Northwest native Robert Cray has never played conventional blues and with the release of his 13th solo album, Time Will Tell, (his debut for Sanctuary) he sticks with what has worked for him in his 20 + year recording career.
Time Will Tell is contemporary, not only musically but lyrically as well. Post 9/11 and the war in Iraq have clearly been on Cray's mind as he openly opposes the conflict on "Survivor" and "Distant Shore". Robert Cray dabbles in Soul complete with heavy orchestra string arrangements on a couple of tracks, "Up in the Sky" and the bitter sweet ballad "Time Takes Two". The first single, "Back Door Sam" has a Sly and the Family Stone heavy funk consistency as Robert experiments with a new sound combining severe echo on his guitar solo.
While Robert Cray still steers clear of shuffles and two bar slow blues, he is experimenting more than ever on this project by adding samba beats and a ringing electric sitar to the mix. His guitar playing has never sounded sharper and his voice never as sincere. Time Will Tell with go down as a major turning point in Robert Cray's career.
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