NEW ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Tim Hensley
Robert L. Doerschuk
August 25, 2008
Tim Hensley's debut album, Long Monday on Rural Rhythm/Blue Chair, promises that the future of traditional music is in safe hands. His renditions of 12 songs, three from public domain and one co-written by Hensley, conveys respect for those values, beyond the music itself, that make the foundation of modern Country Music so organic and enduring.
Some of that comes from the company this young artist keeps. With Buddy Cannon and Kenny Chesney sharing production credits, with Vince Gill and Patty Loveless sweetening the rugged timbre of the backup vocals and with neither drums nor electric guitar in sight, Long Monday seems almost to rise from the pages of some old family photo album, stirring echoes long dormant in the corners of memory.
Hensley cultivated his affinity for this music by listening to his mother's Flatt & Scruggs tapes while riding around with her in a '63 Falcon and later playing with Chesney, Loveless and Ricky Skaggs or relaxing after shows with unplugged jams on the bluegrass and old gospel tunes that he and the other members of the band all knew and loved.
Hensley displays a winning vocal style throughout Long Monday - a high tenor that enhances the melody while also making each performance sound like a conversation. His approach suits the newer material by Rodney Crowell, John Prine and other contemporary writers, but it elevates a brief a cappella version of "Working on a Building" into a haunting and timeless benediction.
2008 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.
Some of that comes from the company this young artist keeps. With Buddy Cannon and Kenny Chesney sharing production credits, with Vince Gill and Patty Loveless sweetening the rugged timbre of the backup vocals and with neither drums nor electric guitar in sight, Long Monday seems almost to rise from the pages of some old family photo album, stirring echoes long dormant in the corners of memory.
Hensley cultivated his affinity for this music by listening to his mother's Flatt & Scruggs tapes while riding around with her in a '63 Falcon and later playing with Chesney, Loveless and Ricky Skaggs or relaxing after shows with unplugged jams on the bluegrass and old gospel tunes that he and the other members of the band all knew and loved.
Hensley displays a winning vocal style throughout Long Monday - a high tenor that enhances the melody while also making each performance sound like a conversation. His approach suits the newer material by Rodney Crowell, John Prine and other contemporary writers, but it elevates a brief a cappella version of "Working on a Building" into a haunting and timeless benediction.
2008 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.
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