Time Will Tell

1	Survivor / Robert Cray Band 5:14
2	Up in the Sky / Robert Cray Band 4:54
3	Back Door Slam / Robert Cray Band 4:39
4	I Didn't Know / Robert Cray Band 5:00
5	Your Pal / Robert Cray Band 5:01
6	Lotta Lovin' / Robert Cray Band 4:52
7	What You Need (Good Man) / Robert Cray Band 5:16
8	Spare Some Love? / Robert Cray Band 3:42
9	Distant Shore / Robert Cray Band 4:49
10	Time Makes Two / Robert Cray Band 5:25

Barnes & Noble

“Survivor,” the opening cut on guitarist/singer/songwriter Robert Cray’s ambitious Time Will Tell, tells the story of his career. Cray grew up on the blues, paid his dues on the road during the '70s and '80s, and went on to have hits on rock radio. He’s now settled into a mature career, with a strong following in both the rock and blues arenas. That means he can stretch out and still keep his fans, and that’s just what he does here. The sound of Cray’s electric sitar gives the opening of “Up in the Sky” a '60s Fillmore feel, as if Ravi Shankar were playing with the Electric Flag; when strings enter, though, the tune is back in pop territory. More enticing are the blues-based numbers like “Back Door Slam,” which is a wry take-off on Howlin’ Wolf’s “Back Door Man.” “I Didn’t Know” is the soulful Cray, vulnerable, innocent and sweet as Otis Redding and O. V. Wright. The addition of horns on “Your Pal” takes the music deeper into Memphis Stax/Volt territory. The late-night ballad “Lotta Lovin’ ” could have been covered by Bobby Blue Bland or Johnnie Taylor. More contemporary in feel is “Distant Shore,” written by the band’s keyboardist and co-producer, Jim Pugh, which tells of “war on a distant shore,” kicked up by the quintet’s exciting playing. Yes, the Cray band spreads its wings a bit on Time Will Tell, but it’s the trusted soul-and-blues man that keeps the project grounded. Roberta Penn

All Music Guide

Even diehard Robert Cray fans admit that over the course of the last decade, the singer/guitarist/songwriter has crafted albums that are practically interchangeable. Although Cray has created his own niche with a slick but powerful Memphis-styled R&B/soul/blues stew, his sound become repetitious; even though the songs' quality remained way above average. Since leaving Ryko (after two albums), he and keyboardist Jim Pugh -- an increasingly pivotal player in Cray's work -- produced this 13th disc between labels. That provided them the freedom to experiment without corporate intervention. While his "if-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it" ethic allowed multiple Grammy wins, Cray clearly wanted to step outside the box he built, resulting in a slightly different direction this time around. Those who enjoy the comfy fit of his previous work have little to fear; there is plenty of the love-lost/found R&B that he's known for. In particular "Lotta Lovin'" is a pleasant ballad that is about as novel as its pedestrian title. "Spare Some Love" likewise treads familiar musical ground although lyrics about finding love before getting old and frail ("I can only hang so long/ if I go another week/ I might have just passed on") show Cray may be feeling his mortality. But the slightly off-kilter Sly & the Family Stone horns from Cynthia Robinson and Jerry Martini on "Your Pal" twist that tune towards a more edgy approach. On the album's leadoff track, Cray unloads more unusual -- at least for him -- material. The opening tune, "Survivor," is a protest tune about the Middle East war ("you take a little schoolboy and teach him who to hate/ then you send him to the desert for the oil near Kuwait") with Pugh's minor key piano adding a curious boogie-woogie feel. "Distant Shore" is likewise anti-war with a deceptively bubbly percolating beat. "Up in the Sky" finds Cray debuting on electric sitar. It's a slightly psychedelic slant, more commendable for the guitarist dipping his toes into unlikely musical waters than for its clunky and slightly depressing lyrics about an older couple wanting to die together. It is also one of two tracks accompanied by the Turtle Island String Quartet, another unique addition. "Back Door Slam" -- likely a play on the "Back Door Man" cliché of so many blues tunes -- might be the funkiest Cray has gotten; and his shimmering guitar solo is just tangled enough to push the song into more exotic territory. While he's not making radical moves, Time Will Tell is a promising route for Robert Cray. If anything, he hasn't gone far enough afield from his MO to attract a new audience. Meanwhile, established fans should welcome the few newfound twists in the soul/bluesman's approach. Hal Horowitz

Entertainment Weekly

This expansionism works, though it's inevitably the guitar-organ interplay that kills.

jazzreview.com

This release could rival the success of [Strong Persuader] and gain some new ground for Cray’s fan base.