Customer Reviews

Love Will Find You

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

 

 

I saw Brown on the Letterman show and thought the song, the title song of this album, was interesting. The song seems to be out of another era of Pop, maybe as far back as the 50's, but he is using a lot of instruments and vocals, so it's not really the same. It's more the rather simple character of the songs, the lyrics that seems, well, 'traditional'.

A quick Internet search revealed that Brown had a song that was used by Mastercard for a Christmas advertisement. That song, Come Home, is about as soft a ballad as I have ever heard. Some have described it as melodramatic. Nobody Cared, on this CD, seems to have more substance than Come Home. Maybe not an edge but more of a round corner. Brown sings the songs as if from a distance, anyway, without seeming quite involved. Even the album cover shows him at a distance, looking off somewhere. Maybe that is what makes this work.

The songs are nicely crafted and the lyrics are OK. Brown has a voice that matches the songs, and his voice dominates the arrangements. I can think of a hundred groups that are just too soft to be bearable in any quantity. Groups from Bread to Air Supply were successful for a long time, but cursed by softness. The singer, the songs, and the 'orchestra' here are engaging, but maybe the songs can drift a bit farther from being inane, down the line. I'm not sure ads for big banking empires are where any artist should aim.

Wow...this is really a beautiful album! While the style of the music - think Orbison meets Spector-ish production - is definitely studied, the final result comes across as very organic and heartfelt. My favorite songs are the title track and "Teardrops Lost In The Rain." Highly recommended.

There's something ersatz in Bernard Butler's throwback production, but his Stax-inflected work with Duffy on Rockferry and now his Roy Orbison styled work with Findlay Brown certainly can press emotional buttons. Judging by Brown's folky, singer-songwriter debut Separated by the Sea, his reincarnation as a 50s-influence balladeer is a surprise. The quiet acoustic fingerpicking and introspective vocals of his debut are replaced here with orchestral rock arrangements and crooning vocals. The opening "Love Will Find You" charges from the gate on a Brill Building-styled baion beat and stops dramatically for a "Be My Baby" inspired kick drum break. Brown sounds at home amid the soaring strings, with enough echo on his voice to make him tower over the arrangement. It sounds like the recreations of That Thing You Do, crossing the rising melody of "My World is Over" with the rhythm and arrangement of "Hold My Hand, Hold My Heart."

Brown's ten originals deliver on troubled titles like "Nobody Cares," "Teardrops Lost in the Rain" and "If I Could Do it Again." Butler has more than one vintage production trick in his bag as he adds soulful string trills to the upbeat "All That I Have." But unlike a Chris Isaak album, you'll never forget this is a modern production. That may be a blessing for radio play, but it keeps some of the tracks from connecting with the warmth of their period inspirations. "That's Right" has an Everly Brothers' vigor in its vocal, but the guitar is too modern to fully convert on the rockabilly beat, and the ballad "Teardrops Lost in the Rain" has 50s-styled backing vocals and a baritone guitar but the overall effect is still up-to-date.

If you fell in love with the single, you'll find its mood echoing through the rest of the album in melodic lines, strummed acoustic guitars and touches of percussion, but its effect is muted by contemporary production. Butler can strike an effective balance between retro and modern, as with Duffy, the album's single and a few other tracks, but often it feels like he's compromised for the sake of commercial concerns. The more he and Brown throw in with the period, on the steel-lined ballad "If I Could Do It Again," the double-tracked vocal of "I Still Want You" and the country-soul "I Had a Dream," the more they soar. The rest will work for younger listeners who will be excited by the drama of `50s rock without being put off by the less inventive modern touches. 3-1/2 stars, if allowed fractional ratings. [©2010 hyperbolium dot com]

this is a good album and a pretty clear departure in style from his previous release.

findlay is doing a real interesting chris isaac crooning thing here, but with morrissey's distinct knack for cadence and swooping vocals. the music has a varied style, but there is definitely a large dose of 50's style sock hop in there.

i like this departure. mainly because i find it much more interesting than what most of his english contemporaries are doing.

good on ya.

Great album and great artist has the sound and feel of a modern day Roy Orbison. I just had the the chance to see Findlay live and loved his performance which prompted me to buy this album.

I first heard Findley Brown on David Letterman. I went straight to the computer and ordered the CD. Every song on this CD is great.

I SAW THESE GUYS ON DAVID LETTERMEN AND KNEW I HAD TO HAVE THIS CD....IN A WAY THEY REMIND ME OF ROY ORBISON...I LOVE LISTENING TO THIS CD....ONE OF MY FAVORITES.