“...let
me travel
a thousand miles lookin' through the back of my head and maybe I'll
find
all the blessings of never trying..."
A poet
and painter as well as an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, Jeff
Finlin
wields a musical hook like a hammer in crafting his songs of the
American
conscience. Following in the tradition that extends from Walt
Whitman
to Raymond Carver, Finlin preaches the gospel of Everyman - but with
the
tongue of a 21st century skeptic and the muscular grace of a rock and
roll
spiritualist.
There
have been many poets, many minstrels, many traveling prophets and to
say
that one is more significant than the others is to say that one's pain
or experiences are more meaningful which just isn't the case.
What
you can say is that some have the ability to express what they feel in
a way that is artistically insightful. Jeff accomplishes this
both
musically and lyrically. In picking a quote from Jeff Finlin's
lyric
sheet you could almost paste it on a dartboard and shoot
blindfolded.
There is not a misplaced vowel, not a stranded verb. Everything
seems
to flow smoothly and eloquently. Jeff is truly a "natural
poet."
A drummer
by trade, Jeff has been playing the show biz game for a while. He
played drums for his first band, "The Thieves", signed to Capitol
Records
which put out two of their records. His second brush with "The
Man"
came several years later when MCA Records discovered his solo
talents.
Although the album was recorded and ready to hit the shelves the
accountants
at the label stepped in and nixed the whole project. As if Jeff
needed
more inspiration, the whole experience simply armed him with fresh
material,
ergo Highway Diaries.
Jeff's
songwriting spreads from the rootsier side of the alternative
edge.
Ultimately, he is an artist who is as concerned with the context of
creation
as he is with the tools with which he expresses it. In Jeff's words,
"I've
always liked the literary aspect of songwriting. It's just
something a little more than rock n' roll. The main reason I do it is
because
I have something to say."
Inviting
favorable comparisons to musical kin such as John Hiatt, John Prine,
Steve
Earle and Lou Reed, Finlin's Highway Diaries is at turns jagged and
joyous,
stark and audacious. Foremost, it is work of heartening honesty
in
chronicling the travels of the human spirit. Jeff Finlin's
artistry
reveals the literate poetry and bleeding out loud truth of simple
experience
that leaves scars and blemishes like tattoos, identifying and
illustrating
our lives in indelible detail.
1997
