Description
TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF finds Robert Cray picking up the Memphis soul thread that infused so much of 1997's SWEET POTATO PIE. Joined by the always-reliable Memphis Horns, Cray delivers another masterful batch of tunes that are as much a tip of the hat to Stax as they are to Chess. The bluesman's creamy vocals fall somewhere between Sam Cooke and Otis Redding and are particularly effective on the brassy "24-7 Man" and the pleading "Let Me Know." The R&B map is well traversed with Jim Pugh's flickering organ licks and Steve Jordan's solid playing (turning "It's All Gone" into a lost Hi track), while the strolling tempo on "There's Nothing Wrong" brings to mind Motown's finer moments. As always, the talented guitarist's choice of covers is an interesting mix. Willie Dixon's "Tollin' Bells" is presented with brushed drums and a reverberating chord that eerily replicates the song's title. Most interesting is a reading of Solomon Burke's "Won't You Give Him (One More Chance)" that finds Cray being joined by Cajun accordionist Jo-El Sonnier on an arrangement that Taj Mahal might have suggested.
Product Details
- Artist
- Robert Cray
- Original year of release
- 1999
- Label / Studio
- RYKO
- Year of release
- 1999
- Media Content Format
- Album
- Media Format
- Audio CD
- Recording Environment
- Studio
- Number of Discs
- 1
- Run Time (minutes)
- 59
- Cast & Crew
- The Robert Cray Band (Music Performer)
- Steve Jordan (Producer)
Tracklisting
Disc 1:
-
Love Gone to Waste
-
That Wasn't Me
-
All the Way
-
There's Nothing Wrong
-
24-7 Man
-
Pardon
-
Let Me Know
-
It's All Gone
-
Won't You Give Him (One More Chance)
-
Living Proof
-
What About Me
-
Tollin' Bells
