Strong Persuader received rave reviews from contemporary critics. In a review for Rolling Stone, Jon Pareles said Cray delivered intriguing stories nigh sexual practice together with infidelity amongst disciplined singing, songwriting, together with "a version of blues together with someone that doesn't come upwards from whatever 1 region, edifice an idiom for songs that tell amongst conversational directness the stories of ordinary folks". Robert Christgau from The Village Voice praised Cray's sophisticated blues aesthetic together with the songwriting of his supporting studio team, hailing Strong Persuader equally "the best blues tape inward many, many years, together with thence fervently crafted that it may fifty-fifty larn what it deserves together with larn the get-go album to interruption out of the genre's sales ghetto since B.B. King was a hot item."
The ready that made Cray a pop star, despite its enduring blues base. Cray's smoldering opinion on "Smoking Gun" together with "Right Next Door" rendered him the get-go sexual practice symbol to emerge from the blues plain inward 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 yesteryear the Memphis Horns together with some metaphorically inspired lyrics, piece "I Wonder" together with "Guess I Showed Her" sizzle amongst sensuality.
The 1980’s music scene is best remembered yesteryear most people equally a fourth dimension when synthesized sounds ruled the radio waves together with the glitzy MTV videos of pilus bands together with rap together with hip hop artists were all the rage. In this unlikely era of technology scientific discipline driven pop, Robert Cray helped rein inward the appreciation of a novel generation for the blues. Some have got criticized his blend of blues, someone together with stone equally a homogenization of the blues but his contemporary trend was easily accessible together with entertaining to a broad audience. His Gammy winning 1986 liberate Strong Persuader is credited amongst helping the Blues notice novel life equally it spawned a top-five striking amongst “Smoking Gun”, amongst a video also shared frequent MTV concealment fourth dimension amongst the likes of A-ha together with The Pet Shop Boys.
Perhaps Robert Cray’s build of electrical blues powerfulness endure the termination of his various background. Though he was born inward Columbus, GA, he was an “army brat” together with was raised all over the country. He started playing guitar inward his early on teens piece living inward Newport News, VA together with cites blues legend Albert Collins equally a major influence. Later, he would collaborate amongst Collins on his album Showdown!, which won a Grammy itself inward 1987. Cray also lists guitar greats George Harrison, Eric Clapton together with B.B. King equally some of his early on influences.
His 3rd major label release, Strong Persuader remains 1 of his best albums to date. The songs all revolve some a mutual blues subject of dearest gone wrong. While he may non possess a technically perfect voice, Cray is a superb vocalist, delivering exactly the correct emotion whether it endure specific levels of sincerity, sarcasm, or cynicism. The audio of the album is simple, crisp, together with build clean together with never muddled. It is modern electrical blues featuring Memphis horns, steady bass together with drums, together with Cray’s signature, attack-heavy guitar trend amongst no wasted notes.
For how sanitized the may album sound, at its pith Strong Persuader is actually quite racy. This dichotomy is best portrayed on the vocal “Fantasized”, which contains some rather risque lyrics higher upwards an nonthreatening basic, soft-rock music track. If fact, “Strong Persuader” became a nickname for Cray himself due his skills at convincing immature women equally portrayed inward the pop vocal “Right Next Door (Because of Me)” where he brags nigh his conquest existence “just some other notch on my guitar”.
The album’s opener, “Smoking Gun”, is peradventure Cray’s most pop vocal ever, accented yesteryear Peter Boe’s signature pianoforte riff together with a fine, “slow hand” guitar solo. The next vocal “I Guess I Showed Her” takes some other musical direction, amongst a overnice blend of cool jazz together with funk, highlighted yesteryear the brass of Wayne Jackson amongst some ironic/comedic lyrics. Later inward the album, Cray settles inward to to a greater extent than traditional, guitar-driven blues together with nearly-crooning vocals on songs similar “I Wonder” together with “New Blood”.
Throughout the residual of album, the songs vary amongst different combinations of these 3 styles, all held together yesteryear the consistent production of Bruce Bromberg & Dennis Walker. some of the highlights include the catchy together with melodic “More Than I Can Stand” together with the fantabulous “I Wonder”, amongst its totally unique solo technique which at 1 betoken seems to operate alternate tuning together with at some other almost sounds similar a banjo, together with the cool lyric – “…Is this a dream or has Bob gone crazy?”
Inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame only final calendar month (May 2011), Robert Cray gave us an interesting together with entertaining album a quarter of a century ago, which remains 1 of his most popular. Since Strong Persuader, Cray has released xi studio albums but none have got been equally pop equally this 1986 tour-de-force.
"I intend that my band was part of a blues-roots motion that included people similar the Fabulous Thunderbirds together with Stevie Ray Vaughan, who were coming along at that particular time," says bandleader Robert Cray. While Cray's feel of what was happening on the American stone scene inward tardily 1986 is accurate, it modestly downplays the accomplishments of the singer-guitarist together with his backing trio.
In Feb of that year, Strong Persuader — Cray's 4th album — striking Number Thirteen on the Billboard pop-albums chart, making it the highest-charting blues album since Bobby "Blue" Bland's Call on Me/That's the Way Love Is, which reached Number Eleven some twenty-three years earlier. Strong Persuader, inward effect, introduced a novel generation of mainstream stone fans to the linguistic communication together with shape of the blues.
An regular army brat who grew upwards on bases inward West Federal Republic of Federal Republic of Germany together with the Pacific Northwest, Cray was introduced to pop dark music at home, but he discovered blues artists on his ain equally a teenager. "I soundless have got a lot of the same influences today," Cray says. "People similar Albert Collins, Buddy Guy, O.V. Wright together with Sam Cooke."
In his lyric themes, Cray oftentimes veers away from the hard-luck route trod yesteryear most bluesmen. But his trebly, razor-sharp guitar playing is direct out of the electrical blues tradition, together with it provides Strong Persuader amongst a distinctive edge.
Signed to the little High Tone label when piece of job on Strong Persuader began, Cray was hoping to claw upwards amongst a larger company. "The production on the get-go records was equally good low-budget," he says, "and nosotros were looking for a major label because nosotros desire to build a amend tape every time."
Cray together with his band eventually cutting a bargain amongst PolyGram, but they continued to piece of job amongst producers Bruce Bromberg together with Dennis Walker, who had produced their High Tone albums. As a result, Strong Persuader was released amongst a combined High Tone/Mercury imprint. In improver to coproducing the album, Walker contributed "Right Next Door (Because of Me)," a tale of infidelity played out inward a motel room. The song, which became the album's centerpiece, also includes the lyrics from which Strong Persuader derived its title.
The vocal that actually drove Strong Persuader upwards the charts, however, was "Smoking Gun," a smoldering tale of jealousy together with murder. Although released 2 months after the album striking the streets — tardily for a get-go unmarried — it became a Top Forty hit, together with the video became a staple on MTV.
Strong Persuader ultimately went gold, a feat virtually unheard-of for a blues album. Yet Cray maintains that the album was less a departure from his blues path than a natural evolution. "The recording sessions have got been pretty much the same for each of our albums," he says. "I only idea the character of the music nosotros were making was getting better. It was nigh the whole band existence together."
Track listing:
01 "Smoking Gun" (David Amy, Richard Cousins, Robert Cray) – 4:07
02 "I Guess I Showed Her" (Dennis Walker) – 3:39
03 "Right Next Door (Because of Me)" (Dennis Walker) – 4:19
04 "Nothin' But a Woman" (David Amy, Cousins, Cray, Peter Boe, David Olson) – 3:58
05 "Still Around" (Peter Boe) – 3:42
06 "More Than I Can Stand" (Cray) – 2:57
07 "Foul Play" (Dennis Walker) – 4:07
08 "I Wonder" (Cray) – 3:57
09 "Fantasized" (Dennis Walker) – 4:04
10 "New Blood" (David Amy, Peter Boe, Cray, Ozall Washington) – 4:21
Personnel:
Robert Cray – principal performer, guitar, vocals
Peter Boe – keyboards
Richard Cousins – bass
David Olson – drums
Lee Spath – percussion
Andrew Love – tenor saxophone
Wayne Jackson – trumpet, trombone
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