Reviews

Winds of Texas

I am rarely speechless, but I sat silently for forty-two minutes listening to Tim Henderson because I didn’t want to miss a single phrase.  This album wasn’t created in an effort to offer competition for the popularity of say, Taylor Swift, but rather it serves a more noble existence.  WINDS OF TEXAS preserves the songwriting genius of Tim Henderson.  I’m a big fan of imagery and I like when new words are used to tell old stories.  Henderson takes a different approach in that if he wants you to know the sky is blue, he simply tells you the sky is blue and dares you to defy his exclamation.  Not since Cole Porter has there been a more in-your-face image maker than Tim Henderson.  The amazing thing about Henderson’s songs comes from their simplicity in structure, crispness in delivery, and soundness in lyric.  Henderson puts words together in a way that avoids cliché and evades forced rhymes without sacrificing economy of thought.  Any songwriter’s clinic should include a study of Henderson’s songs.  Aside from being technically amazed at the compositions, I also found the disc to be smartly entertaining.  The album is a comfortable listen and the production is pure and true to the archival goal.  It’s interesting to think that a hundred years from now people will be listening to these very recordings of Henderson.  As a mainstay of Texas music, Henderson will be touted as a historically significant component throughout the annals of lone star lore.  A personal favorite is “Buffalo Nickels” but you will soon have your own favorite as this disc will spend more than an average share of time in your player.  This is the fourth release from Houston’s Berkalin Records, who will soon be known far and wide for their quality projects.  A host of great pickers appear including fellow MTM members Brian Kalinec (also part of the production team), Carolyn Wallace, Bill Ward, and Jeff Duncan.  Henderson’s infectious smile and winning personality shine through on a recording of outstanding tunes that are destined to be covered by up-and-comers for decades.  You, however, will own the original collection, and you will be a Tim Henderson fan for life.--Lucky Boyd, MyTexasMusic.com