I have not been party to this gentleman as a stand-up comedian, for which he is widely known, but I am definitely acquainted by this man’s soulful accomplishments as a singer for Motown for this, his one and only album for the label in 1983. You may be aware of this man for his vocals on Bill Wolfer’s wonderful “Call Me” from his “Wolf” album for Constellation records and if you loved that song then this will be an album that you would also love. Over 12 month earlier than his work with The Temptations and their classic 1984 LP “Truly For You”, legendary Earth Wind & Fire guitarist and producer Al McKay worked his magic on Finis Henderson and served up a momentous platter of timeless 80s midtempo jams and scintillating ballads. You may recall with much affection, as I do, the single release “Skip To My Lou”. To me, this song is as strong, essential and uplifting now as it was when I first heard it back in 1983. This is feel-good soul at its very, very best and never ever fails to drag me out of the doldrums. This is a song I resurrect a lot when the weather is lovely, and it was, I am sure, made for a beautiful warm sunny day.
More of this vibe is captured “Making Love”, complete with a late ‘70s Isley Brothers’ type clapping beat. “Lovers” is a downtempo, slinky affair and essential to boot. The album also contains no less than two of my favourite 80s ballads; “You Owe It All To Love” and “Crush On You”. The warm Fender Rhodes and acoustic guitar really kick off the aforementioned in style and really does owe a lot to the mellower EW&F sounds. Philip Bailey would easily do a great job on this song. The real outstanding cut though is “Crush On You”. This is a song I would have buried with me if I were to be buried! I definitely want to take it with me. This is a track that gives me chills, and the prominence of the guitar and summery Rhodes all auger well. Incidentally, this song is written by none other than Stevie Wonder!
“I’d Rather Be Gone” and “Blame It On The Night” are also classy 80s numbers and remind me of the sort of vocal cuts Philip Ingram would have contributed to on any of Kazu Matsui’s more soulful albums of the same period. There’s also a version of “Call Me” too, not too far from the original, and should seal this album’s fate as being one of a number of essential collectors’ items from the 80s. This was, and I believe, still is available on reissue CD from Japan (with a different cover – the original is on the inside!) and available from a number of outlets. ESSENTIAL.
Barry Towler
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