Puerto Angel, the first CD by Toronto band The Henrys

Puerto Angel is the first album by The Henrys.
With founding member Paul Pasmore on
bass,and Kim Ratcliffe, Howard Gaul and Mary
Margaret O'Hara, who sings her own ballad Dark
Dear Heart, as well a song recorded by Jimmie
Rodgers, The Singing Brakeman. It's called The
One Rose.

(Rodgers died of TB, and wrote and recorded a
song called TB Blues, with the following rhyme:

Well she rubs my back with alcohol
Just to cure my cough
She rubs my back with alcohol
Just to cure my cough
I almost broke my neck
Trying to lick the alcohol off

He died two days after his last recording
session, at age 35.)
----------------
Reviews of Puerto Angel:

The sticker on the front proclaims the
involvement of Mary Margaret O'Hara. Sure
enough, the near mythical songstress crops up
on three tantalising occasions on the debut
album of her fellow Canadians, most notably on
the suitably traumatic Dark Dear Heart. If that
weren't enough, The Henrys themselves make a
lovely, light, languid instrumental noise of their
own, most readily recalling some of the
multi-ethnic dabblings of Ry Cooder and David
Lindley. Leader Don Rooke plays a pretty mean
kona, which turns out to be an acoustic Hawaiian
guitar, but their style incorporates just about
everything from country to jazz. John Hiatt's
Radio Girl with vocals by one Michael Dunston
seems, at best, misplaced in such gentle
surroundings for what is otherwise a small gem
of slowly unfolding delights."

Q Magazine, U.K. Peter Kane

====================

A delight on numerous levels - sprightly,
balming, edgy and eclectic, making casual darts
in the direction of country, jazz and pop.

Mojo Magazine, U.K., January 1996

====================

Originally released in 1994 in their native
Canada, Puerto Angel is the debut of The
Henrys, who have a lot going for them (other
than the great name). Like What? Five excellent
musicians with molto simpatico and - cover the
kiddies' ears if easily offended - mucho taste,
alors.
The Henrys have a few master strokes, the first
being resident composer-in-chief/steel
drummer/dobro player and kona virtuoso Don
Rooke. Kona? Yep, it's a Hawaiian steel-strung
slide guitar with a hollow neck, that just rings and
resonates like you wouldn't believe. Some of the
tracks accordingly have a Cooder-Kottke feel to
them, and good for them - if you're going to be
compared to somebody by idiot reviewers
looking for points of reference, these guys
aren't a bad start.

But there's a fair amount of Other Stuff
happening on the tracks - the second interesting
pont is that for an instrumental band, there's a lot
of vocals around, all by guest artists. Michael
Dunston growls effectively through a John Hiatt
song, and then along comes Mary Margaret
O'Hara. It transpires that Rooke has worked with
O'Hara before, and she comes along and does
her weird vocal thing on three tracks, as well as
singing The One Rose absolutely straight -
probably the biggest shock of all. And it all
works really well.

Third, those comparisons above are only valid
for some of the album; there are jazzy, bluesy
grooves, slow, aching solo pieces, and some
unclassifiable tracks that demand being listened
to. Good vibes all around. Catch them if they
tour - if they're half as good live, they're still well
ahead of most.

Folk Roots Magazine, U.K. Ian Kearey

====================

"A band well worth getting to know."
Rock & Reel, U.K., Spring 1996

Highlighting dobro and Hawaiian slide guitar, the
Canadian instrumentalists produce a sound
somewhere between Leo Kottke, Ry Cooder
and David Lindley, all very quiet night under the
stars open spaces.

What's On, London, U.K., 1996

====================

A classic album made for introspective
moments.

Roots & Reggae, U.K.

====================

My number one album of 1994. Under the fluid,
guiding hands of Don Rooke - who plays kona,
dobro, lap steel and steel drums - The Henrys
move effortlessly through stirring country ballads
with [singer] Mary Margaret O'Hara ("The One
Rose", "Dark Dear Heart"), lonesome desert
laments ("Look So Good," "Coyote Basin") and
jazz ("Bunt"). The dexterous Henrys take it all in
stride and listeners will revel in their musical
diversity. This second release covers tons of
rootsy material and does it so very, very well."

Ottawa Express, Joe Reilly

====================

Very idiosyncratic and very lovely.

CBC TV Arts National, review by Karen Gordon

====================

Accessible and challenging, The Henrys' Puerto
Angel is my favourite Canadian release of the
year. It is also one that comes out of left field.
Who would expect an album with a kona (a
Hawaiian acoustic slide guitar) as one of the
central instruments to be the creation of Toronto
musicians? The mainly instrumental, somewhat
jazzy tunes provide the anchor for these
alternately playful and moody explorations.
Notable tracks include the swinging "Nunc Pro
Tunc" and the twisted funk of "Muscle Beach",
which features some atonal steel drums and
untraditional mouth music from O'Hara. Puerto
Angel is an intriguing pleasure."

Exclaim! Bruce Tisdale

====================

Outstanding players and seamless as an
ensemble.

NOW Magazine, Kim Hughes

====================

A diverting album by this distinctive
Toronto-based band. Mary Margaret O'Hara
makes a heartbreaking return.

-Toronto Sun, John Sakomoto

====================

Puerto Angel was charted in Germany's Rolling
Stone Magazine as an Editor's Choice, 1996

====================

Het lijkt alsof de makers van deze CD zich
hebben ingespannen om vooral niets te
verklappen over do muziek die ze maken. Hun
naam zegt niets en de titel van hun debuutalbum
al evenmin, behalve dan dat het de naam van
een plaats in Mexico is. Ook de foto op het
hoesje is tamelijk abstract. Wat doen ze dan, die
Henrys? Wel, ze maken Hawaiian-muziek.
Oudere lezers zullen zilch zich misschien nog
de hoogtijdagen van dat genre herinneren, met
de Kilima Hawaiians als onbetwiste sterren aan
het Nederlandse firmament. In tegenstelling tot
de Hawaiian-muziek uit de jaren viftig, die nogal
sentimenteel en voorspelbaar was, is de muziek
van de Henrys avontuurlijk, veelzijdig en
virtuoos, maar ook verstild en poetisch. De
leider van het kwartet, Don Rooke, bespeelt de
kona, een instrument dat in Los Angeles werd
gebouwd tijdens de eerste Hawaiian-golf die de
Verenigde Staten eind jaren twintig bereikte. Het
is een soort slide-gitaar, maar dan eentje met
een ongewoon fraaie en warme klank. Puerto
Angel is overwegend instrumentaal, maar op
enkele nummers is de Canadese
stemkunstenares Mary Margaret O'Hara te
horen, telkens weer in een geheel andere
gedaante. Puristisch kan deze CD niet worden
genoemd. De Henrys flirten vrijelijk met funk,
jazz rock en zelfs hillbilly, maar zonder ooit hun
ware inspiratie to verloochen.

Ode Magazine,Rotterdam, Ton Maas