Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
No complaints...Just needs more!, December 14, 1999
I have been a Robert Cray fan since 1986 when the amazing happened: MTV actually played a blues video in heavy rotation (SMOKING GUN). Cray, along with Stevie Ray Vaughan, opened my young ears to blues. From those guys I was able to spring back to the masters like Howlin' Wolf and Lightnin' Hopkins. Anyway, about this collection. It is an excellent sampler of Cray's material thus far. It is heavy on the material from -Strong Persuader- and -Midnight Stroll- (and rightly so, his two best albums), but it also gives a taste from all phases of his career up to 1997. As a fan, I definitely feel that important tunes were left off (BOUNCIN' BACK, THE ROAD DOWN), but everything on this disc is excellent. Highlights here include: the down and dirty FORECAST (CALLS FOR PAIN), the hit SMOKING GUN, the crisp guitar work on PHONE BOOTH, and my favorite Cray song: RIGHT NEXT DOOR (which has a great story to it as well as a catchy chorus, bluesy yet also some great pop elements). Also, I think Cray's finest guitar work is represented here at the very end, the extended solo at the end of the last song I WAS WARNED is Cray's finest moment on the axe. Cray is awesome because he is both a great bluesman and a great soul singer. Also, his sound is modern. I am a blues fan, but even I get tired of the generic sounds that sometimes prevail, but Cray doesn't do that. He doesn't just rehash what has already been done. His sound reflects the greatness of the past, but is also firmly modern and reflects his own visions. I prefer his work when he was working with producer Dennis Walker over his more recent stuff. But, this CD captures the Cray / Walker collaboration beautifully. Highly reccommended. I don't give it five stars only because they could have fit about 3 or 4 more great tracks on here.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Deep Pockets, October 21, 2002
Heavy Picks is a 14-track retrospective that spans Robert Cray's brilliant recording career. Early independent label cuts like Phone Booth, Too Many Cooks, Bad Influence, and Playin' in the Dirt provide wonderful insight into the amazing song writing potential of "Young Bob" and demonstrate why the Robert Cray band was a college radio favorite. The 1986 release of Strong Persuader on the Mercury label marked an important milestone in Robert's recording career; more importantly, it helped spark a major blues revival. Cray's blend of blues and Memphis soul, combined with the Fabulous Thunderbirds straight ahead, Gulf Coast style and Stevie Ray Vaughan's merciless intensity, brought blues to the MTV generation. While hair bands like Quiet Riot, Motley Crüe, and Poison were prancing around stage in women's clothing, singing about the clichés of adolescence, Robert Cray released overtly adult themed songs like Smoking Gun, Strong Persuader, and I Guess I Showed Her. With the Grammy Award winning Strong Persuader, Robert's ability as a guitarist became the talk of every guitar-geek magazine on the newsstand - and rightly so. His percussive attack, amazing timing, and hip phrasing landed him a deal with Fender guitars that resulted in the production of the "Robert Cray" model Stratocaster. With both critical and commercial success under his belt, Cray was free to developed as an artist. With each recording subsequent to Strong Persuader, Robert has made the story the most important aspect of the song; consequently, the guitar has often been cast in a supporting role. Robert Cray is brilliant as a songwriter and often genius as an instrumentalist but what makes him special is his ability to deliver lyrics. Tracks like I Shiver, the Dream and Forecast (Calls for Pain) are testaments to Crays awe-inspiring talent as a vocalist. Roberts dynamic voice effortlessly produces the hollers, moans, and melismatic leaps characteristic of the great gospel singers in the Southern tradition. As a result, Cray is able to confidently approach songs like the Otis Redding classic, Trick or Treat and deliver it with an earnest authority. I was Warned, the final track of the album, is perhaps the best, most defining tune on Heavy Picks. This dark and brooding minor rumba is Robert Cray at his very best. Layers of guitars frame the poignant melody as Cray recalls the warnings of his friends regarding the love of his life. In a classic moment of irony, Cray sings, whether theyre right or wrong, at least the mystery is gone. Throughout his career, Cray has suffered from categorization. His music is found under the category of blues in most record stores but purists more often than not scoff at this classification. They insist that his music is not the blues in a traditional sense but, while they may have a point, it is a shame to overlook the casual brilliance of Robert Cray as a singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist. Cray may not be the torchbearer of the blues as many had hoped following his work with Albert Collins and Johnny Copeland on the Alligator release, Showdown, but he certainly represents a continuation of the legacy created by soul singers like O.V. Wright, Ottis Redding, and Marvin Gaye. Heavy Picks is not the shining jewel of the Robert Cray collection but it does provide listeners with a nicely packaged summation of the mans career.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What's Not To Like?, March 5, 2000
This is a superb collection from the most soulful urban bluesman recording today. Since his 1980 debut (represented by "Too Many Cooks"), Cray has built a solid reputation as one of the music world's great singer/songwriter/guitarists.As he approaches 50--he was born in 1953--he is poised to carry the blues/soul tradition well into the next century. His albums have always been of the highest quality and all are represented here from his Atlantic debut "Who's Been Talkin'" (now available as "Too Many Cooks") through 1997's "Sweet Potato Pie"--the only exception is 1995's excellent "Some Rainy Morning." My only complaint is that this collection could easily accomodate another four to five songs and still remain a single disc. [Though who would complain if this had been made a more exhaustive two-disc set?] As it is, only three albums are represented by more than one song. Obviously 1986's "Strong Persuader" is the most represented with three tracks: "Smoking Gun" (which earned him some MTV exposure), "Right Next Door (Because of Me)" and "I Guess I Showed Her." "Strong Persuader" is the album that made Cray a star--and rightfully so. More than any other artist he proved that the blues could be a viable commercial force while at the same time remain faithful to the blues as an art form. Equally impressive was his Hightone debut from 1983, "Bad Influence." In addition to the title track, this collection also includes another of Cray's originals, "Phone Booth." Whether Cray returns to his blues roots as this set clearly exhibits or he continues to pursue the Memphis-style soul of his 1999 Ryko debut "Take Your Shoes Off," his fans will simply have to wait and see. In the meantime, this is a wonderful collection from an amazing body of work. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
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by Robert Cray 
