Short Man's Room

Short Man's Room
Studio album by
Joe Henry
ReleasedJune 16, 1992
RecordedJune 1991, December 1991
GenreCountry[1]
LabelMammoth
ProducerJoe Henry
Joe Henry chronology
Shuffletown
(1990) 		Short Man's Room
(1992) 		Kindness of the World
(1993)

Short Man's Room is an album by the American musician Joe Henry, released on June 16, 1992.[2][3] He supported it with a North American tour.[4]

Production

The album was produced by Henry, who was backed by the Jayhawks on what he initially intended to be a collection of demos.[5][6] It was recorded in Minneapolis in June 1991 and December 1991 for around $3,000.[7][8] Dan Murphy played guitar on two of the tracks.[4] Henry was chiefly influenced by Van Morrison and the Band.[8] He wrote mostly in the first person, even when the songs were not autobiographical.[9] "King's Highway" describes an arbitrary murder.[9] The title track originated with Henry filling an index card with random words, in an attempt to end writer's block.[10] The cover painting is by John Kirby; the original was owned by Henry's sister-in-law Madonna.[11]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
All Music Guide[12]
Chicago Tribune[13]
Lincoln Journal StarA[14]
MusicHound Country: The Essential Album Guide[15]
The Philadelphia Inquirer[16]
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide[17]
The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music[18]

The Chicago Tribune said that "Henry's narrative songs, which are more like vignettes and character sketches than standard rhyming verses, have a slow-burning atmosphere of beauty and regret that is difficult to dismiss or resist."[13] The Lincoln Journal Star praised the "well-etched stories of lovers and losers."[14] The New York Times called the album "a compendium of understated glories, described against acoustic guitar, fiddle, mandolin and brushed drums."[19] The Morning Call panned the "uninspired vocals, hookless songwriting and misfiring lyrics".[20] The Philadelphia Inquirer stated that Henry applies "hard-bitten realism to the conventional singer-songwriter escape fantasies".[16]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Good Fortune" 
2."Reckless Child" 
3."Stations" 
4."Short Man's Room" 
5."King's Highway" 
6."The Diving Bell" 
7."Last One Out" 
8."Sault Sainte Marie" 
9."A Friend to You" 
10."Best to Believe" 
11."One Shoe On" 

References

  1. ^ Marshall, Claudia (November 8, 2007). "Joe Henry Returns to His Roots". Favorite Sessions. NPR.
  2. ^ Graff, Gary, ed. (2024). 501 Essential Albums of the '90s: The Music Fan's Definitive Guide. Motorbooks. p. 131.
  3. ^ Bennun, David (November 14, 1992). "Albums — Short Man's Room by Joe Henry". Melody Maker. Vol. 68, no. 46. p. 34.
  4. ^ a b Pratt, Tim (July 10, 1992). "Tour opens here". Entertainment. The Milwaukee Journal. p. 2.
  5. ^ "Album Reviews". Billboard. Vol. 104, no. 28. July 11, 1992. p. 46.
  6. ^ Wolff, Kurt (2000). Country Music: The Rough Guide. Rough Guides. p. 569.
  7. ^ Huffman, Eddie (July 24, 1992). "Singer whispers to listeners' deepest dreams". Preview. The Herald-Sun. Durham. p. 4.
  8. ^ a b Puckett, Jeffrey Lee (August 15, 1992). "'Short Man's Room' culminates a song crafter's journey". Scene. The Courier-Journal. p. 1.
  9. ^ a b Miller, Michael (June 12, 1992). "Joe Henry Returns with 'Short Man's Room'". The State. p. 10D.
  10. ^ Graff, Gary (July 17, 1992). "Joe Henry writes songs with a novelist's flair". Detroit Free Press. p. 9D.
  11. ^ Menconi, David (July 24, 1992). "Joe Henry's extraordinary eye". Weekend. The News & Observer. p. 4.
  12. ^ All Music Guide (3rd ed.). Miller Freeman Books. 1997. p. 178.
  13. ^ a b Rothschild, David (June 4, 1992). "Rave recordings". Tempo. Chicago Tribune. p. 7.
  14. ^ a b Wolgamott, L. Kent (July 21, 1992). "Records". Lincoln Journal Star. p. 7.
  15. ^ MusicHound Country: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1997. p. 202.
  16. ^ a b Moon, Tom (August 2, 1992). "New Recordings". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. G10.
  17. ^ (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. 2004. p. 375.
  18. ^ Larkin, Colin (2000). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music. Virgin Books. p. 190.
  19. ^ Schoemer, Karen (July 24, 1992). "Sounds Around Town". The New York Times. p. C24.
  20. ^ Darragh, Tim (July 25, 1992). "Records". The Morning Call. p. A62.
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