Thirty-seven years ago in the spring of 1980 twenty-seven year old Robert Cray released his first album Who’s Been Talkin’. At the time he was one of the shiny new kids of the youthful burgeoning blues scene of the early 1980’s that included Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Healy, Colin James and a host of others. Some 20 odd albums and five Grammy Awards later in a career spanning four decades 64-year-old Cray has firmly established himself as one of the elder statesman of the blues. For his latest album Cray has teamed up with two seasoned blues elders, R&B soul giants Charles and Leroy Hodges of the legendary Hi Rhythm Section. Recorded at Willie Mitchell’s historic Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm joyfully channels the spirit of those original Hi Records recordings, celebrating their magic in the atmosphere of the same room in the same building by many of the same folks who contributed to all those hit soul records from Al Green in the early 1970’s. Pure magic!
Rating: 9/10