Singer and songwriter John Finley has been writing and performing since the mid-1960s, and was a member of the band Rhinoceros. That band’s song “I Will Serenade You,” written by John Finley, became a hit for Three Dog Night in 1973 under the title “Let Me Serenade You.” And Ivan Neville recorded Finley’s “Why Can’t I Fall In Love” for the film Pump Up The Volume (that film features a fantastic soundtrack). John Finley spent a good deal of his career in Los Angeles, but now is back in his hometown of Toronto. The new album, Soul Singer, features mostly original material, written or co-written by John Finley.
He opens the album with a wonderful new rendition of “I Will Serenade You,” now under the title used by Three Dog Night, “Let Me Serenade You.” As the album’s title promises, this version is full of soul, and it features some good work by Lou Pomanti on keys. Lou Pomanti also produced this album. And adding to coolness of this track, fellow Rhinoceros member Danny Weis joins John Finley on guitar. But of course it is John Finley’s wonderful vocal performance that is the focus here, the lyrics delivered with the passion of a gospel number. Robyn Newman and Gavin Hope provide backing vocals, contributing to that soulful feel. That’s followed by “I’m On Your Side,” a smooth number, written by John Finley, Kathleen Jentz and Lou Pomanti. “And when your world is coming down/And you think there is no one around/I am on your side.” In this crazy, uncertain world filled with awful people, we all need to know that at least one person is on our side, and in this song, John Finley offers encouragement and warmth. “I believe, I believe in you.” How good it is to hear someone tell us that, and how necessary for our sanity, particularly now. Hang on out there, folks.
Things get funky with “Go,” a song John Finley wrote with Carl Graves and Lou Pomanti. At the beginning John comments, “This feels good.” And indeed, it does. This is a fun track with some delicious work by Marc Rogers on bass. There is some great energy here. The song gets kind of loose, and has a cool vocal section in the second half. Then John Finley gives us a bluesy jazz number, “What Time Can Do,” which features some nice work by William Sperandei on trumpet, plus some wonderful touches on piano. “What time can do/To me, to you.” This one was written by Oscar Saul, Danny Ironstone and John Finley.
I mentioned Pump Up The Volume earlier. The central song of that movie is Leonard Cohen’s “Everybody Knows,” and a second Leonard Cohen song, “If It Be Your Will,” is also featured. (Neither of those tracks is included on the soundtrack album.) For Soul Singer’s first cover, John Finley chooses what is now certainly Leonard Cohen’s most popular and famous song, “Hallelujah” (earlier that honor would have belonged to “Suzanne”). “Hallelujah” first appeared on Leonard Cohen’s 1984 LP, Various Positions, the same album that gave us “If It Be Your Will” (and my personal favorite of all his records). A little later, different verses would be added to the song. On this rendition, John Finley performs the four verses from the original album version, delivering a soulful and moving vocal performance, supported by wonderful work from backing vocalists Amoy Levy and Ciceal Levy. There is one odd change to the lyrics. The line “I don’t even know the name” here becomes “I didn’t even know your name,” which doesn’t make sense unless he is suddenly addressing God or something. Still, it’s a really good version. At the end, he repeats the line “I did my best,” which is effective, working in the same manner as the first time it is sung, but also possibly as a comment on his handling of the song itself. I don’t recall anyone else doing that.
John Finley returns to original material with “The Boys Song,” about how boys are brought up to be a certain way. This track is a solo effort, John on piano as well as vocals. It’s an interesting song, and one that feels timely in these strange days. There is also something rather theatrical about it, feeling at times like it could be from a musical. “Money Love” also feels pertinent in these tough days when a greedy narcissist is occupying the White House. If that bastard loves anything besides himself, it is money. This is a good, kind of funky track, written by Danny Weis and John Finley. Danny Weis plays guitar on it. “For love of money, a man will sell his soul,” John sings here. “Try to climb higher/How low can you go.” I love the way he delivers the line “How low can you go.” Katherine Rose delivers some wonderful work on backing vocals. In the second half, the song takes a turn, to address what is really important, and that section features some great stuff from William Sperandei on trumpet. This is one of my personal favorite tracks. It is followed by the album’s second cover, Buddy Johnson’s “Save Your Love For Me,” a delicious jazz number featuring some excellent stuff on piano and a strong vocal performance.
John Finley is in his seventies, but that doesn’t keep him from delivering a dance song titled “Party Party.” Yup, it gives me hope. Some folks seem to have a greater amount of energy in their seventies than I do in my forties. And this song benefits from the horn section of William Carn on trombone and Tony Carlucci on trumpet. “Here’s the message, straight and true/You’ve got the power, it’s all up to you.” That’s followed by “Dear Delilah,” an interesting original song, its first lines delivered as spoken word. It soon develops into a sweet, soulful number. “You see, when I’m happy, it’s only for a while/And when I’m lonely, I still can you see smile.” The album concludes with an excellent cover of Charlie Rich’s “Who Will The Next Fool Be.” The energy builds and soon this track has you in its hands. In addition to a moving and powerful vocal performance, this track features some absolutely wonderful stuff on keys, as well as some great work on saxophone by Alison Young. This track just gets better and better, a perfect way to wrap things up.
CD Track List
- Let Me Serenade You
- I’m On Your Side
- Go
- What Time Can Do
- Hallelujah
- The Boys Song
- Money Love
- Save Your Love For Me
- Party Party
- Dear Delilah
- Who Will The Next Fool Be
Soul Singer was released on July 17, 2020 through Vesuvius Music.
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