Strong Persuader

1	Smoking Gun 4:09
2	I Guess I Showed Her 3:40
3	Right Next Door (Because of Me) 4:21
4	Nothin' But a Woman 3:59
5	Still Around 3:42
6	More Than I Can Stand 3:00
7	Foul Play 4:19
8	I Wonder 3:58
9	Fantasized 4:05
10	New Blood 4:21

Barnes & Noble

Blues, or not blues? That was the question many a music fan asked about Strong Persuader, the Grammy-winning 1986 album from Robert Cray. Not that it mattered: While its blues roots are apparent, Strong Persuader crossed over the pop charts and to mainstream radio on the strength of Cray's incisive lyrics about infidelity and guilt (among other things), as evidenced on the hit single "Smoking Gun" and on "Right Next Door (Because of Me)." Cray's songs are populated with flawed, uncertain, decidedly human characters, whom he presents with irony and without judgment. In an era of banal, synthetically produced music, Cray's Strong Persuader presented his songs in a refreshingly organic setting, featuring horns and a clean, thin Fender Stratocaster guitar tone. It may have crossed over, but this album distills the essence of the best modern electric blues: It's smart, honest, genuine, and danceable, too. Bryan Powell

All Music Guide

The set that made Cray a pop star, despite its enduring blues base. Cray's smoldering stance on "Smoking Gun" and "Right Next Door" rendered him the first sex symbol to emerge from the blues field in decades, but it was his innovative expansion of the genre itself that makes this album a genuine 1980s classic. "Nothing but a Woman" boasts an irresistible groove pushed by the Memphis Horns and some metaphorically inspired lyrics, while "I Wonder" and "Guess I Showed Her" sizzle with sensuality. Bill Dahl