Strong Persuader

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Strong Persuader is the fourth studio album by American blues singer and guitarist Robert Cray. It was recorded by Cray at the Los Angeles studios Sage & Sound and Haywood's with producers Bruce Bromberg and Dennis Walker,[1] before being released on November 17, 1986, by Mercury Records and Hightone Records.[2] Strong Persuader became his mainstream breakthrough and by 1995 it had sold over two million copies.[3] The record was later ranked No. 42 on Rolling StoneTemplate:'s list of the 100 greatest albums of the eighties.[4]

Commercial reception

In Cray's home country of the United States, the album ranked highly on various Billboard charts, reaching number 13 on the Billboard 200, number 17 on the Contemporary Jazz Albums chart, number 20 on the Jazz Albums chart, and number 21 on the R&B Albums chart.[5] Singles from the album also performed well: "Smoking Gun" reached number 22 on the U.S. singles chart, while "Because of Me" peaked at number 80. In February 1988, the album was certified Platinum by the RIAA, and in June 1996 it was certified Double Platinum.[6]

The album was also a hit outside the United States. In 1987, it spent six weeks at number one on the Dutch Albums Chart[7], and it remained in the top 10 for six consecutive weeks on the New Zealand Albums Chart.[8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Retrospective reviews
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarStarStar[9]
Christgau's Record Guide: The '80sA+[10]
The Encyclopedia of Popular MusicStarStarStarStar[11]
The Penguin Guide to Blues RecordingsStarStarStarStar[12]

Strong Persuader received rave reviews from contemporary critics.[13] In a review for Rolling Stone, Jon Pareles said Cray delivered intriguing stories about sex and infidelity with disciplined singing, songwriting, and "a version of blues and soul that doesn't come from any one region, building an idiom for songs that tell with conversational directness the stories of ordinary folks".[14] Robert Christgau from The Village Voice praised Cray's sophisticated blues aesthetic and the songwriting of his supporting studio team, hailing Strong Persuader as "the best blues record in many, many years, so fervently crafted that it may even get what it deserves and become the first album to break out of the genre's sales ghetto since B.B. King was a hot item."[15]

At the end of 1986, Strong Persuader was voted the third best album of the year in the Pazz & Jop, an annual poll of American critics published by The Village Voice.[16] Christgau, the poll's supervisor, ranked it fourth on his own year-end list.[17] In a retrospective review, AllMusic critic Bill Dahl said "it was [Cray's] innovative expansion of the genre itself that makes this album a genuine 1980s classic."[9]

Cray won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album for this release.[5]

Track listing

  1. "Smoking Gun" (David Amy, Richard Cousins, Robert Cray) – 4:07
  2. "I Guess I Showed Her" (Dennis Walker) – 3:39
  3. "Right Next Door (Because of Me)" (Dennis Walker) – 4:19
  4. "Nothin' but a Woman" (David Amy, Cousins, Cray, Peter Boe, David Olson) – 3:58
  5. "Still Around" (Peter Boe) – 3:42
  6. "More Than I Can Stand" (Cray) – 2:57
  7. "Foul Play" (Dennis Walker) – 4:07
  8. "I Wonder" (Cray) – 3:57
  9. "Fantasized" (Dennis Walker) – 4:04
  10. "New Blood" (David Amy, Peter Boe, Cray, Ozall Washington) – 4:21

Personnel

  • Fidel Bell – mixing assistant
  • Charlie Brocco – mixing assistant
  • Peter Boe – keyboards
  • Bruce Bromberg – producer (songwriting credit: David Amy)
  • Richard Cousins – bass
  • Robert Cray – guitar, vocals
  • David Olson – drums
  • Lee Spath – percussion
  • Andrew Love – tenor saxophone
  • Wayne Jackson – trumpet, trombone

Singles

Year Release Chart positions
UK
[18] 		US
[19] 		US M.
[19]
1986 "Smoking Gun" — 22 2
1987 "Right Next Door (Because of Me)" 50 80 27
"I Guess I Showed Her" — — 28

Charts

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Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[27] Platinum 70,000 
Canada (Music Canada)[28] Gold 50,000 
Netherlands (NVPI)[27] Platinum 100,000 
New Zealand (RMNZ)[29] 4× Platinum 60,000 
United Kingdom (BPI)[27] Gold 100,000 
United States (RIAA)[30] 2× Platinum 2,000,000 

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Anon. (1986). Strong Persuader (CD edition booklet). Robert Cray. Mercury. 830 568-2 M-1.
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. November 15, 1986. p. 22. Retrieved May 14, 2021 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. November 4, 1995. p. 14. Retrieved May 14, 2021 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."100 Best Albums of the Eighties". Rollingstone.com. November 16, 1989. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Strong Persuader - Robert Cray : Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on November 27, 2015. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  6. ^ RIAA公式サイト内SEARCHABLE DATABASE - 引用符付きの"STRONG PERSUADER"と入力して検索すれば表示される
  7. ^ Robert Cray - Strong Persuader - dutchcharts.nl
  8. ^ charts.org.nz - Robert Cray - Strong Persuader
  9. ^ a b c d e Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Bill Dahl. "Strong Persuader – Robert Cray, Robert Cray Band | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Christgau, Robert (1990). "R". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-73015-X. Retrieved March 18, 2022 – via robertchristgau.com.
  11. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Larkin, Colin (2011). "Robert Cray". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. p. 2006. ISBN 978-0857125958.
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Russell, Tony; Smith, Chris (2006). The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin. p. 143. ISBN 978-0-140-51384-4.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Tamarkin, Jeff (December 13, 1986). "Talent In Action". Billboard. New York. p. 20. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Pareles, Jon (January 29, 1987). "Robert Cray: Strong Persuader". Rolling Stone. New York. Archived from the original on November 12, 2007. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Christgau, Robert (December 2, 1986). "Blues Without Corn Pone". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The 1986 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". The Village Voice. New York. March 3, 1987. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  17. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Christgau, Robert (March 3, 1987). "Pazz & Jop 1986: Dean's List". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  18. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."right next door | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  19. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Strong Persuader - Robert Cray Band, Robert Cray | Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  20. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 76. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  21. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Top Albums/CDs – Volume 46, No. 1, April 11, 1987". RPM magazine. Archived from the original on July 8, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  22. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Strong Persuader – Billboard 200". Ultimate Music Database. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  23. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Dutch Charts – Jaaroverzichten 1987". Dutch Charts. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  24. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Top Selling Albums of 1987". The Official New Zealand Music Chart. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  25. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1987". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 24, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  26. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Robert Cray Album & Song Chart History". Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums for Robert Cray. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  27. ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The Robert Cray Band" (PDF). Billboard Magazine. December 26, 1987. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
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