Album Info

Kindness of the World

Country - 1993

1993‘s Kindness of the World was Joe Henry’s last full album as a roots-rock balladeer, before his music dropped the... more

Tracklist

1

One Day When the Weather Is Warm

5:04 min
2

Fireman's Wedding

4:23 min
3

She Always Goes

4:19 min
4

This Close to You

4:22 min
5

Kindness of the World

4:49 min
6

Third Reel

5:02 min
7

Dead to the World

3:34 min
8

I Flew Over Our House Last Night

5:16 min
9

Some Champions

4:32 min
10

Buckdancer's Choice

7:10 min
11

Who Would Know

4:14 min
12

Untitled

3:04 min

About Kindness of the World

1993‘s Kindness of the World was Joe Henry’s last full album as a roots-rock balladeer, before his music dropped the twang and took off in new sonic directions. Backed by a pair of Jayhawks, with Victoria Williams adding her off-kilter little-girl harmonies on the title track, the music sounds a lot like some of the Midwestern bands from alt-country’s first bloom, featuring ringing, spacious guitar textures, mournful pedal steel, and a tastefully produced blend of acoustic and electric instruments. What sets Henry apart is his subtle and lyrical songwriting, guided by the keen eye of a novelist and a poet’s ear for what to leave out. Case in point: “Fireman’s Wedding,” whose joyously jangly guitars almost let you forget the darkness in the corner of the frame: “Let’s pretend that we’ll all live long enough/ To grow weary and mean then retire / As if all news will be good news from now on.” Elsewhere, the classic honky-tonk weeper “She Always Goes” dovetails beautifully with the album’s cover of a Tom T. Hall lament, “I Flew Over Our House Last Night.” Kindness of the World is a classic of the genre.