The Robert Cray Band has gained some well earned prestige over the years, and since their debut album Strong Persuader in 1986, they have collaborated with the likes of Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, John Lee Hooker and Tina Turner.
Just one hour with the new album Twenty in your CD player will leave you with tingling toes and a rejuvenated mind. Almost jet-lagged from my journey through a concoction of diverse flavours executed in their purest forms, I sit back and can confidently admit that it would take a battle of mammoth proportions for any human body to resist becoming absorbed into the Robert Cray Band groove.
Thickly layered with strong tones of jazz and rock, marinated in blues and adorned with the soulful satin vocals of Robert Cray himself, Twenty is a paradigm of blatant musical talent with an undeniably sanded down and polished sound. Although the roots of this album lay primarily in the fields of blues with chug-chug/wah wah riffs and the expected climaxing guitar solo’s, there’s no shortage of variety with regards to instrumentation and style. ‘Poor Johnny’-the opening track confronting the current war in Iraq-will instantly get your feet tapping to the reggae/ska/blues fusion and in the words of Gloria Estefan, the rhythm will get you; a concept intertwined throughout the entire album.
If you are endeavouring to find something exceptionally innovative, something brand spanking new and exiting, The Robert Cray Band won’t cure you of your quest.
However, if it’s an untainted blend of good old blues based numbers with a fresh authentic twist, Twenty will without doubt quench your thirst.
