POP MUSIC REVIEW : Robert Cray’s Burnin’ Soul

Robert Cray, blues savior, didn’t show up at the Universal Amphitheatre on Wednesday. But young Bob Cray and his burnin’ Memphis soul band sure did.

Cray has made several personnel changes since his last L.A. appearance--the Memphis Horns and guitarist Tim Kaihatsu are now full-time members, along with newcomers Kevin Hayes and Jimmy Pugh--but nearly two hours of Bodyglove-tight arrangements and razor-sharp playing Wednesday dispelled any doubt about the wisdom of those moves.

That punchy Memphis soul sound has always been an integral component of Cray’s roots-nouveau style--particularly his underrated singing--but it’s been overshadowed by rock’s blues-guitarist fixation since his 1986 breakthrough hit “Smoking Gun.” But not Wednesday. The soul element was apparent in everything from O.V. Wright tapes to the intricately slick licks of the Memphis Horns and Cray’s feral, gospel-rooted howls on “All These Things.”

Cray didn’t cut a particularly charismatic figure, but he reached a level of stagecraft that projected effectively to the audience. A couple more up-tempo barn-burners in the repertoire wouldn’t hurt, but the varied assortment of kickin’, mid-tempo grooves earned a richly deserved standing ovation from the better than half-filled house.

Second-billed Joe Ely is still searching for the “Smoking Gun” that will enable him to match Cray’s commercial breakthrough, but his set only sporadically connected. Old Ely fans probably found the arrangements of his current quartet too monochromatic for the Texan’s literate tales, but lead guitarist David Grissom brilliantly fused guitar-hero technique with a roots-rocker’s economy and Keith Richards’ chordal surges.