Music: There's something about The Henrys

Ton Maas | Jan/Feb 2010 issue

Photo: Ton Maas

I can think of only two reasons why master guitarist Don Rooke from Toronto should be less famous than his illustrious colleagues Ry Cooder and Bill Frisell. Rooke moves through unclassifiable musical landscapes where rock, jazz, country, funk and “Hawaiian noir” seamlessly merge. Furthermore, he prefers to hide himself behind a fictional band that features him as its only constant member. Well, almost. Fellow Canadian singer Mary Margaret O’Hara has released very few recordings since her intriguing debut album, Miss America (1988), but whenever the obscure slide virtuoso from Toronto is putting together a new Henrys outing, she’s invariably part of it. For the first time since The Henrys’ debut, Puerto Angel, her vocal contributions have words to them.

Rooke likes to describe his part-time project as “a nearly instrumental group,” defying even the most basic categories in the music business. The chances of ever seeing The Henrys on TV are therefore next to nil, and you probably won’t find their albums in a record store either. The Henrys’ music is emotionally complex, tinged by subtle touches of melancholy. Sometimes it’s outright sultry, with the mournful sound of Rooke’s slide guitar usually up front.
All of this makes their music seem to yearn for moving images. Curiously enough, no filmmaker has yet commissioned them to create a soundtrack. Maybe that’s what inspired Rooke to add images to the music himself. Rooke is not only a highly gifted musician, but a fine photographer. Every Henrys CD so far has featured a photograph from his own collection on the cover. What makes Is This Tomorrow unique is the second disc in the package: a DVD slideshow of Rooke’s images with the Henrys music as the soundtrack. Once you start watching, it’s really hard to stop. The music and the images enhance each other, without either one dominating. In terms of value for money Is This Tomorrow is hard to beat. In total, the package contains no less than 35 new compositions, performed by 19 Henrys in various combinations.