A Friend Of Mine

Produced by his son Tim, this album of Hennessy originals contains vocal material recorded in the last months of his life, and songs he had committed to tape for further work. It is a very interesting artefact indeed.
The title-track has a more rugged approach than usual, with fine Hammond organ playing from James Hallawell, and sets the mood for the work as a whole. The pensive ‘Every Time A Star Falls’ strikes a particularly prophetic note, with daughter Hermione adding her distinctive vocal. There’s a McCartney-esque jollity to the melody of ‘If I Told You That I Love You’, and ‘When I Was Young’ has echoes of ’50s ballad pop. ‘Get Down You Blues’ is a fetchingly cheeky folk blues, with neat guitaring from Hennessy himself. ‘The Other Side’ is heartbreakingly honest, with a questioning lyric about life and its vicissitudes.
A Friend Of Mine proves that despite knowing that his time was nearly up, Christie still managed to stay engaged with life and was consulting his muse on a regular basis.