Robert Cray Burns the Same-but-True Blue Flame Again : CHECK LIST **** Great Balls of Fire *** Good Vibrations ** Maybe Baby * Running on Empty

By DON WALLER

Aug. 7, 1988 12 AM PT

***ROBERT CRAY. “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark.” Hightone.

After several years of roadwork on the contemporary blues circuit (including a performance as the bassist for Otis Day & the Knights in “Animal House”), young Robert Cray found himself awash in mainstream success in the wake of 1987’s super-successful “Strong Persuader” LP.

As a modernizer and a popularizer, no one deserves the semi-hit singles (“Smoking Gun,” “Right Next Door”), the opening slot on the Eric Clapton tour, the respect of his peers--the money, Jim--more than Cray. After all, the dude’s a cool, coffee-’n’-cream vocalist, an icy, stinging guitarist, and--lest we forget--a true, brown-eyed handsome man.

And if you liked his last album, you’ll probably wanna haul cash and buy this one, too, ‘cause it might as well be outtakes from the previous recording’s session. Same sleek soul grooves, same minor-key blues centered around male-female relationships, same scintillating guitar work. Same same same. Same, but true.

OK, so maybe Cray’s latest hot wax job lacks one of those moderne blues classics provided by the guilt-written, arguments-overheard-through-the-walls story line of last year’s “Right Next Door (Because of Me).”

What it does have is about half-a-dozen guitar solos wherein Cray proves himself capable of bending minds as well as strings: the light, jazzy lines on “Don’t You Even Care,” the lower register romp on “Night Patrol,” the soul-poppin’ harmonics on “Gotta Change the Rules,” and the frosty, neon-blue wind-out on “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark,” which he oughta have patented by now.

However, the famous blue flame burns and the true love light turns brightest on the album’s two ballads. “I Can’t Go Home” finds Cray working up a rare vocal intensity that’s matched by his uncharacteristically jagged, broken-rhythm fretwork, while “At Last” is a slow, deep, country-soul number with a solo that sings so sweetly it flies right out the window so it can be with the birds.