REVIEW: Robert Cray Band, Heavy Picks (Mercury)
- Bob Gajarsky
When Robert Cray's 1986 breakthrough album Strong Persuader launched him from small clubs to sharing international stages with stars such as Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker and Tina Turner, some of his longtime blues fans deserted him. Replaced by fickle pop audiences, Cray soon went from 'rookie' superstar (though the band had been performing and recording for more than 12 years) to sophomore jinx (_Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark) to minimal sales and, ten years and a huge corporate merger later, off the Mercury label.
The commercial 'hits' from the late 80s ("Right Next Door", "I Guess I Showed Her" and of course "Smoking Gun") still stand out strong, but what comes through the loudest on this collection are some of Cray's earlier songs; "The Dream", "Bad Influence" and a cover of Willie Dixon's "Too Many Cooks".
Heavy Picks takes a healthy look at the best of Cray's career - fortunately, including his pre-Mercury years - and the conclusion? Vastly overlooked by the commercial public, and with a new release on Rykodisc, Robert Cray has never stopped producing quality records.
