Often praised, long troubled actor Robert Downey Jr. makes his solo vocal debut with
The Futurist. Having sang in various film and TV projects, it was often rumored that
Downey wanted to make a move to the music business. Well, the rumors were true and the results are largely laudable. Vocally,
Downey has a unique sound that falls somewhere between the melancholy twang of
Bruce Hornsby and the soulful grit of
Joe Cocker -- think
Bruce Springsteen doing a cabaret night. Musically, he lands squarely in the adult contemporary vein with songs that recall
So-era
Peter Gabriel and post-
Soul Cages Sting -- synthesizers abound. Respectably,
Downey wrote many of the songs on
The Futurist as well as collaborated with journeyman pop scribe
Mark Hudson -- who also shares production credits here with one-time
Yes producer
Jonathan Elias. That said,
Downey's ear tends toward the languid and his lyrics, while heartfelt, are obtuse and often seem to dance around deep issues without revealing much. For example, on the title track he sings, "They'll take the walk/We'll sage the world/Sounds like October/A Futurist nose/Our furious, curious, fantasist code" -- code indeed. Not surprisingly, though,
Downey the actor turns out to be a great interpreter of other musicians' work. His duet with
Jon Anderson on the classic
Yes track "Your Move" sounds absurd in theory, but the rub between
Downey's throaty croon and
Anderson's angelic background vocals is truly invigorating. Similarly, he seems to bring all the highs and lows of his life and career to bear on his trio version of Charlie Chaplin's "Smile," featuring legendary jazz bassist
Charlie Haden. While the album may not hold any clues to the future of
Downey's music career, in the moment
The Futurist is as unpredictably moving as the best of
Downey's film work. ~ Matt Collar