Robert Cray

A true class act, Robert Cray returns after a five-year studio absence with a refreshingly diverse set of blues rockers and soul burners. The opening cut is a backwoods romp, while the title track is a wrenching ballad that recalls William Bell more than B.B. King. "Forever Goodbye" is another fantastic, tortured soul ballad, and "Trouble and Pain" takes on the strife of the times with relentless grooves. Cray is a dynamic guitarist, but you don't always notice his playing. That is because he plays like he should -- in service to the song and his voice.