On the back end of his incredible performance on BBC’s Later With Jools Holland, Louisiana soul-blues artist Robert Finley continues to tour behind his critically acclaimed album, Hallelujah! Don’t Let The Devil Fool Ya, which was released late last year via Easy Eye Sound.
Hallelujah! Don’t Let The Devil Fool Ya received global acclaim, with SPIN declaring the artist “a master musician and entertainer – only gets better with time,” and UNCUT noting: “Approaching his eighth decade … Finley’s work here is clearly just getting started.” The album — produced by longtime collaborator Dan Auerbach (The Black Keys) at his Easy Eye Sound studio in Nashville — features bold, joy-driven gospel-soul statements like “I Wanna Thank You,” and was recorded in the spirit of live improvisation with Finley and his band.
Like most Finley recording sessions, Hallelujah! Don’t Let The Devil Fool Ya, came together with startling speed. Backed by an all-star combo featuring Auerbach and fellow guitarist Barrie Cadogan (Little Barrie, Primal Scream, The The), drummer Malcolm Catto (The Heliocentrics, Madlib, DJ Shadow), bassist Tommy Brenneck, and keyboardist Ray Jacildo, along with call-and-response vocal support from his daughter, singer Christy Johnson, the album was fully improvised and tracked not in a month, not in a week, but in a furiously fruitful single day.
“Back in the day when Robert played for tips, he’d ask people questions and improvise songs for them on the spot,” says Dan Auerbach. “That was the method, and that was the way, and choosing that direction – everything improvised, playing, singing and writing off the cuff – sparked a session of divinely inspired creativity, because letting the spirit move him is a trademark of Finley’s creative process.”
Finley now brings his unmissable live show back to the UK.