Robert Cray - Heritage Of The Blues: Phone Booth (Rmst) (CD)

All Music Guide

Heritage of the Blues: Phone Booth is a cheaply packaged collection that takes the highlights from modern blues man Robert Cray's two records he recorded for Hightone at the beginning of his career. When he burst on the scene in the early 80's, Cray's soulful blues really caught on with blues fans who were looking for a modern voice and a modern sound. Songs like Phone Booth and the Grinder were rooted in the real blues but given a light, almost pop, sheen that made them easy to swallow. This collection has six songs each from 1983's Bad Influence and 1985's False Accusations. Bad Influence is the better record of the two by far and the songs here (Phone Booth, Don't Touch Me, Bad Influence, the Staxinfluenced cover of Eddie Floyd's Got to Make a Comeback, The Grinder and Where Do I Go From Here) are more immediate and sound much more inspired, especially Cray's solos which sting like angry bees. The songs on False Accusations (Porch Light, The Last Time (I Get Burned like This), Playi...n' in the Dirt, Change of Heart, Payin' For it Now and I've Slipped Her Mind) are still strong but suffer from overproduction. The cheesy synths and just plain bad bass tone date the songs horribly, Cray sounds tentative and only Porch Light is equal to the songs on the previous record. Dedicated fans of Cray will most likely already have the two Hightone records and certainly don't need this compilation. Anyone looking to discover the early Robert Cray would be best served by skipping this and picking up Bad Influence instead. Tim Sendra, All Music Guide Read more Less