Robert Cray

Some blues purists never forgave Robert Cray for his 1986 breakthrough album, Strong Persuader, an ultra-smooth crossover blues record that briefly made Cray a sex symbol. Those purists, however, have missed out on the great albums Cray has released since, discs that run the gamut from traditional blues to blues-soul heavily indebted to Al Green and Hi Records. Cray’s 2005 album, Twenty, stood out for its reggae-accented, anti-war title track, but Cray’s most recent disc, 2009’s This Time, was a more traditional, blues-based affair that put renewed emphasis on Cray’s showy guitar work. Many of those new songs are featured on Cray’s new live CD/DVD, Cookin’ in Mobile.