Customer Reviews

Finis

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I first heard selected tracks of this album a long time ago, on a local Spanish F.M. station. I remember I had been so impressed by those tracks that I started looking for this album. No need to say it was useless, even if I did travel a lot at that time. Besides, nobody knew who I was talking about, from big stores in London to small record shops in New York (that gives you an idea of the poor promotion the album received). And I finally forgot about it until I discovered this had been released on CD !

I got it a couple of days ago and it is my album of the year. It is also a collectible. The reason is that you have a couple of musicians on this cd that are no longer among us : Jeff Porcaro and Carlitos Vega. Gosh I should have known that that "swing" on "Lovers" was the trademark of Jeff ! Actually the collection has the best musicians you can imagine playing here : Michael Landau, Steve Lukather, Paul Jackson Jr., Abe Laboriel, Nathan East, Neil Stubenhaus, John Robinson, Paulinho Dacosta, Jerry Hey, George Bohannon etc, plus the voices of Bill Champlin, Richard Page, Philip Bailey and so on...

Still not convinced ? Well, I can tell you that the album has that unique Californian (good)flavour from the seventies-eighties. The tracks remind me of other artists such as Earth Wind and Fire (that inevitable, since Al Mc Kay produced it), but also Toto, Airplay, Michael Sembello, or Bobby Caldwell or George Duke. The album is rich, lively, extremely well produced according to me. It even has an excellent cover version from Stevie Wonder's "Crush on you". It might sound outdated, but what about the average quality of the music from today ? The best tracks ? All of them except perhaps the closing one.

Give yourself a treat if you like all the artists I mentioned above. They don't just appear to get their cheque. They really play at a high level. And Finis proves that he was as good as any other vocalist who "made it" (Jermaine Jackson, James "JT" Taylor, Lionel Ritchie...), without being any better than him as a singer. This is another album that was unfairly ignored by the radios, but deserves a place in your collection.

I'll have to agree with the other glowing reviews. I had the original vinyl album. Al McKay (formerly of EWF) not only produced the album, he is Finis Henderson's cousin. The top cuts on this album during it's original release were Skip To My Lou, Lovers, and You Owe It All To Love. Call Me and Crush On You also received some light airplay. Other artist produced by EWF during this era you'll also enjoy are Pockets and Afterbach. Good luck finding thoughs ones.

The standout cuts on this album are the wrenching "I'd Rather Be Gone" and the seductive, upbeat, "Call Me," but you won't find much to dislike in the rest of the offerings here. With a voice as powerful as Luther Vandross and as expressive as Stevie Wonder's, Finis Henderson should have gotten much more airplay and notice for this wonderful effort. You'll find yourself hard put to sit still, even with the slower songs. There's a definite jazz tinge to this pop-soul melange. This man can SING.

WHEN I FIRST PURCHASED THIS CASSETTE BACK IN THE DAY I FELL IN LOVE WITH IT BECAUSE OF THE SMOOTH GROOVES, AND THE TIGHT PRODUCTION FROM AL MCKAY AND MUSICIANS LIKE PAUL JACKSON JR, HOWEVER THE ALBUM WAS RELEASED ABOUT THE SAME TIME MICHAEL JACKSON THRILLER WAS RELEASED THEREFORE THIS ALBUM HAD NO CHANCE FOR ANY RADIO SUCCESS, IF IT WAS NOT FOR THE MICHAEL JACKSON THRILLER CASSETTE THIS CD WOULD HAVE BEEN NUMBER ONE ON THE R&B CHARTS, I PURCHASED THE CD ABOUT A YEAR AGO AND IT SOUND SO GOOD, IF YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO A WELL PUT TOGETHER CD I SUGGEST YOU PURCHASE FINIS HENDERSON

Got this CD for Skip to my luv. Great song on a nice CD. If you enjoy collecting 70's and 80's grooves, you should not miss this CD.

this was a great album, glad to see it on cd. finis was a great comic also.al mckay(earth, wind, fire ) did a great job producing this album.motown fail to use finis talent. hope he come out with some new music.he reminds you of the rock.