Customer Reviews

Trampoline

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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....

This was the album where Joe Henry suddenly veered away from the faceless but competent country-rock of his earlier albums and plunged headfirst into capital "A" art. The printed lyrics read like poetry, and the instrumental backing inches ever closer to the supple jazz leanings of his future releases. Guest guitarist Page Hamilton (of Helmet) supplies gently rocking support on the epic mystery of "Ohio Air Show Plane Crash" as well as surprisingly muscular funk on a cover of Sly Stone's "Let Me Have It All", but the remainder of "Trampoline" could almost be termed folk cabaret. The atmosphere throughout is one of almost crushing regret.

With heartland vocal veracity and grit-poetic lyrics, Joe Henry exudes the charms of the luckless and hopeless in bright rays. Amidst beaten-up percussion and hovering tremolo guitars, he prolongs an anxious expectation on Bob and Ray. As his relationship is shattering, he shares the plummet and crash of a pilot on the wily Ohio Air show Plane Crash. The album's title track, Trampoline, is a vivacious winner, tumbling bitter memories onto thorny guitars.

Featuring an orchestral arrangement, Flower Girl glimmers and shades humbly. Let Me Have It All (the one song not penned by Joe Henry) has cranky guitars and some good thundering drums. The haunting puttering that closes out Medicine recover this shambling track; it seems Mr. Henry is still recovering from his past crash: "Time has run away with us and it laughs at all the tears and fuss, best go with God and let me trust the ghost in here is you." The plaintive cry of Go With God (Topless Shoeshine) ends in this melancholy light. With string arrangement and trombone, I Was A Playboy treads softly but surely. The finisher, Parade, has potent lyrics and a glowing ambience.

A keen lyric and subtle sound is Joe Henry's Trampoline.

This collection is so well crafted I find it completely mesmerizing - the songs draw you in deeper and deeper. This album is a break from Henry's previous alt-country, acoustic-folk cd's (all great). It rocks in a haunting, mystical way with great use of drums, electric guitar, and effects. Henry's voice and lyrics too keep you hanging on every phrase. This cd takes you places....... Fantastic.

With heartland vocal veracity and grit-poetic lyrics, Joe Henry exudes the charms of the luckless and hopeless in bright rays. Amidst beaten-up percussion and hovering tremolo guitars, he prolongs an anxious expectation on Bob and Ray. As his relationship is shattering, he shares the plummet and crash of a pilot on the wily Ohio Air show Plane Crash. The album's title track, Trampoline, is a vivacious winner, tumbling bitter memories onto thorny guitars.
Featuring an orchestral arrangement, Flower Girl glimmers and shades humbly. Let Me Have It All (the one song not penned by Joe Henry) has cranky guitars and some good thundering drums. The haunting puttering that closes out Medicine recover this shambling track; it seems Mr. Henry is still recovering from his past crash: "Time has run away with us and it laughs at all the tears and fuss, best go with God and let me trust the ghost in here is you." The plaintive cry of Go With God (Topless Shoeshine) ends in this melancholy light. With string arrangement and trombone, I Was A Playboy treads softly but surely. The finisher, Parade, has potent lyrics and a glowing ambience.

A keen lyric and subtle sound is Joe Henry's Trampoline.

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.

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.

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....