LIVE MUSIC REVIEW
Jeff
Finlin
***
Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh - Saturday 9 September 2006
JEFF FINLIN is by no means a newcomer. He has been around and lived
several lives. However, this visit from the Colorado-based
singer-songwriter marks a new, high-profile phase of his career.
The tour is to promote the new album Angels in Disguise, a repackaged
and rearranged reissue of 2005's self-released Epinonymous, which has
been picked up by a major label.
He is supported by the homegrown but widely travelled Nick Keir, one of
the McCalmans, whose mellifluous, tightly controlled guitar-playing
exudes a warm command of the folk tradition. Covers
of Lucinda Williams, Steve Forbert and Michael Marra are mixed with his
own material to create a rich and powerful set.
Finlin is a different proposition altogether.
He has brought a band, London-based outfit The Quireboys, and they're
ready to make some noise.
Although Finlin wears shades throughout, his eyes are doubtless all
a-twinkle: he has a likeable, mischievous presence with a dry humour.
His low growl is reminiscent of his acknowledged predecessors Tom Waits
and Randy Newman. He writes concise, well-turned lines which say
no more than they have to. They are tales of everyman, of
disappointment, of the little guy, with an occasional rant, such as new
single American Dream #109 or a surprising burst of sunshine and love
like Summertime to lighten the atmosphere.
The musical mood is similarly diverse, travelling from energetic rock
with a Southern edge to a solo number for which the Quireboys leave the
stage.
It is the songs in the middle of this range which are the most
successful and individual, like Delta Down is a dark and soulful
journey through Mississippi.
Finlin also displays an endearing honesty about finding himself in a
bad place a couple of years ago and deciding it was time to show his
nasty, drunken, skirt-chasing alter ego the door. It is unfortunate but
true that damaged lives tend to make things more interesting.
Stephen Gray
Evening News, 11
September
2006
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