The east coast of Scotland meets the west coast of America in this self titled album by Roy Henderson. There’s sentimentality and wisdom on show here that aligns with the general looking back in time feel that pervades the album so it’s a fair guess then that Mr Henderson has been around a bit.
This is an album, therefore, that stands up best as an earnest example of the songwriter’s craft. As an example, the drift from youthful rebellion into mid life crisis is documented nicely in “Record On”. Likewise the jingle jangle Byrds like “I Let You Go” will get nods of approval from many and there’s a certain welcome familiarity to “Nobody’s Fool” (so much so that I began to wonder if I had, at some time, seen Mr Henderson perform live). Judging by the content of these songs however, Mr Henderson appears a serious man with a rather downbeat outlook on life so there are, in truth, few moments of levity or humour.
Ultimately though, the album is dragged down by the rather leaden performances and the unadventurous approach to the song arrangements. Mr Henderson writes a consistently decent song and handles the vocal duties well but the straight “out of the Cubase box” sound detracts from your enjoyment.