Personnel: Robert Cray (vocals, guitar); Robert Cray; Robert Gray (vocals, guitar); Tim Kaihatsu (guitar); Jim Horn, Jim Spake, Ed Manion, Andrew Love (tenor saxophone); Wayne Jackson (trumpet, trombone); Mark Pender (trumpet); Jack Hale (trombone); Jim Pugh (keyboards); Richard Cousins (bass instrument); Kevin Hayes (drums); Dave Olson (drum); Steve Jordan , Lee Spath (percussion); Warren Rand (saxophone); Mike Vannice, Peter Boe (keyboards). Audio Mixers: Don Smith ; Jeff Hendrickson; John Hampton; Mark Needham; Martin Pradler; Skidd Mills; Steve Savage; Bill Dashiell. Liner Note Author: Scott Schinder. Recording information: Ardent Studios, Memphis, TN; Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, CA; Music Lab, Los Angeles, CA; Sage & Sound, Los Angeles, CA; Sound City Recording Studios, Van Nuys, CA; Studio 890, Oakland, CA; Studio D, Sausalito, CA; Sunnyside Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Woodland Studios, Nashville, TN. Photographers: Robert Knight ; Paul Natkin; Jeff Katz. Released in 2007, this 16-track compilation presents an excellent overview of Robert Cray's first 25 years of recording. Although it shares many tracks with 1999's HEAVY PICKS--including, of course, the Georgia-based bluesman's ominous '86 hit, "Smoking Gun"--DEFINITIVE COLLECTION tops that set by extending its reach to '05 with the wistful "Poor Johnny," making it the more comprehensive anthology.
