USA/FILE: Veteran blues guitarist and singer Robert Cray says his new album "In My Soul" is one of his most poignant

Record ID: 644502

  • Title: USA/FILE: Veteran blues guitarist and singer Robert Cray says his new album "In My Soul" is one of his most poignant
  • Date: 1st April 2014
  • Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (APRIL 01, 2014) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ROBERT CRAY, SINGER, SAYING: "I want people to remember the songs, you know? Hope I can write something that people can remember, you know? I think that's the most important thing. Whether it's got a good vocal or guitar work on it. But basically a good song."
  • Embargoed: 16th April 2014 13:00
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  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA761RH9I92GZJ7093BT88CCBSJ
  • Story Text: Veteran blues guitarist and singer Robert Cray has set off on a new U.S. and European tour with an album harking back to the early days of soul music, the kind that filled his ears as a youngster.
    "In My Soul" - a title that sums up what is to come - is imbued with mellifluous rhythm and blues redolent of the kind of tunes that came from the Chess and Stax record labels in the 1950s, '60s and early '70s.
    After 17 albums over the course of four decades, Cray said this album is one of his most complete.
    "We're covering a lot of bases of the soul aspect of the Robert Cray band. We normally have a nice little mix of blues and rhythm and blues on the record but this one is the first one I think is more the soul and rhythm and blues side," Cray told Reuters.
    Cray has just begun a tour which will encompass the U.S. East Coast, South and Southwest then Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
    When asked about the differences between American and European audiences Cray said it all comes down to knowledge.
    "Europeans really study American music because it's not theirs. So there are a lot of people who know who's coming out. Know who's been there, know a lot of the history whether it's jazz, blues, rock, country. Anything American, you know, they know their stuff."
    In publicity material, Cray said the song "Hold On" was deliberately produced as a "70s Philly kind of thing" - basically richly produced soul of the kind that came from Philadelphia.
    Other songs on "In My Soul" include covers of 1960s Stax/Volt artist Otis Redding and Chess's Bobby "Blue" Bland. The instrumental "Hip Type Onions" is a tribute to Stax's Booker T. & the MGs.
    The veteran said tackling such classics is only daunting if you worry about trying to mimic the original.
    "It's always in the back of your mind, you know, that whenever you cover somebody else's song, whether it's going to be to your approval which you kind of have to let go, you know. Because you're not going to do it like the original. To me, there are certain songs that are just, you know, you don't touch, you know. But if you put yourself in the right frame of mind and forget about that and just do it because you like the song you can get your point across," he said.
    Cray, a five-time Grammy-winner and Blues Hall of Fame inductee, is even better known for his playing than his singing, having worked with the likes of Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughn and John Lee Hooker.
    This latest soul offering is peppered with what Rolling Stone magazine has called "razor sharp" guitar work, sometimes stalking the background, other times dominating out front - all the time at the crossroads of blues and soul. But his six-string work is what matters, and what persuaded guitar maker Fender back in 1989 to create a customized Robert Cray Stratocaster for him and for general sale.
    It took around a year and a half to get the pick-up just right on the Strat, Cray said, adding that he does not know how many have been sold, but that he keeps being asked to sign them at shows.
    When asked if he would rather be known for his guitar work or singing, Cray said neither.
    "I want people to remember the songs, you know? Hope I can write something that people can remember, you know. I think that's the most important thing. Whether it's got a good vocal or guitar work on it. But basically a good song."
    "In My Soul" was released in the U.S. on April 1 and in Europe on March 31.
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