Another Blues Fix Mix CD - Volume Two, Track Six

Robert Cray with Hi Rhythm and Steve Jordan

When your humble correspondent began listening to the blues, one of the first artists whose work he followed closely was Robert Cray.  Young Bob was one of the featured artists on the first blues album I ever owned (Showdown! on Alligator Records).  Not long after that purchase, I found a copy of Cray's Bad Influence, which only reinforced my admiration for this music.  The rest, as they say, is history.  Though I have discovered many other blues titans during my 30+ years of listening, I still check out the occasional Robert Cray release, including his last one, where he's backed with the great Hi Records Rhythm Section in a "Dream Team" setting.

Over the years, I've compiled a couple of Robert Cray "Greatest Hits" compilations in my time to introduce his music to fledgling blues fans, but one of my all time favorite tracks from Young Bob actually came from his debut release, Who's Been Talkin', which was actually recorded in the late 70's and released in 1980 to limited distribution.  Atlantic Records reissued it in 1986, around the time that Cray's breakthrough album, Strong Persuader, hit the charts.  Cray's usual brand of the blues mixes the blues with the classic sounds of Memphis soul in a very effective way, but this early release is considered by many to be Cray's most "blues-oriented" album.

I agree to an extent......there are some fantastic covers here of tunes associated with blues legends like Freddie King ("The Welfare Turns It's Back On You"), Sam Myers ("Sleeping In The Ground"), Willie Dixon ("Too Many Cooks," a hit for Jessie Fortune back in the 50's), and Howlin' Wolf (the haunting title track), but there is also a dynamite soul-drenched take on O.V. Wright's "I'm Gonna Forget About You" (a duet with a young Curtis Salgado, who was a huge influence on John Belushi's Jake Blues character).  Cray wrote several of the noteworthy original tunes as well and they're in his classic blues-soul format, but my favorite song on the disc was "The Score," a tune from Dennis Walker and Bruce Bromberg (as D Amy) about a wronged lover who finally figures things out.  Cray launches it with one of his best solos.......he's always been a crisp and concise soloist, but this one really packs a lot of wallop in a short burst.  I would have loved to have heard B.B. King do this song.......that's who it reminded me of when I first heard it.  If you've not heard this album, it's well worth seeking out.

Friday Blues Fix Mix CD, Volume Two track list to date........

1.  Muddy Waters - "Mannish Boy" (from the album Hard Again)

2.  Zuzu Bollin - "Big Legs" (from Texas Bluesman)

3.  Lee "Shot" Williams - "If It Wasn't For Bad Luck" (from Cold Shot)

4.  Sonny Landreth - "Taylor's Rock" (from Hound Dog Taylor:  A Tribute)

5.  Snooky Pryor - "How'd You Learn To Shake It Like That" (from Antone's Tenth Anniversary Anthology - Volume 1)

6.  The Robert Cray Band - "The Score" (from Who's Been Talkin')