Weldon Henson

Weldon Henson

One Heart's Gone

****

Pass Me The Wine/ One Heart’s Gone/ Too Much Fun/ I Don’t Take Cheating (Very Lightly Anymore)/ Turned To The Bottle/ I’m Still Here/ No One Can Compare/ Sunday Song/ Everywhere I Go/ The Road Is A Friend Of Mine/ Loserville

Producers: Weldon Henson and Tommy Detamore

Hillbilly Renegade Records

40:08

Since his 2007 debut, Weldon has made quite a name for himself in and around the honky tonks and dancehall of Texas. However, unlike many of the artists proudly waving the Texas flag (the red dirt artists and the like), Weldon is clearly Country.

And as shown in this, his third release, Weldon continues to mature as an artist. Choosing to record with Tommy Detamore at the helm, he achieves a more full sound than found on his first two releases. And in this, finds an even better way to showcase his talents as a writer and performer.

One Heart’s Gone follows in offering more of what is now expected of Weldon. It is an album of self-penned moments of pure country, some mid tempo numbers, some even faster selections, and at least one “stretch”” (for lack of a better word). 

A second into the fiddle induced intro of Pass Me the Wine, it becomes clear that Weldon understands dance crowds. I’m Still Here, my favorite of the disc, also begs to be heard in a dance setting. And both keep with the classic two-step tradition of making misery sound fun.

No One Can Compare, with its shuffling come on sentiment of “I could search the world around a thousand years and I could never find another one that even compares”, mines a territory, in its feel, similar to that of Mark Chesnutt’s Trouble. While not by favorite feel, this track, showing some of Weldon’s strengths, becomes a standout.

I Don’t Take Cheating (Very Lightly Anymore) also maintains tradition, but in a way reminiscent of late 70’s or early 80’s ballads. Weldon, in arguably his most emotional vocal, delivers it quite well, but one can imagine how it could have just soared with the likes of Vern Gosdin.    

Too Much Fun, Turned To The Bottle, and The Road Is Friend Of Mine sound as the titles suggest. A little more energy will be needed on the dance floor, but a good time waits. Why even a quick listen to Turned To The Bottle will show why this crowd pleaser has found a home on local radio.

Picking up the pace even more are Everywhere I Go and One Heart’s Gone. One Heart’s Gone, in particular, has something a bit Mellencamp about it. Neither are that country, but both are definitely more roots-based than what’s passed off as country by the compilers of most Top 40 lists.

For something unlike any of his previous efforts, Weldon gives us Sunday Song. A song that from its start is filled with the sentiment of being with someone that brings truth to the clichés about love. It may be a bit sweet, but it does leave me wishing them the best.

The record closes with the West Coast haunting of Loserville, a track that could be at home on almost any Dwight Yoakum or Gary Allen record. But that’s not to say in any way that it’s derivative.

As a whole, One Heart’s Gone accomplishes for Weldon what few artists achieve. It stands as an example of an artist maturing in both sound and ability.