Jan 29
Tim Hensley “Long Monday” (Rural Rhythm / Blue Chair Records)
Tim Hensley
Tim Hensley - “Long Monday” (Rural Rhythm / Blue Chair)Tim Hensley is no stranger to the music business. He’s spent time backing some of the biggest names in Bluegrass and Country music including stints with Ricky Skaggs and Patty Loveless. His current “day” job has put him on stage in front of millions of people in the last six years, playing rhythm guitar and singing tenor in country superstar Kenny Chesney’s road band.
“Long Monday” marks Hensley’s debut CD as a solo artist. With the aid and support of his current boss, Chesney, who co-produced the project along with ace Nashville Producer Buddy Cannon and a slough of top flight musicians and vocalists, Hensley finally gets his chance to stand in the spotlight and make a record of the music he loves and has been singing backstage for years.
Listening to “Long Monday”, one thing that’s immediately obvious. This project is a true labor of love for Hensley.
Hensley’s vocals breathe life into each song on the CD… or maybe… each song breathes life into Hensley. Either way you want to look at it, Hensley delivers this batch of songs like he’s lived, loved, laughed, longed and lost with every word.
Among the highlights on the project is the title cut, “Long Monday,” a song penned by John Prine and Keith Sykes. On top of Hensley’s spot-on vocal, Jeff Taylor’s accordion adds a nice dimension to this sparsely arranged song of love and longing. “Dear Departed,” written by John Scott Sherrill, Shawn Camp and Sonny Tillis is another real stand out on the record. A haunting tale full of heart-ache finds Rob Ickes’ Dobro heaping on the lonesome and longing.
The CD’s first single, “Ridin’ Out the Storm,” written by Rodney Crowell, has been receiving a warm reception on radio, ranking at # 3 on Prime Cuts of Bluegrass’ “National Bluegrass Music Programmers Top 5″.
“Long Monday’s” supporting cast includes the aforementioned Jeff Taylor and Rob Ickes on accordion and dobro respectively. The project also includes: Kevin Grantt on bass, Tim Stafford on guitar, Wyatt Rice on guitar, Adam Steffey on mandolin, Deanie Richardson and Aubrey haynie on fiddle and David Talbot on banjo. Patty Loveless, Wyatt Beard, Melonie Cannon, Tim Stafford, Sonya Isaacs, Vince Gill, Ronnie Bowman, Garnet Imes Bowman and Buddy Cannon all contribute backing vocals.
The production on the project has a west coast influence to my ear. It’s not a raw and in-your-face sounding record by any stretch. But, it’s not overly refined either. Smooth and organic sums it up best.
“Long Monday” is reminiscent of a lot of great records that were cut in the 70’s that were sort of out in left field for bluegrass and country music at that time. My Dad used to (and still does) bring these kinds of records home all the time. These were the kind of records that weren’t concerned with trends and marketing or the lick-of-the-month club mentality that dominates popular country radio these days. Often, they usually obtained at best a cult following but were true musical and artistic statements. Tim Hensley’s “Long Monday” is cut from the same mold.
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[…] review of “Long Monday” can be found here. “I did the record because it was the right thing to do. It was music that people deserved to […]