Strong Persuader is the fifth studio album by American blues singer and guitarist Robert Cray, released on November 17, 1986, by Mercury Records and Hightone Records.[1] It became his breakthrough album to the mainstream. "Strong Persuader" also became a nickname for Cray. The album was ranked #42 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest albums of the 80's.[2] It has sold over two million copies by 1995.[3]
Critical reception
Strong Persuader received rave reviews from contemporary critics.[7] In a review for Rolling Stone, Jon Pareles said Cray delivered intriguing stories about sex and infidelity with disciplined singing, songwriting, and "a version of blues and soul that doesn't come from any one region, building an idiom for songs that tell with conversational directness the stories of ordinary folks".[8] Robert Christgau from The Village Voice praised Cray's sophisticated blues aesthetic and the songwriting of his supporting studio team, hailing Strong Persuader as "the best blues record in many, many years, so fervently crafted that it may even get what it deserves and become the first album to break out of the genre's sales ghetto since B.B. King was a hot item."[9]
At the end of 1986, Strong Persuader was voted the third best album of the year in the Pazz & Jop, an annual poll of American critics published by The Village Voice.[10] Christgau, the poll's supervisor, ranked it fourth on his own year-end list.[11] In a retrospective review, AllMusic critic Bill Dahl said "it was [Cray's] innovative expansion of the genre itself that makes this album a genuine 1980s classic."[4]
Track listing
- "Smoking Gun" (David Amy, Richard Cousins, Robert Cray) – 4:07
- "I Guess I Showed Her" (Dennis Walker) – 3:39
- "Right Next Door (Because of Me)" (Walker) – 4:19
- "Nothin' But a Woman" (Amy, Cousins, Cray, Peter Boe, David Olson) – 3:58
- "Still Around" (Boe) – 3:42
- "More Than I Can Stand" (Cray) – 2:57
- "Foul Play" (Walker) – 4:07
- "I Wonder" (Cray) – 3:57
- "Fantasized" (Walker) – 4:04
- "New Blood" (Amy, Boe, Cray, Ozall Washington) – 4:21
Personnel
- Fidel Bell – mixing assistant
- Charlie Brocco – mixing assistant
- Peter Boe – keyboards
- Bruce Bromberg – producer (songwriting credit: David Amy)
- Richard Cousins – bass
- Robert Cray – main performer, guitar, vocals
- David Olson – drums
- Lee Spath – percussion
- Andrew Love – tenor saxophone
- Wayne Jackson – trumpet, trombone
Singles
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Certifications
References
- ↑ Billboard Nov 15, 1986
- ↑ Rolling Stone
- ↑ Billboard 1995
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- ↑ UK Charts
- ↑ US Hot 100 US MSRT & Hot 100
- ↑ MSRT
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- ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Robert Cray – Strong Persuader" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
- ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Robert Cray – Strong Persuader". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
- ↑ "ROBERT CRAY BAND | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved 7 July 2015.
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- ↑ W., J.: Robert Cray - Certifications, Charts and Sales. 2015. (This information can also be found with sources at UKMIX.org).
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Enter Strong Persuader in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
External links
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