Robert Cray
Midnight Stroll
Albumkritik
Erscheinungsdatum: 2025
Albumkritik
Robert Cray was never about labels. Hailed as a potentially great bluesman upon the release of his debut, Bad Influence, in 1983, Cray was actually shaped more by Sixties soul and R&B, particularly the tenderness of Otis Redding's ballad style. The main source of Cray's appeal has always been his unique voice and his dexterity in using that instrument to read other people's songs as if they were his own.
In the two years since his latest album, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, Cray has undergone a subtle transformation, having toured and collaborated extensively with Eric Clapton and rubbed elbows with the Memphis Horns, who were part of Clapton's road band. On Midnight Stroll Cray emerges with a new lineup that incorporates the Memphis Horns, and he delivers the strongest showing of his career.
The horns supply Cray with the final piece in his carefully constructed neoclassic-R&B puzzle. Moments on Midnight Stroll summon the Stax/Volt magic with uncanny surety. "Consequences" could be a lost Sam and Dave classic; its groove has the feel of 1967 – Hammond B3 fills define the texture, a lazy cowbell kicks the backbeat and a punchy horn chart opens the song up like a midday sun bursting through the clouds. Producer Dennis Walker, who has collaborated with Cray on signature tunes from previous albums, makes sure that Midnight Stroll includes several strong crossover songs. "The Forecast (Calls for Pain)," in particular, is a sure thing, a perfect Cray vehicle in the tradition of "Smoking Gun."
The most impressive aspect of Midnight Stroll, however, is Cray's own song-writing. The ballads "My Problem" and "The Things You Do to Me" are his ultimate tributes to Redding. When Cray slips his voice around the plaintive horn swells on "My Problem," singing the way Ben Webster played the saxophone, we hear the work of a fully realized virtuoso. On the slow blues "These Things," Cray unveils a masterful guitar solo, a smoldering, tension-filled monologue that tells its spine-chilling story in deft, sinuous strokes.
The rest of the album is paced with magnificent blues performances. Screamin' Jay Hawkins would approve of the dramatic "Move a Mountain." "Labor of Love," an easy-grooving T-Bone Walker-style shuffle, features another spectacular Cray vocal. And Cray closes out the set with Howlin' Wolf on the radio in the title track, a clever takeoff on "Wang Dang Doodle." On Midnight Stroll, Robert Cray amply demonstrates that he's capable of walking alongside even his most formidable influences. (RS 589)
JOHN SWENSON
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