Bob Hendren: Reviews

Style: Blues/ Folk/ Rock
Rating: 8.7 out of 10

This release from Bob Hendren is one of both overcoming and the wonders of modern technology.

The overcoming part comes from what Bob has had to overcome in his life. He started performing in the 1970’s in the Christian Rock band Rorhbacker, Hendren & Kingen. After a divorce Bob was left with raising his two daughters. Because of that divorce he felt that he could no longer perform at church but he still worked to keep his guitar playing skills up as he took a job as a tile contractor that was very hard on his hands. He also was involved in a skiing accident in the 1990’s.

The biggest blow though came in 2000 when he was diagnosed with cancer. Luckily it was discovered early, followed with a successful surgery. This event though helped Bob to see life from a new perspective. He felt the need to get back to his music and start recording on an album.

The modern technology aspect of this release comes from the fact that Bob recorded this release from a home studio that he set up in a spare bedroom in his house. He was able to accomplish it thanks to the wide array of modern digital home equipment that’s now available for musicians to use.

The result from all of the above comes together with Bob’s release, Everyone Knows, an 11-song album that’s filled with honest lyrics and passion. The songs are mostly made up of lyrics that reflect on Bob’s life experiences.

Bob says that his music is hard to define because of the many different musical styles that are used in it including, 70’s rock, folk, jazz, pop, and The Blues.

In my exchange of messages with Bob he said that he wasn’t exactly sure how to classify his music, and that he was interested in reading how I described it. Using so many different style elements it’s impossible to pigeonhole his music into one particular style, but there is one label that I can put on it- good music!

Bob doesn’t waste anytime kicking things off big time with track-1, “What About Me.” This epic song, with a running time of 8:13, is a blues rocker, with jazz elements that talks about the path taken by two different men. One who is willing to give up all of his earthly wealth and follow God’s calling for his life, while the other just can’t let go of his possessions. Which one will you be? The song also talks about following God’s calling and praying for God’s strength and endurance to stay on the right path, even when the world throws stumbling blocks of false riches and promises in your way.

The one common thread found in the rest of the songs on Everyone Knows is the guitar parts, be they acoustic or electric. They play their part well in each particular song, be it a blues or rock lead or more in the background, perfectly complimenting the song’s vocals.

Things wrap up with, “I’ve Got a Long Way to Go.” The song talks about God’s love and grace. That even though we try to stay on the right path, that we still from time-to-time often find ourselves taking the wrong road. The fact that God is always there waiting to reach out and put our life back on the right track.

I also want to give Bob credit for the very well job that he’s done on the actual producing/mixing, and making of this release. Technically it sounds really good and doesn’t fall into some of the usual tinny/muddy sounding moments that are often found on home recordings.

Luckily for us Bob made the decision to record Everyone Knows, because it offers up a lot of good music, with songs filled with lyrics that that will speak to many hearts and souls.