Robert Cray – That’s What I Heard (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 47:59 minutes | 1,07 GB | Genre: Blues
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Nozzle Records
Robert Cray has been bridging the lines between blues, soul and R&B for the past four decades, with five Grammy wins and over 20 acclaimed albums. His latest album, “That’s What I Heard”, was recorded at the iconic Capitol Records studios and produced by Steve Jordan (Sheryl Crow, Josh Groban, Keith Richards, Boz Scaggs). The music is a varied sonic blend of blues, soul, boogaloo and gospel. Guest artists include Ray Parker Jr and Steve Perry.
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Robert Cray – Strong Persuader (1986/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 39:19 minutes | 1,51 GB | Genre: Blues Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Mercury Records
#42 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 greatest albums of the 80’s
The set that made Cray a pop star, despite its enduring blues base. Cray’s smoldering stance on “Smoking Gun” and “Right Next Door” rendered him the first sex symbol to emerge from the blues field in decades, but it was his innovative expansion of the genre itself that makes this album a genuine 1980s classic. “Nothing but a Woman” boasts an irresistible groove pushed by the Memphis Horns and some metaphorically inspired lyrics, while “I Wonder” and “Guess I Showed Her” sizzle with sensuality. –Bill Dahl
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Robert Cray – Nothin But Love (2012)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 54:29 minutes | 655 MB | Genre: Blues
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Mascot Label Group – Provogue
The differences in Robert Cray albums are subtle but noticeable to fans of the veteran soul-bluesman. He retains the same backing trio on this 2012 release as on 2009’s studio disc, with the only major difference in personnel being the addition of noted roots producer Kevin Shirley. Lyrically detailed story ballads about the trials and tribulations of love, with an emphasis on broken relationships, remain his strong suit as song titles such as “Sadder Days,” “Fix This,” “I’ll Always Remember You,” “Won’t Be Coming Home,” and even the album’s title imply. Yet there are enough change-ups and excellent songs here to keep the pace varied. Horns that Cray hasn’t utilized in a while make a welcome appearance on a few key tunes such as the big-band swing of “I’ll Always Remember You” (which seems like a tribute to Ray Charles) and the terrifically melodic, midtempo “Blues Get Off My Shoulder.” A little Chuck Berry rocking in the snappy and humorous “Side Dish” shows that this band can crank up the energy when the occasion calls for it. Even if their brand of rock & roll is a little on the clean-cut side, the track has a rawness and good-time feeling that is typically not associated with Cray. But the album’s emotional and philosophical centerpiece is the nearly nine-minute “I’m Done Cryin’.” This searing, contemporary portrait is of a male protagonist who has lost his home and his job to outsourcing but retains his dignity “because I’m still a man.” Shirley adds understated but beautifully arranged strings to emphasize the sheer desperation of the situation then strips them away, leaving just Cray’s soulful voice. Add one of the guitarist’s patented terse, quivering solos that feels like a crying vocal, and you get a tour de force track that is one of the highlights of Cray’s bulging catalog. And with 15 previous albums, that’s saying plenty. The description of how a wrecked marriage is revealed in the empty residence a couple left behind in “Great Big Old House” is prime Cray, too, and a worthy successor to any of his other popular busted matrimony songs. Even if the guitarist has worked this terrain plenty of times before, he is still refining and even improving the template. That makes this another quality entry in a catalog of albums over a three-decade-and-counting-year career that has remarkably few weak spots.
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Contemporary blues icon Robert Cray will be celebrating his 40 years of performing with an incredible live release, ‘4 Nights of 40 Years Live’ on 28th August 2015. This live album was recorded at Venture, Belly Up, Saban Theatre and his rehearsal studio in Dec 2014. Both the DVD and Blu-ray contain 90 minutes of concert footage from multiple camera angles creating an incredible perspective. It also contains personal in-depth interviews with Robert Cray, his band members and testimonials from legends as Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Keith Richards, Jimmie Vaughan and Bonnie Raitt.
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