Hank Alrich – Broken River
On first listen, it’s obvious Hank is from the school of musical thought as the late Chip Taylor, with a mix of Jerry Jeff Walker. He definitely has some interesting lyrical passages. The opening tune “Broken River” is troubadour perfection, followed by the upbeat & requisite narrative of “The Perfect Hat.” What Hank is good at doing is providing atmosphere, mood, & a compelling scenario with absorbing stories. His warm, lone wolf vocals add the necessary authenticity to the original compositions. There’s a tinge of late career Kinky Friedman, Mark Germino (“Fields of Man’s New Order”) & the country edge of Townes Van Zandt on tunes like “Don’t You Listen To That Man.” Great stuff.
There are 12 trips down along the shores of the Broken River (Drops April 21/Walkinay Music/45:55) produced by Fletcher Clark & Hank (vocals/acoustic guitar) recorded in Austin, TX. While Hank isn’t so much in the Kenny Rogers, Garth Brooks, or Hank Williams, Jr. country pantheon, he’s a blend of Merle Haggard & Waylon Jennings when he performs titles like “I Hate To See That Evening Sun Go Down,” played with acoustic guitar clarity & Hank’s wonderfully pine-scented woody vocals.
Hank’s also quite diverse since he rolls out the country blues/rhythm & blues dipped “Where You Been,” sung with all the sincerity of Ray Charles. Beautiful song. It has a late-night juke joint dialect where most people are still dancing, but more like holding on to each other, really slow. Yeah, when a singer can conjure a vision in your eyes, he succeeds in reaching your soul. Hank does this with his songs. No fluke, he continues with “Fast Money” & keeps the tune in that reliable gear, greased by the wonderful heavenly backup singers & arrangement. Sticks in your mind music.
Mr. Alrich is a good storyteller. His tales are loosely constructed, as skillful as the many classics written by Gordon Lightfoot, Guy Clark, John Prine & Steve Goodman. The songs are sophisticated & distinctive. Some good electric guitars are interplayed tightly & tastefully in “Locomotive Wind.” A well-thought-out performance where the instrumentation complements & accentuates Hank’s strong vocals.
Mr. Alrich covers all the genre bases skillfully, Americana, folk, jazzy asides, country with a pinch of blues & always with a troubadour nod to the tradition.
Highlights – “Broken River,” “The Perfect Hat,” “Don’t You Listen To That Man,” “I Hate To See That Evening Sun Go Down,” “Where You Been,” “Fast Money,” “Locomotive Wind,” “Blue Guru,”
Musicians – Andrew Hardin (acoustic & electric 12-string guitars), Glenn Fukunaga (bass/bass violin), Rick Richards (drums/percussion), with Andre Moran (electric slide guitar), Floyd Dominio (piano on “Blue Guru”), Red Young (Hammond organ/piano), Warren Hood (violin), Keith Little (5-string banjo), Shaidri Alrich & Barbara Nesbitt (vocals).
CD cover image courtesy of Chelsea MacGregor-Whyte. CD @ https://www.hankalrich.com/
Song Premiere: https://americanahighways.org/2026/03/25/song-premiere-hank-alrich-fast-money/