Great Mood For A Tuesday Sets the Mood for a Hot Saturday Night of Rock & Roll

by Dan MacIntosh

“Lights up, the house lights up in flames,” Felicia Finley announces, striking the match to her Great Mood For A Tuesday release. She sparks this fire in her best Pat Benatar authoritative rock growl, as well. Even though Finley has a long list of Broadway musical credits, you’d probably never get that drift from this release; Great Mood For A Tuesday sets the mood for a hot Saturday night of rock & roll, and never lets up after that.

She may have a vocal similarity to Benatar, but Finley by no means slavishly imitates that ‘80s lady, famous for her big voice and black tights. For instance, the surf-y drumming on “My House Tonight” has a peppy Go-Go’s feel to it. Elsewhere, “Blanket” is spiced by Chris Blisset’s soulful harmonica solo. “Tired of Losing Sleep”, on the other hand, is positively jangle-y, while “Closin’ Time”, with its jaunty acoustic guitar part, veers toward Dave Matthews territory. And it’s hard not to notice the wonderful opening line of “Closin’ Time”, which states, in part, “once upon a closin’ time.” Doesn’t that make you think about fairy tales for barflies? Furthermore, the old-school backing vocals during “Closin’ Time” make the track one of this CD’s clear highlights.

Finley may have only had a hand in writing one of these songs (“Blanket”), but she’s surrounded herself with professional songsmiths who know how to consistently put together evocative lyrics. The ballad “Stories” is particularly noteworthy. It borrows from the Rolling Stone’s “Mother’s Little Helper” for the line, “What a drag it is getting old,” for instance. Rock & roll hasn’t always done such a good job in discussing aging. But Finley also sings about, “Familiar faces that time has aged” during the same song, and those of us on the other side of 40 know exactly what she’s talking about.

Great Mood For A Tuesday ought to appeal to anyone who is a little too old for Warped Tour, but not too old to crank it up to 11. Ian Anderson, with Jethro Tull, once sang about being too old to rock & roll, but too young to die. You’re never too old to rock & roll, he theorized, if you’re too young to die. Finley has seen too much and lived through too much to sing about childish things anymore. But it’s a fallacy to suggest that adults need to mellow out and soften their edge as soon as they begin to age. Besides, if you were raised on loud rock & roll, acting your age would involve self-expression reflecting the music that initially moved you emotionally – rock & roll. Obviously, Finley has a rock & roll heart; one that’s still beating loud and clear.

Rock & roll is such a beautifully liberating medium when done right. It’s the sort of music that never fails to remove the old cobwebs out of the brain. Furthermore, it also clears the sinuses. Heck, it’s probably good for whatever ails you. Felicia Finley knows how to rock as though her very life depended upon it, which is the true test of artistic authenticity. Her music will put you in a good mood on Tuesday evenings and probably every other night of the week. These eight songs burst with energy and intelligence. And really, who could ask for more than that?