Dorris Henderson - Here I Go Again (2003)

Henderson recorded just a couple of albums as a featured artist, and those were way back in the 1960s, 35 years before the appearance of this 2003 release. So her return to record might have been overdue, but that doesn't mean this disc isn't disappointing. The richness and pitch control of her voice have diminished, and while there's still some heartfelt soul in her brand of folk, the material (about half of it written or co-written by Henderson) and arrangements don't so much bring it out as cushion it. Certainly her repertoire remains wide, including the folk, blues, and jazz standards "Wayfaring Stranger," "The Water Is Wide," "God Bless the Child," "Shake Sugaree," and "Vicksburg Blues." But the subdued folk-rock and singer/songwriter settings (including occasional guest guitar and vocal by her old duo partner, John Renbourn) on the full-band numbers are a little torpid, and her own songs unexceptional. It's best when it goes totally acoustic, as it does on one of the songs featuring Renbourn, his own composition "Heart Over Mind."