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Review: 'ROBERT CRAY BAND'
'4 Nights Of 40 Years Live'   

-  Label: 'Mascot Label Group'
-  Genre: 'Rock' -  Release Date: '28th August 2015'

Our Rating:
Robert Cray first came to my attention around the time of his 'Strong Persuader' album that came out at the back end of '86. In truth I was late to the table as he and his band had been going for over ten years by then and people like Clapton and Richards had been listening to his tapes back in the seventies.

My own personal opinion is that given the gritty nature of the blues genre his stock probably suffered as a result of this eighties breakout given the production styles and industry requirements (heavy MTV rotation) that were prevalent at the time. Clapton sold but nobody listened. It would also be fair to say that Mr. Cray has a smooth vocal style that perhaps does not appeal to fans of the blues holler, growl and wail?

Listening to these CDs it becomes obvious that he is a very fine vocalist indeed not to mention one hell of a guitarist. Think of Sam Cooke's head on top of Buddy Guy's body. Maybe throw in a bit of BB King (RIP) and smokin' Stax era Johnnie 'Cheaper To Keep Her' Taylor and you might get an idea of the powerful blend of soul and blues that Robert Cray concocts.

The first CD is culled from four nights across LA with his band and plenty of guests along the way. It is also interesting to note the presence of a 'musical director' in the shape of Steve Jordan (John Mayer Trio + The Verbs)who seems to have added extra impetus to the project, not least of all with his superlative heavy hitting drum style. A great example of this is bluesy ballad 'These Things'.

Other standout tracks from a host of outstanding tracks are perennial favourites 'Right Next Door' and 'Bad Influence' and horn-infused 'Love Gone To Waste' but 'Won't Be Coming Home', 'Your Good Thing Is About To End' and 'Sittin On Top Of The World' with Lee Oskar blowing the harp are also heavyweight contenders. All in all this CD is very well produced and ditto for the sequencing.

The second CD is bonus material (six tracks) culled from a set at the 1982 San Francisco Blues Festival and a 1987 appearance on Dutch TV show Countdown, including 'Smoking Gun' and 'Too Many Cooks'. Finally we come to the DVD which is a fairly impressive document of the four nights and this is mixed up with interview footage and also footage from the two sets I have just mentioned.

There are good camera angles and good variety used throughout. At times it reminds me of the classic D.A Pennebaker style of footage. Interspersed with the other footage it makes for a smooth flowing and skilfully edited document. In conclusion then, Mascot have done a tremendous job of putting together what amounts to a forty year career retrospective of great bluesman Robert Cray and interestingly perhaps the signs are good for something of a late career renaissance.    
  author: Leo Newbiggin

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ROBERT CRAY BAND - 4 Nights Of 40 Years Live