JWH’s last album ‘Adam’s Apple’ arrived in 2004, and the intervening 5 five years have seen the publication of two novels (under his real name, Wesley Stace) to critical acclaim, including a nomination for the Guardian’s First Book Award for ‘Misfortune'.
His artistic mainstay has always been as a singer/songwriter, and his musical biography is full of collaborations with some heavy hitters; duets and collaborations with Springsteen and Steve Earle spring to mind. ‘Who Was Changed..’ sees him team up with ‘The Minus Five’ for the album, who have long time friends Peter Buck and Scott MacCaughey (REM) among their number.
Those new to JWH will quickly see the links between novel writing and songwriting, his songs are littered with varied characters and settings, and his lyrics a fascinating mix of thoughtful, clever and often wry and sharp, and there are plenty of narrative twists across the 13 songs.
As befits an artist working across different fields, the tracks come from many points on the artistic map, acoustic guitar led folk, seamlessly leads into a Beatles-eque guitar riffs, and into early Elvis Costello – it’s certainly a mixed musical journey, but the fantastic musicians and quality of the writing brings it all together into a cohesive whole.
Highlights include ‘Top of the Bottom’ which starts as a career summary and after the first verse turns into a ridiculous, but sadly highly plausible commentary on the state of the music business and fame; ‘The End’ is a Buck & MacCaughey rock song that could have been taken straight off Elvis Costello’s ‘Get Happy!!’, and ‘A Very Sorry Saint’ is a beautifully arranged piece that hints at the novelist side of the writer.
The initial quantities of ‘Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead’ come with a free bonus 12 track live CD of fan favourites – it’s a fantastic album in its own right and full of memorable songs including ‘The Devil in Me’, ‘Window Seat’, and ‘Our Lady of the Highways’ which sees Josh Ritter ably stepping into Steve Earle’s shoes on the duet.

 £12.99