Robert Cray Band: First Live Album In 30+-year Career

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The Robert Cray Band is famous for touring more than six months out of every year. Yet in their 30+-year career, there has never been a live album — until the imminent release of The Robert Cray Band: Live From Across The Pond, that is. The two-CD live set was recorded over the course of seven shows in May 2006 at London's Royal Albert Hall while Cray was on tour with Eric Clapton. Still on the road together in Europe (and the only rockers to play Moscow's Red Square in 2006), the Cray Band will tour with Clapton in the U.S. once again on the heels of the live album's September 12 release. The U.S. Clapton dates commence on September 16 in St. Paul, and continue through October 23 in Miami. A second leg of American dates to be announced shortly will cover the Western states in February 2006. Cray will also tour with Buddy Guy and as a headliner during the August and early September.

The album marks the inaugural release for Cray's new independent label, Nozzle Records, which will be distributed by Vanguard Records. It was mixed by Grammy Award winner Don Smith (Rolling Stones, Ry Cooder, Miles Davis.)

The Robert Cray Band: Live From Across The Pond contains live versions of Cray classics alongside newly recorded gems like "Poor Johnny, " "I'm Walkin', " and his song about a young soldier watching the horror unfold in Iraq, "Twenty."

The album spotlights Cray's stellar guitar playing along with the expertise of his long-time band: Jim Pugh, keyboards; bassist Karl Sevareid; and drummer Kevin Hayes. Together they have played more than 1, 000 dates.

"It's like we know how to play with one another, we support one another on solos, and we work hard to make the shows sound good, " Cray explains. "We can make a song become something different from what it was the night before. It gives us the opportunity to stretch something out and then come back together. And those things make playing a lot of fun."

Commenting on his first live album in 30 years, Cray added: "Fans have asked us for a live record for a long time. Many attempts have been made, but the seven shows at Royal Albert made it possible to do it right."

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