Americana Music Reviews

 

Terri Hendrix
The Ring
Wilory ­ WR30005

by Al Kunz

Before listening to a new CD from an established artist, it's common to have some preconceptions about what you'll hear. Prior to slipping The Ring into the player, my knowledge of Terri Hendrix was limited. I remember that Hendrix played in Houston several times a year when I lived there. I heard she lived somewhere in the Texas Hill Country and that she had a musical partnership with record producer Lloyd Maines that went beyond his normal production gigs -- playing more instruments on more tracks, collaborating on songs, even touring with Hendrix.

So I'd come to a few tentative conclusions. First, Hendrix must be a pretty good singer-songwriter. As the producer of choice for Texas up-and-comers with big dreams, Maines doesn't have time to spare. If Hendrix wasn't better than most, I couldn't see him investing the extra effort. From her picture, I'd surmised she probably wasn't Jimi's distant cousin. And of course she wrote and sang country music. In the immortal words of Meatloaf, "two out of three ain't bad." Lloyd Maines with his steel guitar and the Hill Country equals country music. It was a logical conclusion and not totally wrong, but close. Country does figure into the equation, although there are too many other influences at work for that label to stick. Texan jazzy-folk-pop is one potential description.

A variety of acoustic instruments dominated by Lloyd Maines' harmonica accompany Hendrix on the contemporary-folk opening track, "Goodbye Charlie Brown." The tune was inspired by a documentary she saw shortly after the death of Peanuts creator Charles Shulz. "It struck me that in many ways his death represented the end of my youth," said Hendrix. But, as with Charlie Brown's perennial failure to connect foot with football, she still felt "like a little kid trying to kick the ball and reach the sky."

Goodbye Charlie Brown
You kick that ball and you hit the sky
Damn the soul that shoots you down
Because they don't have the guts to try
No, they don't have the guts to try

Like the best Texas musicians, Hendrix isn't afraid to throw anything into the musical mix that fits. "From Another Planet" starts with an intro reminiscent of the Stray Cats, but builds into something jazzier. Imagine it sung by a modernized Rosemary Clooney with a sense of humor.

Bobby Joe from San Angelo
Owns a chicken fry diner in the Stop-n-Go
It's the last stop on this galaxy
And the only thing the truckers want is the coffee free

This whole world is round like a ball
You either roll with it or don't roll at all
90 miles an hour just to get home
I go 90 miles an hour
Just to sleep alone

Hendrix wrote the majority of songs on The Ring by herself and in collaboration with Maines and others. Two exceptions are "Long Time Coming" and "Prayer for My Friends." The first, written by Dixie Chick Martie Seidel Maguire and Marcus Hummon, is a contemporary country ballad that would fit perfectly on mainstream country radio between songs by Sara Evans and SHeDAISY, both of which have recorded Hummon's songs. The second cover, "Prayer for My Friends," is from the opposite end of the country music spectrum. Written by Jeff Barbra and Sarah Pirkle, a husband and wife songwriting team who won the 2000 Chris Austin Songwriting Contest, part of the annual Merlefest bluegrass festival, as you might expect this tune has an old-timey bluegrass vibe.

We all have well-meaning friends and family full of advice about how to live our life. "The Fact Is" is Hendrix's response to them. It's probably a message for managers, fans, and music critics too. "I appreciate their input," says Hendrix, "and even when I receive criticism I work hard to glean from the comments some truth that I can grow from." Ultimately she's learned just doing her own thing is the right choice.

I did what they said
I did what you said too
Both have led me to find
My own point of view

Sometimes Hendrix reacts in ways she later regrets. In "Spinning Off" she sings, "I held my temper until it burned my hands / I flew off the handle now nothing stands / I'm spinning off and I don't know how to land."

"I wish I could have taken after my dad and learned to walk away from a situation until I cooled off," she explains. "Every time tempers would flare in our household, rather than raise his voice, my Dad would go outside and work on this ring. It wasn't until years later when he gave the ring to my mom that we figured out what he'd been doing." Like her father, Hendrix worked years to get the title track crafted perfectly. Those who read my ramblings on a regular basis know how I feel about ballads. For new readers suffice it to say I rarely like them. While I prefer the other tunes on The Ring those who don't share my prejudice against ballads will think it's the best cut here. It's a well-crafted song with a heartfelt performance.

Every holiday
We gather around the table
As my dad prays
And when we close our eyes
Sometimes I think my dad cries
And those words left unspoken
I've come to understand
What's kept our family together
Is worn on my mother's hand

Although Hendrix has a different style than what you'd normally expect from a project involving Maines, she has followed the typical career building route of several artists he's helped get started by releasing discs on her own label, Wilory Records. But unlike her contemporaries she's resisted overtures from major labels, choosing to retain control of her career. With peers like Bruce Robison and Radney Foster severing ties with the majors and finding success on their own labels, it appears that Hendrix had it right all along.

* www.terrihendrix.com


Contact Al Kunz at kunz-at-rockzilla.net

 
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