I've reviewed a lot of music genres. Mostly hip-hop, some R&B a little bit of rock. One of the genres I haven't touched yet is blues. I'm from Indiana so blues and country are all around me, I just don't discuss them open often because they are heavily associated with the 'good ol' boys' around here. They're sort of my dirty little secret. However, I came across an album that I couldn't hide it. That album is Goin' Platinum! by Robert Finley. You're probably wondering who Robert Finley is, and that's okay because I had never heard the name before. He's been playing music since the 70s but he didn't release a real album until 2016's Age Don't Mean a Thing. That only happened because he became legally blind and could no longer work as a carpenter. He followed it up with Goin' Platinum! there's really not much else to the story.When you think of blues you probably think of a type of voice. The rough voice that just sound like it's been through a lot. Someone like Ray Charles or even Johnny Cash, who had some very smooth tunes and would cross genres, but you could always tell that voice was a little tired from life. In most genres that would turn you away from an artist. The blues genre has carved out a niche for these voices. Robert Finley has one of these voices. Blues is the perfect genre for him. Blues is a style of music that has sort of faded into obscurity but don't let that misguide you. It's still a modern album. It's got all the classic blues staples but brings it forward into the modern era as well. Sprinkle in a few elements
The blues is usually seen as a slow sad genre of music. That's not entirely true. In fact with the exception of Three Songs Goin' Platinum! is a pretty up tempo album. It's got a lot of songs about falling in love and all the things that come along with it. The only two songs I found to actually be sad were the last two "Empty Arms," and "Holy Wine." Even songs that were about break ups were pretty funny. That's another thing, Robert Finley is a funny guy. The song "Real Love is Like Doing Hard Time," is probably the funnies to me. It's about when he was younger and dating a woman he went skinny dipping with after a lot of other dates. He thought they were finally going to have sex and she starts a philosophical conversation. He relates that to a lengthy prison sentence. I couldn't help but laugh.
My favorite tracks on the album are "Three Jumpers," a track about three men that told him he would be great one day and how he's living that greatness but looking for a partner. He dares anyone try to take what's his if they want a problem. When I type it out, it sound malicious but it really isn't. "Complications," covers how life is more complicated than we expect and there's always something new coming up. Lastly is "Medicine Woman," one of the singles of the album. He falls in love with the drug dealers daughter. It's an upbeat love song.
Usually I'd cover an shortcomings of an album at this point but I can't really pinpoint any. Maybe the hooks and chorus' aren't necessarily the greatest. Often times they're just the titles of the songs with one or two words added. "One rock two rock 99 rocks real love is like doing hard time," is a good example. That's all there is to it, there's nothing more. It's like that in a lot of songs. You don't really notice on your first play because Finley is such a good story teller but when you play through again you'll notice it and might get a chuckle out of it.
You should buy Darrell's Book, watch him on the Blerds Online YouTube Channel or The CP Time and Powerbomb Jutsu podcasts.
