The Robert Cray Band - I Was Warned (1992)

×

The Robert Cray Band - I Was Warned (1992)

Close

Of all Robert Cray albums, over a career that has now spanned 20 years, this is the one I keep coming back to time and time again. I Was Warned is not one of Robert Cray's more critically acclaimed or commercially successful albums, yet for me it's a handsome, undemanding record that is full of great songs and superb playing. As a practitioner of the blues, Cray has been instrumental in it's re-emergence as a popular art-form in the 80's and 90's, however he has never considered himself to be a 'bluesman' - preferring to call his sound a blues/soul/rock hybrid. I Was Warned tends towards soul and rock. There is a definite feel-good factor to 'Just A Loser' and 'I'm A Good Man', both carry an irresistable groove and Cray clearly revels in his everyman tales of love and life. 'The Price I Pay' is a meditation on fading love, it is one of Cray's finest ballads - a side of his music that seems to get overlooked. 'On The Road Down' is blisteringly good also and showcases some fine guitar-work. Blues purists may find I Was Warned a little too slick, but I love the mood that these taut, polished and wholly enjoyable songs put me in.

Review by Stephen Doig

Robert Cray's soulful vocals and spanky, sustainless guitar enliven the fairly by-the-numbers blues-influenced R&B on I Was Warned. The band itself is solid (especially tough-as-nails drummer Kevin Hayes), if unexceptional; the addition of the Memphis Horns (Andrew Love on tenor sax and Wayne Jackson on trumpet and trombone) on many of these tracks is a definite step in the right direction. However, the tracks are devoid of any kind of dirt whatsoever, which prevents them from really kicking the listener the way that they should. Granted, Cray isn't R.L. Burnside or even Buddy Guy, but a little more grit to the band performances, arrangements, tones, and recording would go a long way toward aiding the emotional kick of his admittedly great set of pipes. Cray is also not aided by the writing, which is hit or miss throughout. Such standout tracks as the anguish-laden "He Don't Live Here Anymore" and the swinging "Our Last Time" serve to offset missteps such as the title track. The production even actually helps the Steve Cropper co-written "On the Road Down," which features a great vocal performance from the leader. In addition to his wonderful singing voice, Cray's unique guitar sound and approach, one of the most distinctive in blues, is on full display on I Was Warned. Take a listen to the beginning of his solo on "Just a Loser," to the way that the phrase just flows out of his guitar in a way that suggests the blues without being overtly bluesy, for a good indication of his extremely effective instrumental skills. His playing is powerful and idiosyncratic, but his intensity and focus are unfortunately not matched by other aspects of this recording. I Was Warned is not a bad Cray album by any means; it just lacks the sort of fire that would make it really take off.

Review by Daniel Gioffre, Allmusic.com

×

The Robert Cray Band - I Was Warned (1992)

Close

×

The Robert Cray Band - I Was Warned (1992)

Close

×

The Robert Cray Band - I Was Warned (1992)

Close