Time Will Tell

by

Robert Cray

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I've been a Cray listener for about 17 years now. "Time Will Tell" is a nice addition to my Robert Cray collection.

"Time Will Tell" isn't pure blues. who cares? There's plenty of blues on it. There's also some damn good soul on it as well as rock influences.

One of my favorite aspects of Cray's music is the lyrics. The songs are often witty and funny, albiet in a sad way.

In my opinion Cray doesn't just sing about relationship problems - he puts you right in the middle of it. You're there in the bedroom when the fight breaks out.

This album stretches the boundaries. I really think he's putting out some of the best soul music out there right now. Classic soul. The kind they don't make anymore.

The song "I didn't know" is one of my favorites. Our man finds out that indeed he really was in love with the girl but alas - she's walking out the door.

"My Pal" is another humorous one. Who hasn't had a crush on a girl but you seem to be locked into the friendship role.

This album came out at an opportune time - right as I was wrapping up my divorce. Mr. Cray has put together another soundtrack for the troubled world we live in.

Astute critics (that is, those who don't dismiss Cray out-of-hand for his cross-genre forays) have pointed out that Cray is more fully in tune with late-60s and early-70s soul music than traditional blues. Though his guitar leads borrow from the book of B.B., his songs, singing and arrangements look more to the optimistic and rhythmic edge of Atlantic and Stax. His first album for Sanctuary shows off his combined blues and soul to fine effect.

In addition to taking on a co-producer (keyboardist, Jim Pugh), Cray has expanded both his lyrical and musical range. "Survivor" surveys the world's political turmoil, blending funky second-line drumming and low-end piano runs with Cray's urban blues. The Family Stone's Cynthia Robinson and Jerry Martini's add sly trumpet work on "Your Pal," and "Up in the Sky" features both an electric sitar (forever bringing to mind B.J. Thomas' "Hooked on a Feeling") and the fullness of the Turtle Island String Quartet. It's an engaging pop turn that's sure to make the blues purists howl.

The album does have some more calculated moments, but they're balanced by soulful exchanges like Cray's chording and Pugh's organ on "Spare Some Love?" It's exactly when Cray bends soul into a blue groove (something he does here more often than not) that he brings invention to his music - invention that reinvigorates his blues and soul sources.

3-3/4 stars, if allowed fractional ratings.