Top5 albums • Joe Henry's Trampoline

Top5 albums I cannot live without: #2 Joe Henry's Trampoline

To be honest, I love every album by Joe Henry. All of them are amazing to me. The intensity of Blood from Stars never goes away. I do listen to Civilians and Tiny Voices more than the rest, but Trampoline is the one that started it all for me.


While I was a student DJ I subscribed to a magazine called CMJ because it came with a sampler CD. My first CMJ CD included the title track to Trampoline... Before the song was over I was on the way to Tower Records to pick up the album. The studio cut of Trampoline as a single is the only flawless song I've ever heard. The rest of the CD connects like a concept album and it tells the story of loss, dreams and airplanes.

Trampoline is the standout track of the album, but there isn't a bad song on the CD. There isn't a bad CD in his discography though his first 2 albums may take some warming up to.

I've only got sub-lists for Joe Henry; not Trampoline.

Sessions at West 54th
March 23, 1999
  1. Bob & Ray
  2. Like She Was A Hammer
  3. Trampoline
  4. Fuse
  5. Ohio Air Show Plane Crash
  6. Tell Her That I Said Hello
The Flower Girl - Joe Henry has a recurring character; a miner who "because there was no gold mine (he) freed the dogs and burns their sled. (He) killed the guy asleep in bed." He's written about this guy a few times. I always want to know how his story ends, but he seems to end in the same place with no end in sight. Some characters are just like that I suppose. I gotta to start a list of his songs:
  • Flower Girl from Trampoline
The Boy - Another recurring character is a 15 year Cuban boy who's mother works at a hotel when the revolution breaks out. When all the chaos clears he wonders why it is that not much really changed.
  • Edgar Bergen
  • This Afternoon

10/24/19: I just heard about Joe Henry's diagnosis today. I'm very sorry. I feel lost. Praying for him and his family. I love you madly Joe.
If you haven't already, you can order his new album through Music Glue with a promise that he'll sign it if you place your order before November 1. 

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