Trampoline

Joe Henry

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 26, 1996)
• Original Release Date: March 26, 1996
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Fontana Mammoth
• ASIN: B000004ATA
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #198,414 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > Indie Music > Rock > Singer-Songwriters

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording

After six albums on which he constantly moved back and forth between classic folk and country traditions, Joe Henry really hit his artistic stride on the brilliant Trampoline. While the album finds him occasionally drifting toward both of those familiar modes, Trampoline also introduces us to Joe Henry, the pop-rock experimentalist. From the exotic guitar strum that opens the album on "Bob and Ray," through a feedback-drenched cover of a Sly Stone obscurity ("Let Me Have It All"), to the dark funeral organ that drives the Blue Oyster Cult-ish "Medicine," to a track featuring a female opera singer ("Flower Girl"), the album allows Henry to use all sorts of musical eccentricities. This certainly both confused and delighted longtime fans, and set the stage for Fuse and the future. Lyrically, Henry seems to be in a pretty dark place--might or might not be about the end of a relationship. And "Flower Girl" may be the most beautiful song Henry's ever written. You could compare Trampoline to that moment when Tom Waits moved from the more traditional sound of his early albums to the Beefheartish experimentations of Swordfishtrombones and Rain Dogs--that's how great both the change and growth appear to be here. --Bill Holdship

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars dreaming of flowers, October 26, 2000

By	wanda (chicago, il) - See all my reviews

this album has become one of my favorite joe henry albums, not only for the elegance of the lyrics but also for the brooding darkness lurking in every song. trampoline exudes pain and despair in nearly every track, but escapes oppression with brilliant sounds and instrumentals (who else could use a pump organ, tape loops, electric guitar, operatic soprano AND a barbershop choir and not only escape disaster but end with such intoxicating results?). as others before me have mentioned, "flower girl" is a song of unrivalled beauty and mystery and probably joe henry's most hypnotic (and confounding) song ever. "parade" and "trampoline" both hint at memories that haunt long after the events that inspired them and even the happier sentiments on the album belie an inevitable isolation. though other reviewers mention a disconnected feel to the album, i think the flow of the songs is wonderful and dreamlike with the perfect balance between despair and reprieve.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Joe's best stuff, June 25, 2001

By	Kelly Street (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Operating for years on the roots rock/folk circuit, Joe Henry didn't just change his sound for this release. He effectively changed the direction he would take on subsequent releases, in effect starting over. While his prior CDs were good and garnered much critical acclaim, there was nothing to prepare the listener for this. I am no die-hard Joe Henry fan, (Scar and Fuse leave me cold) but there is no doubting the brilliance of Trampoline. Every song is impressive, like a greatest hits album of new material. Guest guitarist Page Hamilton from Helmet was a wise choice. Hard to pick highlights here, but two songs that harken back to Joe's country/folk days, "Go With God" and "Parade" are among the best things he has recorded.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An album that has to grow on you, March 24, 2000

By	Mark P (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews

I bought this because an indie radio station played "Trampoline" one night. I soon found that "Ohio Plane Show Crash" was an instant like as well as the great reverb and drumming on "Trampoline", and one of the most underrated song of music in my opinion , "Parade". a very good CD to sit back and reflect....