CRAY, ROBERT

Robert Cray Band: Robert Cray (vocals, guitar); Tim Kaihatsu (guitar); Jim Pugh (keyboards); Karl Sevareid (bass); Kevin Hayes (drums).

The Memphis Horns: Andrew Love (tenor saxophone); Wayne Jackson (trumpet, trombone).

When Robert Cray recorded 1992's I WAS WARNED, he went with the same line-up that appeared on the wonderfully Stax-soaked MIDNIGHT STROLL. The only exception was Karl Sevareid replacing long-time bass player Richard Cousins. With the Memphis Horns on hand once again, Cray's efforts yielded yet another batch of songs detailing the universal ups and downs found within the slippery slopes of love.

The tango-like cadence Cray applies to the title track adds an appropriate amount of foreboding for the love-struck fool at the center of this tale, while guitarist Tim Kaihatsu's contribution, "Just A Loser," could easily be the aftermath of the aforementioned doom. More than any of Cray's other albums, I WAS WARNED is hip-deep in the losing end of love. Cray's approach to loss ranged from the subtle plea for another chance in "The Price I Pay" to defiance on the mannered cheekiness of "Won The Battle." The Memphis Horns earn their salt on the Otis Redding-inspired "A Whole Lotta Pride" and the heart wrenching "He Don't Live Here Anymore," in which the estrangement is with a patriarch rather than a lover.

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