Robert Finley
"Goin' Platinum!"
(Easy Eye Sound (ASTERISK)(ASTERISK)(ASTERISK){ stars)
The title is pretty fanciful, but when you don't release your debut album until you're 64, you can afford to have some fun. That debut, 2016's fittingly titled "Age Don't Mean a Thing," introduced Robert Finley as a soul-bluesman with a sure mastery of classic forms and an all-around talent as singer, writer, and guitarist.
For this follow-up, the Black Keys' Dan Auerbach has taken over as producer after employing Finley on his soundtrack to the graphic novel "Murder Ballads." Auerbach also wrote or cowrote all the songs (including one with John Prine and one with Nick Lowe). The result is a set that stretches Finley's range a bit without sacrificing any of the Louisiana native's gritty authenticity.
"Get It While You Can" and "Medicine Woman" open the album with more horn-stoked, vintage-sounding R&B. But "Three Jumpers" finds Finley diving into raw, low-down blues, while "If You Forget My Love" and "Honey, Let Me Stay the Night" turn to buoyant pop-soul, with the latter's playful pleading highlighting Finley's lighter side. "You Don't Have to Do Right" builds into a propulsive roadhouse romp, with a trademark twangy guitar solo by Duane Eddy, and the hymn-like "Holy Wine" brings the obligatory gospel touch, as Finley's gruff voice rises sublimely into falsetto, ending the album on a high note in more ways than one. _ Nick Cristiano
