Blood From Stars
by Joe Henry
  • Record Label: Anti
  • Release Date: Aug 18, 2009
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 9 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 9
  3. Negative: 1 out of 9

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  1. JasonP.
    Aug 19, 2009
    9
    My vote for album of the year. It's beautifully recorded, written, played and executed.
  2. DavidL.
    Aug 28, 2009
    10
    This is not a Joe Henry cd that will change anyone's mind about his music or gifts. Joe's music has been consistent during Scar, Tiny Voices, Civilians and, now, Blood from Stars. You either love his voice (I do), his songwriting (best American songwriter of the past 40 yrs, I think) and his music (some of the finest pop/rock/ jazz musicians of his and our time. This music will This is not a Joe Henry cd that will change anyone's mind about his music or gifts. Joe's music has been consistent during Scar, Tiny Voices, Civilians and, now, Blood from Stars. You either love his voice (I do), his songwriting (best American songwriter of the past 40 yrs, I think) and his music (some of the finest pop/rock/ jazz musicians of his and our time. This music will endure though is so out of sync with what's popular today that there is virtually no audience for it. No matter how much praise he receives from perceptive reviewers, Joe Henry will never be a star. He'd prefer it that way.… Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. Entertainment Weekly
    91
    Guitarist Marc Ribot flirts with a cornet, while Henry's sax-playing teenage son Levon makes an impressive debut. They play ballads, waltzes, and slow dances that give Henry's vignettes time to unwind, like weary travelers unpacking their burdens over cigarettes and gin.
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  2. Spin
    70
    These soulful laments and menacing gospel rumbles don’t really demand attention but reward it handsomely.
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  3. The New York Times
    70
    If Mr. Henry wants to suggest a less phlegmatic Tom Waits, as often seems the case here, he could stand to loosen up further. His lyrics can feel too artful, too self-conscious.
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