| | Robert Cray Strong Persuader CD Robert Cray Discography of CDs
 (3 Customer Reviews)
STRONG PERSUADER won a 1988 Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Recording.
1986's STRONG PERSUADER was a milestone both for Robert Cray and blues in the '80s. It earned Cray, a veteran of the Pacific Northwest blues scene, both his first solo Grammy and Top 30 hit ("Smoking Gun") along with a lift out of the blues ghetto which he'd been excelling in during recent years. As for the blues themselves, Cray infused fresh blood into a genre that had been limping along in that particular decade.
With a smooth singing style to go with an equally recognizable guitar tone, Cray developed a sound that owed as much to soul stylist O.V. Wright as it did to Texas guitarist Albert Collins (with whom Cray had won a Grammy along with Johnny Copeland the prior year). The use of the Memphis Horns strengthened the soul connection on songs such as the punchy "Nothing But A Woman" and the chugging effervescence of "Guess I Showed Her." Of course, Cray's heart lay in the blues and when he wasn't lamenting the woes of infidelity in "Right Next Door (Because Of Me)" and a bad break-up in "Still Around," his guitar playing smoldered throughout the forlorn "New Blood."
Recorded at Sage & Sound and Haywood's, Los Angeles, California.
Personnel: Robert Cray (vocals, guitar); Peter Boe (keyboards); Richard Cousins (bass); David Olson (drums); Lee Spath (percussion).
The Memphis Horns: Andrew Love (tenor saxophone); Wayne Jackson (trumpet, trombone).
Rolling Stone (11/89) - Ranked #42 in Rolling Stone's "100 Best Albums Of The Eighties" survey.
Q - Highly Recommended Robert Cray Strong Persuader Songs Strong Persuader Music Review Average Rating: (5 out of 5 stars)  Robert Cray at his best
Easy "blues" listening, a must for any record collection.
Submitted by Pat.tomlinson (Sheffield, Yorkshire, UK) 
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No Sill The One
Robert Cray has been called, 'The Triple Threat Of The Blues' The only thing better than his songwriting is his singing, only bettered by his guitar work. If you could, or would, only have one Cray disc, this is the one. 'Because Of Me' is his signature piece, 'Nothing But A Woman, 'Foul Play', and the notorious, 'Smoking Gun' are all classics.
Submitted by St.Davey (Windham, Me.)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No EXCELLENT!
EXCELLENT RECORDING. EXCELLENT PERFORMANCE. NOTHING MORE NEEDS TO BE SAID. ROBERT IS PURE BLUES TAKEN TO THE HIGHEST POWER. BUY THIS; YOU WON'T REGRET IT. "SMOKING GUN" WILL GET YOUR ATTENTION RIGHT AWAY. I REST MY CASE.
Submitted by a reviewer (I live in a van down by the river)
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Purchase Strong Persuader CD To buy, Click on price to add to cart | Robert Cray Bad Influence CD (1983)
Strong Persuader album
 $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 You Need."
Bad Influence is one of Robert Cray's ...
| | Robert Cray Take Your Shoes Off CD (1999)
Strong Persuader CD music
$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 a lost Hi track), while the strolling tempo on "There's Nothing Wrong" brings to mind Motown's finer moments.
As always, the talented guitarist's choice of covers is an interesting mix. Willie Dixon's "Tollin' Bells" is presented with brushed drums and a reverberating chord that eerily replicates the song's title. ...
| | Robert Cray I Was Warned CD (1992)
Strong Persuader music CDs
$5.85 
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 ...
| | Paul Butterfield Blues Band CD (1965)
Strong Persuader songs
$6.19 
The '60s Blues Revival begins here. Calling this album influential is an understatement akin to ...
| | Junior Wells Hoodoo Man Blues CD (1965)
Strong Persuader album
$9.85 
HOODOO MAN BLUES is one of the great albums from the era of classic Chicago blues. Though usually overshadowed by mid-century Chicago legends like Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, Junior Wells ranks among the most dynamic ...
| | VH1 Presents The Corrs Live In Dublin CD (2002)
Strong Persuader CD music
$6.39
| | TNT The Complete Studio Recordings 1974-1976 CD (1996)
Strong Persuader music CDs
$13.39
| | Neilson Hubbard Why Men Fail CD (2001)
Strong Persuader songs
$12.89
Neilson Hubbard's 1997 solo debut, The Slide Project, was a textbook example of straight-up power pop. Unfortunately, parts of it sound like it could have been recorded ...
| | Katrina Krimsky Stella Malu CD (2008)
Strong Persuader album
$15.55
| | Freddie King Larger Than Life CD (1975) (Import) United Kingdom
Strong Persuader CD music
$17.15 
| | Lights Out Get Out CD (2005)
Strong Persuader music CDs
$11.19
| | Nanette Workman Roots N Blues CD (2008) (Import) Import
Strong Persuader songs
$24.95
| | B B King Blues In My Heart CD (1962) Japan; Mini LP Sleeve
Strong Persuader album
$32.59
Japanese limited edition issue of the album classic in a deluxe, miniaturized LP sleeve replica of the original vinyl album artwork.
It's been speculated that Blues in My Heart was recorded in late 1961 right before B.B. King left Modern for ABC, possibly with everything getting cut in one session. If that was the case, it might account for the grind-it-out feel of these ten small-combo sides (probably with Plas Johnson on sax and Maxwell Davis on keyboards), which are lacking in noteworthy songs, with the possible exception of "Downhearted" (aka "How Blue Can You Get?"). King, of course, brings committed singing and playing to the session; he was too much of a pro to give anything less than that to everything he did in the studio back then. Even by the ...
| | When The Levee Breaks: Mississippi Blues 1926 - 1941 CDs (2007) (Import) United Kingdom
Strong Persuader CD music
$27.35
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