Another LP which has been sitting around for ages. I remember looking for background on this guy some years back and not finding much. Nothing has changed. It was even an effort finding out his Christian name as he seems to go by "Henson" only.
aaah …"Tim" in case you're wondering.
If cover art alone were an indicia it would be fair to think that Henson is a introspective singer-songwriter. After a partial listen it would be fair to conclude that he is a sometime singer-songwriter and a particularly MOR and slick one. Though he was only involved with writing three of the ten songs here he does play piano, organ, clavinet, melodica, trumpet, moog, harpsichord and electric piano. Smells like a session musician making his own album. Brilliant Sherlock? Yes, quite. And, right. The liner notes indicate he was from Arkansas and moved to Alabama to work at the legendary Muscle Shoals studios where he backed Mac Davis, The Osmonds, Clarence Carter etc.
That's about all the bio I have … till now … remember I write this contemporaneously mainly. After much searching I found this by another punter in search of background:
In my final round of internet searches on Tim Henson, I came across someone who knew him, and through him I got some actual information. It seems that shortly after Tim had been made an official member of the prestigious Muscle Shoals Sound rhythm section, he took his own life. There was evidently a lot of pressure being a studio musician, in both quality of performance and the amount of work one would have to take on just to make ends meet. I guess if he was also trying to make it as a solo artist, the pressure would be that much greater. So yeah, this tale does not have have a happy ending, and we see yet another talented musician who becomes little more than a footnote in rock history. For me, this song always had a melancholy vibe to it, and knowing what I now know, it always will. http://recordrobot.blogspot.com/2005/12/take-meh-shake-meh.html
There is some suggestion on the same site that Henson may have been murdered, for reasons unknown.
In any event Henson was a Fame Studios session keyboardist. Many classic recordings were made at Rick Hall's Fame Studios, home of the "Muscle Shoals Sound." The studio was especially popular in the 70s with country, country soul (both black and white), and roots acts. It is still used today – Drive By Truckers, Band of Horses and others have recorded there. The studios were staffed by highly skilled session musicians and you couldn't be a slacker to get a job there and Henson had a job there.
So this was Henson's shot at the big time. Rick Hall even produced the album. Unfortunately for Henson, the album, and the singles "Do Me Wrong" and "God Only Knows" all tanked.
The music on the album, as can be expected, is tight and well played and Henson can sing but with one exception nothing really stands out. The sound is slick and there are even strings arranged by the legendary Jimmie Haskell no less. A fair bag of the obvious 70s influences are in here: mix equal parts Dylan, singer-songwriter, The Eagles, light country, strings and add a dash of introspection and you end up with a southern MOR Eagles album with gentle country funk overtones which couldn't be more 70s if it tried. For lovers of clean, 70s country-ish MOR this is a must.
Best Tracks
- Do Me Wrong, But Do Me – very slick and very MOR. The lyrics by Alan O'Day are hilarious and so not PC. But in its own ham-fisted way the song is catchy.
- God Only Knows – yep the Beach Boys classic (and IMHO one of the greatest songs of all time). Can anyone stuff this song up? Maybe, but Henson doesn't. That doesn't mean it's great though. Henson takes the song in a different direction in a different way and makes it very 70s … though the keyboards are worth the price of admission. The almost existential rapture of the original has been subdued into a countryish ballad. It could fit well into a soundtrack for a bad 70s romantic drama.
And …
Don't get me wrong the album isn't bad it's just not for me. Did I mention it's very "70s"? I will tape a couple of tracks and sell.
Sounds
Do Me Wrong, But Do Me
attached
God Only Knows
attached
Bio
Muscle Shoals
(originally posted: 05/12/2009)
