| | Robert Cray I Was Warned CD Robert Cray Discography of CDs
 (3 Customer Reviews)
When Robert Cray recorded 1992's I WAS WARNED, he went with the same line-up that appeared on the wonderfully Stax-soaked MIDNIGHT STROLL. The only exception was Karl Sevareid replacing long-time bass player Richard Cousins. With the Memphis Horns on hand once again, Cray's efforts yielded yet another batch of songs detailing the universal ups and downs found within the slippery slopes of love.
The tango-like cadence Cray applies to the title track adds an appropriate amount of foreboding for the love-struck fool at the center of this tale, while guitarist Tim Kaihatsu's contribution, "Just A Loser," could easily be the aftermath of the aforementioned doom. More than any of Cray's other albums, I WAS WARNED is hip-deep in the losing end of love. Cray's approach to loss ranged from the subtle plea for another chance in "The Price I Pay" to defiance on the mannered cheekiness of "Won The Battle." The Memphis Horns earn their salt on the Otis Redding-inspired "A Whole Lotta Pride" and the heart wrenching "He Don't Live Here Anymore," in which the estrangement is with a patriarch rather than a lover.
Robert Cray Band: Robert Cray (vocals, guitar); Tim Kaihatsu (guitar); Jim Pugh (keyboards); Karl Sevareid (bass); Kevin Hayes (drums).
The Memphis Horns: Andrew Love (tenor saxophone); Wayne Jackson (trumpet, trombone).Rolling Stone (10/29/92, p.70) - 3 Stars - Good - "...as strong as ever...Cray's soloing is superb throughout...an album rife with commanding performances..."
Entertainment Weekly (9/25/92, p.66) - "...a foray into Stax-style soul...Cray showcases a sly croon somewhere between Sam Moore (of Sam & Dave) and Johnnie Taylor. And that's no faint praise..." - Rating: B+
Q (10/92, p.82) - 3 Stars - Good - "...the winning formula of Cray's mobile soul voice and fastidious guitar tone, shored up by the Stax-era sound of the Memphis Horns remains intact..."
Down Beat (12/92, p.54) - 3.5 Stars - Good Plus - "...Cray puts the blues in his back pocket and digs into a more overtly soul-minded approach...His soulful vocal gymnastics and spiky licks are enveloped in a warm thicket of organ and punctuations from the Memphis Horns..." Robert Cray I Was Warned Songs I Was Warned Music Review Purchase I Was Warned CD To buy, Click on price to add to cart | Robert Cray Bad Influence CD (1983)
I Was Warned
 $9.35   
Cray's second effort hews to the same musical template as TOO MANY COOKS, his under-appreciated debut. That is to say that BAD INFLUENCE is hardly the work of a blues puritan. There's just as much Memphis-style R&B and soul as blues in the mix, making for a potent fusion.
Cray's guitar work is more impressive than ever, particularly on "No Big Deal," where he rips jagged metallic lines out of his Stratocaster as if he were channeling Otis Rush. The two bonus tracks are particularly entertaining, as Cray offers a suitably rowdy version of Texas bluesman Peppermint Harris' often covered "I Got Loaded" and an intense, almost gospel-style reading of Booker T.'s "Share What You've Got, Keep What ...
| | Robert Cray False Accusations CD (1985)
I Was Warned
$9.35
Robert Cray's third album is also his first great one. The production is vastly superior, finally allowing one to hear what a gorgeous tone Cray gets on the guitar. ...
| | Robert Cray Take Your Shoes Off CD (1999)
I Was Warned
$13.45 
TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF won the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album.
TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF finds Robert Cray picking up the Memphis soul thread that infused so much of 1997's SWEET POTATO PIE. Joined by the always-reliable Memphis Horns, Cray delivers another masterful batch of tunes that are as much a tip of the hat to Stax as they are to Chess. The bluesman's creamy vocals fall somewhere between Sam Cooke and Otis Redding and are particularly effective on the brassy "24-7 Man" and the pleading "Let Me Know." The R&B map is well traversed with Jim Pugh's flickering organ licks and Steve Jordan's solid playing (turning "It's All Gone" into ...
| | Robert Cray Some Rainy Morning CD (1995)
I Was Warned
$4.95
| | Robert Cray Strong Persuader CD (1986)
I Was Warned
$8.49
| | Joe Bonamassa Blues Deluxe CD (2003)
I Was Warned
$13.89
| | Sugar Blue Blue Blazes CD (1994)
I Was Warned
$10.15
| | Ma Rainey Complete Recorded Works: 1928 Sessions CD (1994) Import
I Was Warned
$13.25
Ma Rainey's final 23 recordings find her stubbornly bucking the tides of stylistic change by working with accompanists who played up the rural folk blues element. Exhibit A is her Tub Jug Washboard Band, a scruffy little outfit securely moored by the sounds of Carl Reid huffing on a whiskey jug with banjo licks by Martell Pettiford, kazoo and washboard by one Herman Brown, and Georgia Tom Dorsey at the piano. The blend of sounds and textures was very successful, and it is this session that gave the world "Hear Me Talking to You," the "Hustlin' Blues," and "Prove It on Me Blues," a proud statement from a woman who prefers the intimate company of other females. With "Daddy Goodbye Blues" Rainey appears like the setting sun as she scales her accompaniment down to Dorsey's piano and some very fine guitar playing by Hudson Whitaker, ...
| | Rock Me Shake Me Field Recordings, Vol. 15: Mississ CD (2002) Import
I Was Warned
$13.39
Recorded in Mississippi in 1941-42. Includes liner notes by Bob Groom.
Rock Me Shake Me Field Recordings, Vol. 15: Mississippi is made up of field recordings of black musicians recorded by Alan Lomax for the Library Of Congress Folk Archives back in the early 1940s in Coahoma County, Mississippi. Most of the tracks here are unaccompanied spirituals, highlighted by Roxie Threadgill's moving "I'm Goin Lean on the Lord," but there also several brief interviews and spoken pieces, including one called "Hitler Toast" (the toaster is not named), which details what Americans are going to do to various parts of Hitler's anatomy when they find him. ...
| | Southern Blues, Vol. 2 CD (2002)
I Was Warned
$9.79
The second of two installments from British label Acrobat, Southern Blues, Volume 2 brings together an interesting set of 78s from American blues artists. There are some well-known names here ...
| | Bloodhound Gang Hefty Fine CD (2005) Edited
I Was Warned
$12.65
| | Fall Out Boy: X-Posed CD (2009)
I Was Warned
$10.75
| | Zenith Evilution CD (2007) (Import)
I Was Warned
$14.59
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