Scar

The opener, "Richard Pryor Addresses a Tearful Nation", is a tribute, and Henry, who had Pryor's photograph in his studio, imagined an Ornette Coleman solo for it. The Believer tells that he sent Coleman a letter and Fuse; Coleman's lawyer first said he did no session work, then called back to say Coleman knew exactly why he was being asked and would love to do it. Sound on Sound's engineer S. Husky Hoskulds says the album was tracked to tape, with a Coles 4038 ribbon microphone and a Victrola horn, and that Coleman found headphones distracting, so the band played back over speakers. Orchestral parts on three tracks were arranged by Steven Barber. Greg Calbi mastered it at Sterling Sound.

AllMusic gave 4 of 5, the Guardian, Q, Uncut and the Los Angeles Times 4, Spin 8 of 10, Rolling Stone 2.5 and Pitchfork 4.0. Orlando Weekly called the title song a poetic ballad closing the album and a transporting finish, and The A.V. Club's Joshua Klein grouped "Scar" with "Cold Enough to Cross" among the strong, somber ballads. "Stop" became the origin of Madonna's "Don't Tell Me" (2000), which she rewrote with Mirwais; Henry told NPR that he considered the original a throwaway written in about 25 minutes.