Artist: Cray, Robert
Label: Nozzle Records
Release: 2009
Duration: 48.05
Rating: 4/5
This Time is without a doubt one of the most anticipated studio releases of the year (provided, of course, that you belong to the ever-shrinking circle of addicts hooked on the sharp aromas of blues music). Anyway, Robert Cray is finally back. One of the main figures of the 80s blues renaissance, who by Clapton’s own words is supposedly the most soulful interpreter of modern blues, comes charging out of four years of creative hibernation on the wings of 9 mostly excellent songs with outstanding character and the depth he’s known for. This Time proves once again that Cray’s creativity really knows no bounds. Arrangement-wise, these top-notch polished motifs borrow from a richly colored palette of genres, and through a stew of blues, gospel and soul, punctuated with touches of easygoing jazz musicianship, they brazenly adorn themselves by widening the already wide expressive range of this great guitarist, while, in the footsteps of Twenty, continuing to boldly chart new creative directions for the musician.
This Time stays firmly rooted in the proven, high-quality variety of fiery blues soil, naturally infused, in the traditional Cray recipe, with instinctive and intoxicating soul rhetoric that, thanks to the unique sensuality of the guitarist’s vocal delivery, effortlessly turns the listener’s knees to jelly. This time Cray bets on noticeably raw production packaging, with the individual elements of the organic sound picture clearly set apart, giving the album a fairly robust, sometimes even rather unpolished look, in places akin to the carefree atmosphere of one of those spontaneous jams. The spirit of jazz exploration blows through the otherwise basically structured That’s What Keeps Me Rockin’, in whose finale Cray’s temperament stubbornly duels with the abstract chirping of Jim Pugh’s hammond organ. Cray often leaves the imagination of his longtime companion free rein, understandably betting on a fruitful relationship that, in the vein of the Caribbean-inspired To Be True, relentlessly pushes beyond established musical frameworks. Still, the innovation-minded Cray doesn’t forget on This Time about the wishes and expectations of the longtime followers of his musical odyssey. The words written with a friendly nod are served up right from the start by Chicken In The Kitchen, an inventive take on modern blues-rock rhetoric that smells of tradition mainly thanks to its sarcastic lyrics. Good examples of the latter carry over to Trouble & Pain, with which Cray, on the wings of explosive guitar playing, takes his one and only more concrete step in the direction of rock music. The rest of the album is, from an instrumental point of view, much more cohesive in nature. Cray treats himself to the first of the long-awaited dips into soul waters with the song I Can’t Fail, wrapped in dreamy guitar minimalism and a charming vocal sermon that on a good day even stirs up cravings for the man’s Strong Persuader-era triumphs! The title track and Forever Goodbye boast a slightly bigger dose of melancholy, two typically soul-seasoned masterpieces with a reserved spot in the repertoire of Cray’s upcoming live adventures, among whose front ranks the closing Truce will also manage to climb with a bit more effort.
What’s left to add in the end. This Time marks an excellent return to old form, which makes Robert Cray’s years-long absence from the scene, if not entirely forgivable, then at least easier to tolerate. With this album Cray keeps his status as a top-tier blues interpreter, one who gladly seeks answers to questions while sailing through different genre environments, woven into a unique musical tapestry that every time delivers one kind of excess or another over established musical standards. Robert Cray is one of a kind, a master of his craft, with the style of a sensitive romantic on one side and an incorrigible voyeur on the other. It’s a refreshing collision of two opposing musical worlds, so it’s no surprise that this exotic mix has for years remained the main, brilliantly exploited expressive instrument of this sensational musician.
Lineup
Robert Cray: guitar, vocals
Richard Cousins: bass
Jim Pugh: bass
Tony Braunagel: drums
Production
Robert Cray
Track List
1. Chicken In The Kitchen
2. I Can’t Fail
3. Love 2009
4. That’s What Keeps Me Rockin’
5. This Time
6. To Be True
7. Forever Goodbye
8. Trouble And Pain
9. Truce
