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player ready...Larry McCray
Born To Play the Blues (House of Blues)
Forget about Jonny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and the rest of those flaxen-haired Steven Ray Vaughan wannabe’s. Former Saginaw, Mich., auto assembly line worker Larry McCray wipes the floor with his fuzz-cheeked competition on this sure-handed primer on blues guitar. McCray embraces both the traditional and the funkier contemporary side of the blues, with a touch of rock thrown in. Vocally, McCray has a big, buttery baritone that perfectly balances his muscular and incisive (but never showy) guitar. Standouts include a fiery version of Leon Russell’s “Woman Across the River,” the breezy, jazz-tinged original “Sunny Monday” and Lazy Lester’s raucous “I’m a Lover Not a Fighter.” In the sure hands of Larry McCray, though, it’s all good.