Any Robert Cray Fans?

Yes, I am a fan. I think this one is his classic album.

Seen him a couple of times live, a very neglected blues artist. Start with Strong Persuader as above.

A new artist ???  He's been around since the late 70's,  he's got a great album portfolio plus many contributing to or part of the band for a list of other artists.    Any & all his albums are good.  100% thumbs up for 'Strong Persuader',  add 'Bad Influence', 'Don't Be Afraid of the Dark', & 'Shame + A Sin'

Mike-B posted:

A new artist ???  He's been around since the late 70's,  he's got a great album portfolio plus many contributing to or part of the band for a list of other artists.    Any & all his albums are good.  100% thumbs up for 'Strong Persuader',  add 'Bad Influence', 'Don't Be Afraid of the Dark', & 'Shame + A Sin'

"New" to me. Lol

just previewed 'Strong Persuader', like it. I'll look into the others too.

many thanks chaps 

New album due out shortly.

As well as the above, I like the following which are a bit of a mix of old and new LPs:

Not here.

For me, his earlier albums make the best listening. A little more raw and stripped down and tunes that really stick in your head.

I'd give a big +1 to 'Bad Influence' above, but my favourite of all is 'False Accusations'

every album.  saw him in Sheffield gig  at the start in the80s and  meet him in hmv  at his  promotion in the afternoon of gig.    

Seen a few times can only echo Albums very good going to see him very soon in London , A mixture of BB , Eric , and a bit of soul thrown in

AntonD posted:

hi

a friend of mine has suggested Robert Cray as a new artist to look into. 

I do like guitar based artists so wondered if there are any fans here and could you suggest particular albums to buy?

many thanks peeps.

Anton

Went to see Robert Cray one night in the city. Had no tickets, but went to the box office, and purely by luck ended up with 2 seats in the sixth row dead centre. Turns out some sponsor turned in some of his reserved seats at the last minute. Lucky us.

Show started with JJ Cale as opener. He started by himself with guitar and harp and played a few tunes. Then added a percussionist, played a few tunes and so on until he had a full six piece outfit on stage. His tunes are short, so after about 45 minutes, he was saying thanks and good night. The result was next thing to a riot; nobody wanted him to leave. So, he played a couple more and left to a 5 minute standing ovation. I think most of the old freaks in the crowd really came to see him.

The place was still buzzing pretty loud when Robert Cray came on. I kind of felt sorry for him, but man did he ever put on a great show. I was listening to "Strong Persuader" a lot at the time, so I knew some of his music.

Funny thing though, I remember way more of the JJ Cale performance than anything. True story.

BB 

I have only a handful of Cray albums and like many have suggested "Strong Persuader" is a good one to start with. Reminds me I've got to go out and get some more of his stuff.

If anyone interested  HDTracks UK have 'Strong Persuader' in 24/192 available for£6.00    yes SIX (only) !!!!!     I've just replaced my 16/44 CD rip

Saw him in London with BB King great gig with the two of them dueting

Early albums the best for me

I prefer his earlier stuff too, some of his more recent material has been a little more "commercial" (for lack of a better term) but one of the great blues guys for a long time.

Mike-B posted:

If anyone interested  HDTracks UK have 'Strong Persuader' in 24/192 available for£6.00    yes SIX (only) !!!!!     I've just replaced my 16/44 CD rip

Looks like HDT has its panty hose knotted,  HDT (USA) has it listed at $24.98.       Qobuz have the 24/192 copy at £9.99  &  £5.59 for Sublime members

Some feedback.

played  'Don't be afraid of the dark' 1st. Actually played it twice. Yes, I like it.

just started playing 'Midnight Stroll', immediately really like this one. Wow!

both cd's ripped and quality of playback is great. Thanks chaps.

another new artist for me 

'Strong Persuader' and 'Shame + A Sin' are on the way too  

Robert Cray is prominent in spots on John Lee Hooker's "Mr. Lucky", too, including the title song.   I listen to this in the car often and it is a lot of fun.

'False Accusations', 'Bad Influence' and 'Who's been taking' also ordered. Looking forward to listening to them. 

kevin J Carden posted:

My personal choice too, Kevin. This got me into the blues, back in the early 80's.  It's funny but you can feel a certain 'electricity' with this album, as if it was live 

WW, Electricity is a good word for it. I was inspired to buy that album after seeing him on Whistle Test performing a few of these tracks live in the studio. Totally spellbinding. He'd just recorded False accusations at that point. I think that was his finest hour and though he remains a favourite I'm not sure he ever quite got that electricity so well again.

'The last time (I get burned like this)' still sends chills down my spine..

I saw him in a Jazz fest here in Calgary, check out the Definitive Collection and see which tracks you like the best and then work back to the albums they came from.

kevin J Carden posted:

WW, Electricity is a good word for it. I was inspired to buy that album after seeing him on Whistle Test performing a few of these tracks live in the studio. Totally spellbinding. He'd just recorded False accusations at that point. I think that was his finest hour and though he remains a favourite I'm not sure he ever quite got that electricity so well again.

'The last time (I get burned like this)' still sends chills down my spine..

Kevin, I think I remember the Whistle Test performance. From what I remember, Annie Nightingale was clearly madly in love with Cray, yes ? . I too went straight out and bought the album. Later managed to catch him live at  Sheffield City Hall - just fantasic.

  I think that after this album, he started to get more and more 'polished' and eventually a bit dull and predictable.