Robert Cray band wows Phil Audience

by Jeanette Smith. Published Sat 03 Jul 2010 00:54, Last updated: 2010-07-03

The Robert Cray Band
Andy Fairweather Low
Liverpool Philharmonic
Friday July 3 2010

7/10

One of the most popular modern blues musicians on tour today wowed them at the Liverpool Phil last night.

Robert Cray the 56 –year-old bluesman from Georgia, USA, was joined by Tony Braunagel on drums, the superb Jim Pugh on keyboards and the jigging Richard Cousins on backing guitar.

The band is playing just a handful of concerts in the two months they are this side of the pond.

The blues singer and guitarist who has played with John Lee Hooker and Eric Clapton has a niche following in this country though is highly regarded in the USA. His steely guitar and bluesy voice has enabled him to sell many albums since he started playing in 1977.

At the Phil delighted fans heard renditions of tracks from his back catalogue as well as his latest album, Cookin in Mobile, beginning with the rocking Last Time that just pounds along with Cray’s emblematic steely blues guitar to the fore. John Pugh’s honky tonk piano melds seamlessly into the band’s vibe and jams melodically with Cray’s mastery on the frets.

Any Time, a slower more resonant track came next showcasing Cray’s wonderfully deep mournful voice. Again his guitar riffs wonderfully demonstrated the self-confessed influence of Jimmy Hendrix.

The pace was slowed yet again with Sitting on Top of the World then upbeat once more with Phone Booth, though with Cray’s falsetto and the enthusiasm of the band many of the words were indistinct to those who are new to his work.

Right Next Door brought whoops of joy from the enthusiastic audience as did Bad Influence which showcased Cray’s superb vocal range.

In all a good set, resulting in a standing ovation and a three-song encore. The fans were well and truly satisfied.

Supporting the band was Andy Fairweather Low, who has also played with Clapton as well as George Harrison. Fairweather Low who toured with Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings in 2005 appeared with Paul Beavis (drums), Dave Bronze (bass and vocals) and the brilliant Nick Pentelow on sax.

Fairweather Low formed Amen Corner in the mid-'60s, for which he served as lead singer. The group scored six U.K. hits from 1967 to 1969, the biggest of which was the number one If Paradise Is Half as Nice.

He also sang his other well-known hit Wide Eyed and Legless, loved by the audience. His guitar playing was mellow and pleasing, synchronising beautifully with Pentelow’s brass. The band played an acoustic set mixing gospel with pop, soul and rock. His adenoidal voice has a homely quality though sometimes it was difficult to hear the lyrics.

But it was the Robert Cray Band that aficionados had come to see whilst Fairweather Low’s band was a good opener for the show.

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