CRAY: AIRTIGHT

Although Robert Cray may be a grits ‘n’ gravy guitarist, a coffee ‘n’ cream singer and a shiv-to-the-ribs songwriter, on stage Friday at the Palace he couldn’t cook up even the semblance of a personality. Even so, the young (32), black bluesician led his airtight backing trio though a smoldering 80-minute set of predominantly original material that wouldn’t have sounded out of place down at Loucye’s Orbit Room or the Zircon Lounge.

Matter of fact, the sound at the Palace, especially on Cray’s vocals, probably wasn’t much better than that in the Pacific Northwest bars where he honed his chops, which is perhaps one explanation for the curiously disembodied quality of his performance. Highlighted by the title track of his first major-label LP (“Strong Persuader”), his current radio favorite (“Smoking Gun”) and his contribution to Eric Clapton’s latest album (“Bad Influence”), Cray’s spider-in-my-stew of Stax-Volt rhythms and swift and subtle guitar licks just might be the first blues designed to be heard on compact discs.