Stonehenge

Richie Havens' Woodstock performance cemented his reputation as an affecting soul singer of folk songs and melodies. 1970's Stonehenge (along with Mixed Bag, Richard P. Havens, 1983 and Alarm Clock) represents Havens at his most inventive and comfortable. The era was perfectly designed for a singer of his warm, authoritative tone. While his covers of The Bee Gees' "I Started a Joke" and Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" further establish his interpretive genius, Stonehenge also features several of Havens' strongest original compositions, including the hopeful "It Could Be the First Day." "Open Our Eyes" highlights Warren Bernhardt's bracing organ passages, while "Minstrel From Gaul" ends with a rousing string arrangement from Bill Shepherd. "Ring Around the Moon" features a strong vocal arrangement. Eric Oxendine's bass work, Daniel Ben Zebulon's percussion, and Shepherd's string arrangement transform "There's a Hole in the Future." David Bromberg guests on forward- and backward-recorded Dobro for the instrumental "Tiny Little Blues."