Robert Finley

Hallelujah! Don’t Let the Devil Fool Ya

Easy Eye Sounds

Hallelujah! Don’t Let the Devil Fool Ya for the fourth time in a row presents the delectable fruits of Robert Finley’s labor as produced by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach. In pre-release publicity, the Bernice, Louisiana artist touted the results, his fifth album overall, as his first full gospel recording. But this gospel resembles none before it. These nine songs waft or rattle by, ultimately settling in for the long haul like heady doses of 1960s-vintage, psychedelic-fired soul and R&B.

A laborer, a U.S. Army veteran, a street busker, and even a finalist on America’s Got Talent (singing a gospel tune), the legally blind Finley began a bright new chapter in his career ten years ago at age 62 with his debut album, Age Don’t Mean a Thing. A one-of-a-kind performer, Finley prepares very little in advance of a session with Auerbach at his Easy Eye Sound in Nashville. Finley prefers to walk in, establish a groove on his guitar with the players assembled, and improvise his lyrics on the spot, his guttural intonation perfectly highlighting his stirring convictions. The entirety of Hallelujah! Don’t Let the Devil Fool Ya was recorded in one day, yet it sounds as if it was labored over for weeks. The songs are punchy, bracing, and crystal clear through the retro haze they hang within.

Finley begins the album with “I Wanna Thank You,” pouring out his gratitude to God while requesting continued guidance, the band settling into a seductive groove punctuated by spiky, blues-tinged guitar. In “Praise Him,” he preaches ever so subtly, why, as the music surges with waves of horns reminiscent of early Blood, Sweat, & Tears. In “Holy Ghost Party,” sizzling funk elevates Finley’s stream of consciousness about allowing the spirit to move a body. With “Helping Hand,” he offers counsel to wayward young men, the music spectral around his encouraging, pull-no-punches words.

On “Can’t Take My Joy, Finlet takes a declarative stance and one can practically feel the blood pumping inside him. With “On the Battlefield,” Finley equates parts of daily life as just that, his solution to look to the Lord for unwavering spiritual navigation. The battlefield in the song feels like a pinball machine of rhythm and blues, the music banging around and hitting its marks with ferocity.

Joining Finley throughout these moody, moving, often intense moments are fellow guitarists Auerbach and Barrie Cadogan, bassist Tommy Brenneck, keyboardist Ray Jacilido, and drummer Malcolm Catto. Horn players pepper the music in key places, and Finley’s daughter, Christy Johnson, backs her father in beautiful voice throughout. She and the players communicate with and encourage Finley at every turn by penetrating teamwork.

Go elsewhere for fire and brimstone. These instant songs by Robert Finley are full of positive messages delivered in a gritty, soulful style gleaned from years spent on street corners, and in backwoods jukes and churches. In the end, Hallelujah! Don’t Let the Devil Fool Ya is a through and through masterpiece of gospel created from God in the heart of Robert Finley.

Tom Clarke for MAS

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