Robert Cray
Strong Persuader
Mercury Records |
In 1986, when Robert
Cray released Strong Persuader, it was
the culmination of a decade of struggles ... not
just for Young Bob, but also for the blues genre in
general. For the most part, many people’s image of
the blues in the early '80s was limited to B. B.
King’s infrequent appearances on The Tonight Show
and the Blues Brothers movie. Many musicians had
gone years without a recording contract of any kind
(unless they went overseas) and steady work was hard
to get.
Cray himself toiled away
mostly on the West Coast for years, sometimes
opening for Albert Collins (whose appearance at
Cray’s high school drove the youngster to begin
playing the blues) and playing with others like
Curtis Salgado (an inspiration for John Belushi’s
Jake Blues character). Cray formed his own band in
the late '70s and eventually became a big draw at
many Northwestern festivals and clubs.
Cray was able to release
three albums before Strong Persuader. His
debut, Who’s Been Talkin’, was released on
the Tomato label, but disappeared when the label
folded. However, the next two releases, both on the
Hightone label, were Bad Influence and
False Accusations. Both of these albums received
a lot of acclaim, even garnering favorable reviews
in music magazines like Rolling Stone and
Downbeat. The accolades, plus Cray’s appearance
with Collins and Johnny Copeland on the
Grammy-winning Showdown!, earned him a major
record deal with Mercury, with the first release
being Strong Persuader.
The newfound recognition
and attention apparently inspired Cray, as well as
his usual production team of Bruce Bromberg and
Dennis Walker, because Strong Persuader is an
incredible ride from start to finish. While Cray’s
roots are in the blues, with his stinging guitar
strongly reminiscent of Collins and Albert King, his
vocals owe a considerable debt to soul belters like
O. V. Wright and Otis Redding. The songs featured on
his albums over the years, whether written by him or
Walker (as D. Amy), also owe a debt to composers
like Bobby Womack, as they usually veer more toward
urban situations more often found in R&B and soul
tunes than traditional blues.
Several of the tracks
are on their way to becoming modern blues standards,
most notably the opening cut, the menacing “Smoking
Gun,” with its vivid imagery. In fact, it’s hard to
find anything less than stellar on the disc, which
features now-familiar Cray classics like “I Guess I
Showed Her,” “Right Next Door (Because of Me),”
“Nothin’ But A Woman,” and “I Wonder.” These songs
drip with tension and sensuality.
Cray’s band at the time
included longtime bandmate Richard Cousins on bass,
Peter Boe on keyboards, and David Olsen on drums.
Strong Persuader was also the beginning of a
long working relationship with the Memphis Horns
(Wayne Jackson – trumpet & trombone; Andrew Love –
tenor sax). The Horns only appeared on a couple of
tracks this time around, but would continue to play
a bigger role in Cray’s sound for many years.
Strong Persuader
was a phenomenal success for a blues release. The
album went platinum, rare air for a blues recording,
two of its songs, “Smoking Gun” and “Right Next Door
(Because of Me),” enjoyed Top 40 success, and Cray
won his second consecutive Grammy. He (along with
Stevie Ray Vaughan, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, and
others) also helped inject some life into the
moribund blues scene for the first time in years.
Since then, Cray has
maintained his success for the most part, though
none of his subsequent releases reached the heights
of Strong Persuader. He’s made changes over
the years, moving effortlessly from blues to soul
and back again, and with his personnel, including
Cousins (who departed from the band in the early
'90s, but has recently rejoined).
Though some critics have
questioned Robert Cray’s “authenticity” as a blues
artist, they simply ignore the fact that his vision
of the blues played a major role in the music’s
revitalization in the 1980s, and also helped pave
the way for many new artists as well as shining the
spotlight on many older ones who had been largely
ignored for years. Strong Persuader was one
of the first steps in the process, and is required
listening for all blues fans.
--- Graham Clarke