"Dirt under the fingernails" is how producer Kevin Shirley describes the vibe of the two weeks he spent at Revolver Studios in Los Angeles producing the upcoming Robert Cray album, Nothin But Love, due out 27 August.
Cray, a five-time Grammy winner, teamed with Shirley (whose recent work includes records by Joe Bonamassa, Aerosmith, Iron Maiden and The Black Crowes) on the 10-song disc that includes material written by all four Robert Cray Band members: Robert Cray (vocals/guitar), Jim Pugh (keyboards), Cray Band co-founder Richard Cousins (bass) and Tony Braunagel (drums).
The album features the soaring break-up blues of Won't Be Coming Home, the jazz chops of I'll Always Remember You, the soul-drenched ode to repossession that is Great Big Old House and the frantic '50s-flavoured rocker Side Dish.
Last year, at age 57, Cray became the youngest living artist to be inducted into the Blues Hall Of Fame.
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Joe is a freelance journalist who has, over the past few decades, interviewed hundreds of guitarists for Guitar World, Guitar Player, MusicRadar and Classic Rock. He is also a former editor of Guitar World, contributing writer for Guitar Aficionado and VP of A&R for Island Records. He’s an enthusiastic guitarist, but he’s nowhere near the likes of the people he interviews. Surprisingly, his skills are more suited to the drums. If you need a drummer for your Beatles tribute band, look him up.
“It didn’t even represent what we were doing. Even the guitar solo has no business being in that song”: Gwen Stefani on the No Doubt song that “changed everything” after it became their biggest hit
"There was water dripping onto the gear and we got interrupted by a cave diver": How Mandy, Indiana recorded their debut album in caves, crypts and shopping malls