LESSON } BLUES ON THE CD TRACKS 23-26

Robert Cray
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sense of his musical upbringing. He has
soulful, funky and tight rhythm style which is
always grooving and supportive, so while the
studies this month focus on his lead work, be
Join Ronan McCullagh this month as he sure to listen and learn from the rhythm parts
on his records. He tends to use larger chord
captures the playing style of a soulful bluesman voicings but will pull out different colours
who straddles both vintage and modern styles. depending on where he places the attack
across the strings. Remember as a guitarist
your role is predominantly rhythm based so
don’t neglect this in your practice.
Cray’s approach to lead is very percussive.
He really digs in and this has a tendency to cut
the note short as the string ‘slaps’ against the
fret which removes its energy. To help get this
‘popping’ yourself, either pick from under the

WE HAD NO CONCEPT
OF ALL THESE GENRES OF
MUSIC. IF YOU LIKED THE
SONG IT WAS COOL, SO I
KEPT THIS IN MY HEAD
the pick. But use it as an effect rather than all
the time as it’s a great way to emphasise
certain notes but not something you want all
the time. Cray also goes for a very clean tone,
his amps being set loud with lots of headroom.
As a pretty traditional bluesman, albeit
laced with soul, Cray’s note selection is largely
Pentatonic; he’s also not shy of a bend or two
and will often pull the strings hard, yet he
always manages to stay in tune. He’s also not
averse to concentrating on a particular
fretboard area and making as much music as
Robert Cray humanly possible with a very small cell of
with his Inca notes. Could this be a lesson for us all?
Silver signature
Stratocaster NEXT MONTH New tutor, Phil Short examines the
bluesy fusion style of Scott Henderson
way from R&B, soul, Motown and jazz. “We
ABILITY RATING
had no concept of all these separate genres of 5 5
Moderate music,” Cray has said of those times. “If you
6
3
Info Will improve your liked the song it was cool. I kept this in my 8

Key: Various Dynamics head as a youngster learning the guitar.” No

Tempo: Various Bends doubt this attitude massively impacted the
GAIN BASS MIDDLE TREBLE REVERB

CD: TRACKS 23-26 Double-stops music that Cray would later give to the world,
as although by the late ’60s and ’70s his

D
uring the ’60s the young Robert Cray
was tucked away in his bedroom with
the Harmony electric guitar that he
begged his mother to buy for him,
bingeing on the music of Sarah Vaughan, Ray
Charles, Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, and The
Beatles. Alongside his parents’ rich record
collection Cray would sit and listen to the
radio, picking up whatever he could along the
blues, his music didn’t adhere to normal
‘boundaries’ of the genre.
Robert Cray’s guitar style has many unique
quirks and touches but his approaches are
foremost and has often spoken about
understanding the mood of a piece to inspire
his approach to the instrument.
Cray is a diehard Strat man (the RC signature is
based on his vintage Inca Silver model), with
limited pedals and Matchless or Magnatone amps.
Pickup-wise he often goes for the in-between
tones but frequently also visits positions 1 and 5.
Tonally it’s clean, bright and biting. So if you really
want to get into the Cray ballpark ditch the Tube
Screamer and make the amp work for you instead.
A touch of slap-back echo can also work a treat.

TRACK RECORD For many, Stronger Persuader is where the Robert Cray experience started and to this day the writing style, authentic
guitar vocabulary and fantastic vocals stand the test of time. The big hit from the album was of course Right Next Door but Cray also
co-wrote Old Love with Eric Clapton, which appeared on EC’s Journeyman album and helped herald a return to form for one of Cray’s heroes.

56 Spring 2019