It was the fall of 2005. The evening’s act had just finished playing and the patrons were shuffling out of the door at the Northwoods Inn in Lake Placid, NY, and I was busy say goodbyes and picking up empty beer bottles off the tables. A couple of young musicians, fresh from a gig in the area, walked in. The trumpet player had been my son’s basketball team mate, and he walked up to me with a grin. “ I want you to meet Phil Henry. He’s a great songwriter.” I looked over at the tall fellow with a guitar case, who was grinning from ear to ear. He asked me if he could play me a few songs. He opened his case, and removed his guitar, and threw his strap over his shoulder in a smooth, experienced manner, and began to strum — hard and fast. The remaining patrons crowded around us, delighted. He was obviously a pro. His songs were bouncy and had a hook. His voice reminded me of James Taylor, only with more range. He left me with a CD and a strong impression. I looked him up on the internet, and found he’d recently been awarded accolades as an emerging artist. His songs fascinated me. His lyrics seemed a strange mix of simple and complex at the same time. His rhythms brought to mind some of Paul Simon’s work.
I’ve run into Phil a few times over the past years, performing at local music happenings, and have kept up with his recordings. Robots and Romance, his 2011 release, quickly became a favorite CD. A couple of years ago when we were playing at the Kate Mt. Music Festival, I heard him deliver the best version of Stephen Foster’s “Hard Times” that I’d ever heard. I asked him to play it again this past year, and to my delight, I again enjoyed it every bit as much. With much anticipation, I awaited the arrival of Aberdeen, Phil Henry’s latest project.
The first thing that struck me about Aberdeen is the CD’s cover. It’s just Phil’s name and a paisley-covered guitar imposed over a corduroy background. There’s omething old and familiar about it. Henry was born in Saranac Lake, NY, and is now living in Rutland, VT. On Aberdeen, he is to folk music what another Rutland resident of years gone by, Norman Rockwell, was to art. Henry serves us a familiar slice of “Americana Pie.” The entire album is a collection of insights into everyday life with its hopes and sometimes faded dreams. There are a number of Aberdeens in the US, and I asked Phil which one he had in mind. “Could be any of them,” was his first response.
The album kicks off with the bouncy “Saint Anthony’s Mission Store,” a tip-of-the-hat to second hand store, Henry then takes us to a seat at the local barber in “Old Joe’s Chair.” You feel like you’re on a musical walk around town. “Asleep at the Wheel” is a late night ride up Interstate 91, coming home from a gig. The artist doesn’t just paint a picture of the rural world around him, but with it gives us glimpses into his own soul. I think I get from “Sweet Time” the entrance of an adopted child into a family and the effects of it.
Then comes “Hard Times”, an old Stephen Foster classic. It fits in with the collection of songs wonderfully, and as he does in live performances, Henry delivers this top notch fashion. His voice is powerful. The harmonies are delightful, and the music arraignment just perfect, to my ears. I find myself listening to it and singing along several times every morning on my way to work. This cut alone is worth the price of the CD, but there’s much more to come.
We get the first mention of “Aberdeen” in Blue Sky Blues, the pleading of a young man during a 40 day drought. He’s counting on a good crop on the family farm to help him escape his home down and get to college. He knows his part time pharmacy job won’t cut it, and he feels he has so much to give if he can only escape Aberdeen. Like his longtime hero, Martin Sexton, Phil Henry writes songs that utilize his great vocal range, and it’s noticeable on Blue Sky Blues. Henry interjects changes that most singers would have a hard time following. Unlike Sexton, Henry uses this talent sparingly, only when it’s needed, and it coincides with the lyrical content of the song.
Hometown is a backhanded compliment to Henry’s roots in Saranac Lake. He portrays mixed feelings and equates it with a romance. It can be as beautiful and exciting as the late afternoon sun dancing a summer lake. It can cut and demean like those high school big shots. It can be a reminder of everything in yourself that you’re trying to out run or outgrow.
As presented by the Phil Henry Acoustic Trio, They Might Be Giant’s “Birdhouse in Your Soul” is a cute, not for kids only, fun song. In “Ruthie’s General Store,” Henry tells a tale of couple watching their store burn to the ground, through the husband’s eyes. There’s love, warmth, and wonderment. The old man is proud of his wife’s accomplishments, but seems happy enough to be done with it.
Despite being sung without a trace of Southern twang in his voice, “In Between” sounds like a potential hit country song. It’s got a country tempo, ironic lyrics and metaphors, and some nice mandolin and slide guitar work to accompany a catchy melody. “Kay,”the next cut, has a precious understated pedal steel line running through it, provided by Kevin Maul.
Henry finds himself in a rut in “Rutland,” waiting for a Greyhound bus at the depot. He pays tribute to the town’s marble mining history, as he listens for the growl of the diesel engines coming and going, hoping his ride will take him to better days.
“Emma’s Bicycle” is a bit of a tear jerker. A little girl, feeling free in the early spring, finds her escape from Aberdeen is the back of a long black hearse. I didn’t see that one coming and I had to listen to the song several times to be sure of what I was hearing. Henry sails off in “Columbus,” an unusual song because it makes reference to the lyrics of some of the previous songs. Aberdeen is in the wake, and the future could be anything. Kind of like this album. Henry has taken us for a fascinating tour of Aberdeen, shown us the sights, and walked with us down the old worn paths, and he’s done it well, but now he’s on to the next stop in life. He can do what he wants. I think I’ll hang around Aberdeen for a little while still. I’m not quite ready to leave.
This is a masterfully well-written, sung, and produced CD. The core of the music comes from the Phil Henry Acoustic Trio, featuring Jeff Kimball on vocals, mandolin, accordion, and piano. Gary Moon is on vocals and percussion. Henry plays guitar, mandolin, ukulele, and various and sundry other sound makers. A chorus of other players and singers help out in the venture, but it never gets too heavy or overcrowded. All songs are by Phil Henry except “Old Joe’s Chair,” co-written with Aaron Nathans, “Birdhouse In Your Soul,” by John Flansburgh & John Linnell, and of course “Hard Times,” by Stephen Foster. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Aberdeen. You might want to grab a few more for friends. It’s that good.
I’m sure this CD will start showing up in stores around the North East in fairly short order, but you can purchase it through Phil’s website www.PHILHENRYBAND.com
