Healing Bones is an album by the American musician Jules Shear, released in 1994.[1][2] The first single was "Listen to What She Says".[3] Shear supported the album with a North American tour that included Paula Cole as the opening act.[4]

Healing Bones
Studio album by
Released1994
GenrePop
LabelIsland
ProducerPeter Van Hooke, Rod Argent
Jules Shear chronology
Horse of a Different Color: The Jules Shear Collection (1976–1989)
(1993)
Healing Bones
(1994)
Between Us
(1998)

Production

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The album was recorded in a barn in Bearsville, New York.[5] It was coproduced by Peter Van Hooke and Rod Argent; Argent also played keyboards.[6][7] "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" is a cover of the Walker Brothers song.[8] The title track, cowritten by Rick Danko, describes the death of a woman due to a plowing mishap.[9][6] "Two Friends" is about a person living with schizophrenia.[10]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [6]
Calgary HeraldB−[11]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide     [12]
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette    [13]
Rolling Stone     [14]

Guitar Player called Shear "one of few writers to compete with Elvis Costello's verbal virtuosity and unerring ear for hooks."[15] The News Tribune deemed the album "vibrant, electrified pop performed by an amazing band."[7] The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette determined that, "with a voice that at different times has an uncanny resemblance to Jackson Browne and Tom Petty, Shear brings feeling to his often-poignant lyrics."[13]

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch labeled Healing Bones a "generic collection of tepid retreads."[16] Rolling Stone wrote that "A Prayer (For Those Not Here)" "combines a Motown-catchy beat, Beach Boys-style backups and audacious rhymes (theoretically and phonetically) in pop that's as literate as it is melodic."[14] The Calgary Herald praised Shear's "weirdly engaging nasal voice."[11]

AllMusic wrote that "Shear and his crack four-piece band bring out both the charm and depth in the material, steering clear of the sort of production that has stamped a date on some of his recordings in the past."[6]

Track listing

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No.TitleLength
1."Listen to What She Says" 
2."A Bird in That Cage" 
3."Healing Bones" 
4."The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" 
5."Over the Lane" 
6."When You Finally Gonna Come Through" 
7."Never Again or Forever" 
8."Heaven/Hell" 
9."Two Friends" 
10."How Many Wheels" 
11."A Prayer (For Those Not Here)" 
12."By and By" 

References

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  1. ^ Kening, Dan (9 Sep 1994). "Radio Finally Comes Up with a Format to Suit Jules Shear". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. N.
  2. ^ "SXSWSAT". Austin American-Statesman. 14 Mar 1996. p. 37.
  3. ^ Applefeld, Catherine (Jul 16, 1994). "Jules Shear finds bliss in Woodstock, N.Y.". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 29. p. 16.
  4. ^ Holden, Stephen (16 Sep 1994). "Shear and Cole". The New York Times. p. C23.
  5. ^ Allan, Marc D. (11 Sep 1994). "Jules Shear doesn't miss 'Unplugged' job". The Indianapolis Star. p. I5.
  6. ^ a b c d "Healing Bones Review by Brett Hartenbach". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  7. ^ a b Nelson, Rick (2 Sep 1994). "Growth of AAA Radio Helps 'Unplugged' Shear Get Connected". The News Tribune. p. F2.
  8. ^ "Jules Shear Biography by Mark Deming". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  9. ^ Eichenberger, Bill (February 16, 1993). "Bassist Keeps His Band Past in Perspective". The Columbus Dispatch. p. 6D.
  10. ^ Sinclair, Tom (1 Jan 1995). "Jules Shear 'Healing Bones'". Fanfare. Newsday. p. 23.
  11. ^ a b Tremblay, Mark (9 Oct 1994). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald. p. C2.
  12. ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1996. p. 604.
  13. ^ a b Collins, Tracy (23 Sep 1994). "Shear's Jewel". Arts & Entertainment. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 18.
  14. ^ a b Evans, Paul (Oct 6, 1994). "Rollin' & Tumblin'—Healing Bones by Jules Shear". Rolling Stone. No. 692. p. 87.
  15. ^ Rotondi, James (Sep 1994). "Songlines – Healing Bones by Jules Shear". Guitar Player. Vol. 28, no. 9. p. 142.
  16. ^ Pick, Steve (23 Sep 1994). "What Should That CD Really Cost?". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 6E.