Black Bayou (album)

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Black Bayou
Robert Finley - Black Bayou.jpg
Studio album by
Robert Finley
ReleasedOctober 27, 2023 (2023-10-27)
Studio Easy Eye (Nashville, Tennessee)
Genre
Length40:21
LanguageEnglish
Label Easy Eye Sound
Producer Dan Auerbach
Robert Finley chronology
Sharecropper's Son
(2021)		Black Bayou
(2023)
Singles from Black Bayou
  1. "What Goes Around (Comes Around)"
    Released: June 29, 2023
  2. "Sneakin' Around"
    Released: August 3, 2023

"It doesn't matter what kind of voice you have. If you're not saying nothing to make sense, it's not doing any good... What comes from the heart goes to the heart."

Contents

—Robert Finley on the importance of authenticity in his songwriting. [2]

Black Bayou is the fourth full-length studio album from American blues musician Robert Finley, released in 2023. It has received positive reviews from critics and builds upon his earlier style to incorporate soul music.

Background

On June 29, 2023, Finley announced the release of his fourth studio album, along with the single "What Goes Around (Comes Around)". [3] The album was recorded at producer Dan Auerbach's Easy Eye Sound. [4]

The second single "Sneakin' Around", with a music video directed by Andy M Hawkes, was released on August 3, 2023. [5]

Tour

In support of the album, Finley announced a tour, starting on November 3, 2023, at the Kammgarn music venue in Kaiserslautern, Germany with the support of German blues musician Kai Strauss, and finishing at Le Fil in Saint-Etienne, France. [6]

Reception

According to the review aggregator Metacritic , Black Bayou received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 89 out of 100 from six critic scores. [7] Writing for American Songwriter , Hal Horowitz scored this release 4 out 5 stars, stating that compared to Finley's previous work, "there's a crispness created by this less structured environment that is natural, earthy, and spontaneous". [8] Glide Magazine's Jim Hynes suggested that this album could help Finley break into the mainstream. [9] Mojo published David Hutcheon's five-star review that calls this "a slow cruise through a landscape populated by Flannery O'Connor scenarios and escapees from the untamed ecosystems of Tom Waits's imagination" and Southern Gothic soul music. [1] Jim Shahen of No Depression considers this work an expansion of Finley's sound that includes doo-wop ballads and swampy grooves. [10] In Spill Magazine, this was an Editor's Pick and critic Ljubinko Zivkovic scored it a 9 out of 10, comparing the music to the heydays of Stax Records, writing that it is "as if Albert King with Booker T. & The MG's are back at it again, but this time around Robert Finley does that sound some excellent justice, and life is all good again". [11] Johnny Sharp of Uncut stated that on this release, Finley's lyrics have expanded beyond his personal experience and Finley has grown into a more mature storyteller. [12]

Mojo ranked this the 75th best album of 2023. [13] Uncut editor Michael Bonner included this album on his list of the best of the year. [14] Editors at Spin included this among the albums of the year. [15]

Track listing

  1. "Livin' Out a Suitcase" (Dan Auerbach, Kenny Brown, Patrick Carney, Eric Deaton, and Robert Finley) – 3:09
  2. "Sneakin' Around" (Auerbach, Brown, Carney, Deaton, and Finley) – 3:41
  3. "Miss Kitty" (Auerbach, Brown, Jeffrey Clemens, Deaton, and Finley) – 3:59
  4. "Waste of Time" (Auerbach, Brown, Clemens, Deaton, and Finley) – 3:35
  5. "Can't Blame Me for Trying" (Auerbach, Brown, Carney, Deaton, and Finley) – 3:30
  6. "Gospel Blues" (Auerbach, Brown, Clemens, Deaton, and Finley) – 2:49
  7. "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" (Auerbach, Brown, Clemens, Deaton, and Finley) – 3:14
  8. "What Goes Around (Comes Around)" (Auerbach, Brown, Carney, Deaton, and Finley) – 3:37
  9. "Lucky Day" (Auerbach, Brown, Clemens, Deaton, and Finley) – 3:24
  10. "You Got It (And I Need It)" (Auerbach, Brown, Clemens, Deaton, and Finley) – 3:20
  11. "Alligator Bait" (Auerbach, Brown, Clemens, Deaton, and Finley) – 6:10

Personnel

Charts

Chart performance for Black Bayou
Chart (2023)Peak
position
French Albums (SNEP) [16] 196
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [17] 98
UK Americana Albums (OCC) [18] 17
UK Jazz & Blues Albums (OCC) [19] 4
US Top Blues Albums (Billboard) [20] 2

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Hutcheon, David (October 27, 2022). "Robert Finley Black Bayou Review: Louisiana bluesman's fourth digs deep into life on the bayou". Articles | New Music. Mojo . ISSN   1351-0193 . Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  2. ↑ Wollen, Miranda (August 3, 2023). "Robert Finley is Just Getting Started". Music > Features > Robert Finley. Paste . ISSN   1540-3106 . Retrieved October 29, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Robert Finey Returns With Fourth Album 'Black Bayou' Out 10/27 Via Easy Eye Sound". News. Glide Magazine. June 29, 2023. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  4. ↑ Major, Michael (June 29, 2023). "Robert Finley Announces New Album 'Black Bayou'". BroadwayWorld . Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  5. ↑ Geiger, Amy (August 3, 2023). "Robert Finley releases "Sneakin' Around" off Dan Auerbach-produced LP 'Black Bayou'". BrooklynVegan . Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  6. ↑ Helfand, Raphael (September 28, 2023). "Watch the video for Robert Finley's "Nobody Wants To Be Lonely"". The Fader . Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Black Bayou by Robert Finley Reviews and Tracks – Metacritic". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. n.d. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  8. ↑ Horowitz, Hal (October 24, 2023). "Review: Robert Finley's 'Black Bayou' Exudes Raw, Swampy Authenticity". Reviews > Album Reviews. American Songwriter . ISSN   0896-8993. OCLC   17342741 . Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  9. ↑ Hynes, Jim (October 25, 2023). "The Newfound Legend of Robert Finley Continues With Hearty 'Black Bayou'". Album Reviews. Glide Magazine. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  10. ↑ Shahen, Jim (October 24, 2023). "Album Review: Robert Finley Expands His Range on 'Black Bayou'". Reviews. No Depression . ISSN   1088-4971 . Retrieved October 29, 2023.
  11. ↑ Zivkovic, Ljubinko (October 27, 2023). "Spill Album Review: Robert Finley – Black Bayou". Album Reviews. Spill Magazine. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
  12. ↑ Sharp, Johnny (October 23, 2023). "Robert Finley – Black Bayou". Reviews. Uncut . ISSN   1368-0722 . Retrieved October 29, 2023.
  13. ↑ "MOJO's Top 75 Albums of 2023". BrooklynVegan . November 14, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023. from the original in Mojo , issue 362 ( ISSN   1351-0193
  14. ↑ Bonner, Michael (December 6, 2023). "The Best Albums Of 2023 – the Editor's picks". Features > Blogs. Uncut . ISSN   1368-0722 . Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Our Editors Pick Their Albums of the Year". Features >> Our Editors Pick Their Albums of the Year. Spin . December 12, 2023. ISSN   0886-3032 . Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Top Albums (Week 44, 2023)". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Robert Finley – Black Bayou". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  18. ↑ "Official Americana Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  19. ↑ "Official Jazz & Blues Albums Chart Top 30". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  20. ↑ "Robert Finley Chart History (Top Blues Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
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