Judith Henry
Country of origin:
U.S.
Type of music generally:
Mostly spiritual/healing/New Age-y but with a whole lot of other styles
Status:
Most recent release, You've Come Home (c. 2008)
See also:
Judith Henry doesn't seem to have a web presence currently (March 2014)
Comparisons:
She's doing a bunch of different styles and there's not any one person I would say she's like (though perhaps that's due to my lack of wide knowledge of this genre of music). (sophiagurley@hotmail.com)
Covers/own material:
Own
General comments:
Mixture of instrumentals and songs with uplifting/spiritual lyrics. Kinda new-age-y but also has some fun jazzy & bluesy bits. The songs are evocative of their subjects, very spiritually focused. Judith Henry has a strong, plain vocal style that suits her subjects and the instruments and songwriting are the same: straightforward and natural. (sophiagurley@hotmail.com)
Recommended first album:
within these woods is the only one we've heard
Recordings:
- within these woods (with Damien Guay, 2001)
- Recovering Me (c. 2004)
- You've Come Home (c. 2008)
within these woods
Release info:
2001—self-released
Availability:
Unknown
Ecto priority:
Recommended for fans of easy instrumentals and spiritual lyrics
Group members:
Judith Henry—keyboard, synthesizer, vocals, alto records
Damien Guay—keyboard, tenor recorder, hand whistle, synthesizer, alto saxophone, background vocals, organ
Comments:
The first track ("Snowfall in Moonlight") begins with a whistle imitating a bird call then moves into a lilting tune which builds into a more haunting piece, then falls into a keyboard progression that really does remind me of snow falling. The focus of the next song ("Center of the Spin") is on the uplifting lyrics. Then there's another dreamy instrumental ("Spirits Dancing in the Woods"), then a song wholly influenced by old blues tunes ("To Thine Own Self Be True"), then another instrumental ("Playing in Dry Leaves"), then.... If this makes you think that this disc is all over the place style-wise, well that's true. But it's also true that it's anchored by a sensibility where the music matches the subject very closely. "Bugs on the Water" (another instrumental) sounds like just that. "Center of the Spin" spins around the lyrics. I definitely wouldn't recommend this to people who dislike didactic/spiritual lyrics, but in the liner notes Judith Henry describes these as songs of healing, and if you like such things, you will almost certainly like this. (sophiagurley@hotmail.com)
Further info:
Email judithhenry_4@yahoo.com
Thanks to Sophia Gurley for work on this entry.
