Sharecropper's Son is the third album from soul-gospel singer-songwriter
Robert Finley, and his second collaboration with producer and co-writer
Dan Auerbach of
the Black Keys. Between 2016's raw
Age Don't Mean a Thing, 2017's wonderfully holistic
Goin' Platinum!, and the present,
Finley got national visibility when he was invited to compete on America's Got Talent. On
Sharecropper's Son,
Finley, producer
Dan Auerbach, and their all-star studio cast pull out all the stops; they present this remarkable singer with an expansive yet rootsy musical palette.
As the title suggests,
Finley offers autobiographical songs filled with gritty tales of hard luck, wrecked love, spirituality, empathy, and redemption. Opener "Souled Out on You" is a tragic love story.
Finley's first notes are delivered in a remarkable falsetto, buoyed by upright piano, sloping horns, shuffling drums, and stinging guitar. His searing voice is framed in production that loosely recalls
Norman Whitfield's psychedelic soul approach at Motown.
Auerbach's ringing guitar breaks add a bluesy edge to the proceedings. Choogling swagger fuels "Make Me Feel Alright" which weds country-blues to soaring Southern soul and gritty barroom R&B as horns and drums underscore each line. Both "Country Child" and "Country Boy" are rooted in swampy blues and reflect the influence of
Auerbach's work with
Tony Joe White. The former unwinds with a midtempo shuffle as a distorted riff meets snaky single-string guitar work as
Finley shifts between a growl, his falsetto, and a soul croon. The latter is a crawling swamp blues elevated by
Finley's grainy falsetto as he reflects on the world's pain and turmoil. His delivery nods to
Curtis Mayfield's signature phrasing as slide guitar and a simmering B-3 illuminate his words. The title track is introduced by a Wurlitzer piano before a popping bassline and snare shuffle introduce
Finley's autobiographical testimony. He sounds like a backwoods gospel preacher supported by bleating baritone saxes as a wailing harmonica prods him on. "My Story" weds the aesthetics of Stax and Hi Records in a glorious meld of soul and gospel;
Finley's vocal is rife with conviction. His singing on "I Can Feel Your Pain" channels
Al Green, and his ballad style is less polished but no less adept at delivering uncommon emotional depth. "Better Than I Treat Myself" is a horn-drenched stroll through
Allen Toussaint's New Orleans R&B. Ringing, funky guitars slip atop snare breaks and rocking piano to frame
Finley's joyous delivery. Closer "All My Hope" is a showcase for
Finley's decades as a gospel singer, and its slow country guitar and Wurlitzer shuffle are elevated by a female chorus;
Finley draws on their strength as he soars above the accompaniment. The nearly symbiotic pairing of
Finley and
Auerbach on
Sharecropper's Son is deep and resonant.
Finley's singing radiates with hard-won experience and gratitude, and his producer succeeds in reflecting that spiritual power and emotional honesty without self-reference or artifice. ~ Thom Jurek