It has been a journey of sheer pleasure and reflection following the catalogue of Robert Cray and his band over the last few decades. Quite how his name is not mentioned in the same breath as John Mayer, Albert Collins, Peter Green and others (let’s leave B.B. King and Eric Clapton aside for now) has always puzzled me. But hey, what do I know?
Well, enough to make the trek to Chiari, in the province of Brescia, Lombardy, to see Robert Cray and his band perform at the local ADMR Music Festival on a hot summer Sunday evening.
Right from the outset, with his early albums Who’s Been Talkin’, Bad Influence and False Accusations, Cray showcased his remarkable voice, infusing his blues-pop songs with vivid, almost cinematic lyrics. He laced everything with his distinctive Stratocaster sound, always tasteful and restrained, never allowing the guitar to dominate the songs in the way some blues guitarists — even greats such as Rory Gallagher and Gary Moore — could occasionally be guilty of doing.
Then came the move to Mercury Records. Cray’s 1986 album Strong Persuader established him as one of the first modern blues artists to achieve genuine mainstream crossover success, even earning regular exposure on MTV. The album received outstanding reviews from both pop and rock publications, and critics were unanimous in their praise.
“Bob” — as Cray affectionately refers to the protagonist in many of his songs, who may or may not be himself — appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in June 1987 and won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Recording for Strong Persuader the same year.
While the heights of mainstream stardom may have faded over time, the quality of his music has never diminished. His catalogue, full of songs exploring heartbreak, infidelity, remorse, regret and shame, has remained consistently first-class, leading to three further Grammy victories.
Artists such as John Mayer, Jeff Healey, Gary Clark Jr. and Jonny Lang all benefited from the path Cray helped create. By successfully meshing blues and pop, he made the genre accessible to a far wider audience through his story-driven lyrics, sharp songwriting and concise, melodic tunes.
Tonight, at Chiari’s summer festival, there was an opportunity to witness once again why Robert Cray remains one of the most accomplished and underrated artists of his generation — a songwriter, vocalist and guitarist whose contribution to modern blues deserves far greater recognition than it often receives.
Chiari is a rather plain northern Italian town with an amazing Duomo right at its centre. However, the festival is held in a parkland setting, so there is room — and air — to breathe on this hot early summer evening.
A few hundred punters have come to feast at this banquet of blues and, as the band step onto the stage, they receive a warm and appreciative welcome.
Wearing slacks and a shirt, Robert seems to defy the ageing process. Together with his long-serving band of Richard Cousins (bass), Dover Weinberg (keyboards) and Les Falconer (drums), they are in the pocket from the off.
Cray’s voice is simply astounding, still able to nonchalantly meander through octaves with little vocal thrills and chills as he emphasises certain words, gestures and emotions through his consummate use of the microphone — a skill in itself.
The setlist unfolds almost like a storyline, with each song following naturally from the last through the trials and tribulations of Bob and his various ventures into love, loss and money.
Cray has fun with the band, portraying them as villains in some of his lyrical plotlines. The drop of a hand or the lift of his head can alter the dynamics on stage in an instant. It is good to see that the band can never be on autopilot, always having to follow his evident sense of fun and direction wherever the moment takes him.
Dover Weinberg, with that glorious Hammond sound, is the perfect foil to Cray’s Stratocaster, and the combination is simply beautiful. The acoustics are remarkable within this covered structure set in the open grounds of the Istituto Salesiano San Bernardino.
Not to put too much of a personal stamp on the review, but I have to give a shout-out to “Bad Influence” and “Phone Booth” from those early albums, songs that remain every bit as exciting and resonant as they were back then.
The opener, “Anything You Want”, and the closer, “This Man”, from his most recent album That’s What I Heard, are as good as anything he has ever released. The Strong Persuader tracks “Right Next Door (Because of Me)” and “I Guess I Showed Her” are, quite rightly, among the evening’s most warmly received moments.
However, the standout performance of the night may well be a lesser-known song from the 2005 album Twenty: “Two Steps From the End”.
“The nightlife has never been easy,
Has never been easy for me.
The price I’ve paid has been so very dear.
Some of my friends are .. .No longer here.
Now I'm two steps from the end.
Last door down the hall
That's where you'll find me”.
Oohhhh! Blues for sure, but all covered up in this chocolate sauce of Hammond and Strat that has you licking your lips, while the heart still aches; such is the desperation beneath it all.
There are legends and then there are unsung heroes, of which Robert Cray is surely one. For fans and fellow artists alike, he is a blessing, and to spend time with him in a concert hall or through his records is both a pleasure and a privilege.
Setlist
Anything You Want
You Can’t Make Me Change
Where Do I Go From Here
Won’t Be Coming Home
Fix This
Two Steps From the End
Bad Influence
Poor Johnny
I Shiver
It Doesn’t Show
I Guess I Showed Her
Right Next Door (Because of Me)
Time Makes Two
Encore
Phone Booth
This Man
