Robert Cray Returns With ALL OVER AGAIN, First Album in Seven Years

Revered, multi-Grammy Award-winning blues guitarist and vocalist Robert Cray returns with the thought-provoking All Over Again, his first album in seven years (out February 12th on Thirty Tigers). Cray delivers a powerful and inspiring collection of songs that confront America's racial history, political divisions and uncertain future.

Produced by longtime friend and collaborator Steve Jordan (Rolling Stones, Sheryl Crow, The Pretenders) and recorded at the legendary FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, All Over Again, finds Cray channeling his signature blend of blues, soul and R&B into a deeply personal reflection on a nation at a crossroads.

'1965, when voting rights for Black people were enacted, wasn't that long ago,' says Cray. 'I turned 12 that year, and my parents were finally able to vote. I'm not the first to write these types of songs. But I know why they are written — it's just too bad that we have to.'

The new single 'Push Through' addresses the anxieties of this moment in time with clarity and conviction by aiming a sharp spotlight at the current administration's efforts to turn back the clock on the hard-won progress that has been achieved. Cray urges Americans to rise up as he sings, 'We have the right to choose what we demand. Just get out the vote and on the streets and stand.'

Recording in Muscle Shoals held personal significance for Cray, not only due to its rich musical history. At 7, he and his siblings went to live with their grandmother in Alabama for a few months before joining their father who was stationed in Germany. During that time, he experienced firsthand the realities of segregation, from separate schools and drinking fountains to the modest conditions of their grandmother's home. Returning decades later, dismayed over the socio-political state of the nation, Cray found himself confronting a painful past that remains uncomfortably close to the present.

All Over Again reunites Cray with Jordan, whose musical partnership with the guitarist dates to 1986, when both were recruited by Keith Richards to back Chuck Berry for Taylor Hackford's concert film Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll.

Cray's masterful guitar work is heard throughout the album, while his heartfelt vocals exude R&B panache and soulful grit. 'With Everyone' pays tribute to his beloved mother, Maggie Cray, who passed away in 2020, while reflecting on the corrosive nature of today's political climate. The melancholy country-soul of 'Long Way Home' examines a society destabilized by lies and deceit, while 'Tacky Wack' delivers a blistering critique of our current leader.

Cray pays more homage to the Muscle Shoals tradition with interpretations of songs originally recorded by R&B greats Wilson Pickett ('For Better Or Worse'), Bobby Womack ('I'm In Love') and Jimmy Hughes ('Neighbor, Neighbor').

Closing the album, the funky 'Soul Shot' celebrates all the legendary soul artists whose recordings helped make Muscle Shoals an enduring cultural force in American music. The track was co-written by Cray, Jordan and celebrated Muscle Shoals musicians Clayton Ivey (piano) and Spooner Oldham (organ).

Over a career spanning decades, Cray has earned multiple Grammy Awards, sold millions of albums and established himself as one of the most distinctive voices in modern blues and American roots music. He has shared stages and studios with John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Tina Turner, Stevie Ray Vaughan, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Etta James, Chuck Berry, Albert Collins, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Hi Rhythm Section. Through it all, he has remained devoted to the power of music to bring people together though shared experiences and universal truths.