check out this interview with Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air.

Jeffrey Overstreet reflects on Over The Rhine's 'The Long Surrender'

Jeff Overstreet is kicking off a track-by-track series of posts about Over The Rhine's The Long Surrender.

I think there are a fair number of OtR fans who regard The Long Surrender as their finest work (Overstreet among them).  And I think, as I've spent an entire year with the album, that it is definitely my favorite Joe Henry production (outside of his own work, of course).  It seems the first time that JH really produced an artist whose work and career closely reflect the tragectory of his own.  By all appearances, it was a mutually enjoyable experience, and I for one hope that The Long Surrender will only be the first JH production in the Over The Rhine discography.

I'll have much more to say about The Long Surrender in the coming weeks when I reflect back a bit on a very big year for Joe Henry.

Joe Henry on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic

Joe Henry appeared on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic today.  The audio rebroadcast is available here (hopefully, the video broadcast will be available over the next day or so).

UPDATE:  And here ya go...

NPR First Listen: Meshell Ndegeocello's 'Weather'

You can get an early listen to the Joe Henry-produced album by Meshell Ndegeocello by heading over to NPR.  Weather will be released next week (Nov. 8).

While you're at it, why not check out Terry Gross's interview with Tom Waits on Fresh Air?

UPDATE:  Josh Hurst's review of Weather.

Joe Henry interview w/ Paris DJ's (and other updates)

Nicholas Ragonneau at French music site Paris DJ's has posted a pretty awesome interview with JH.  Quite a few enlightening answers to questions of the "Name your favorite..." variety (Wes Anderson!)

Also upcoming:

• Performance on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic, Nov. 3
• Performance on NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts, Nov. 17
• UPDATE:  Appearance on WXPN's World Cafe, Nov. 8
• Serveral 2012 tour dates in Toronto, Ann Arbor and NYC