Who's Been Talkin' is the first album by the Robert Cray Band, released in 1980.[2][3] It received little initial notice due to Tomato Records' bankruptcy.[3] It has been rereleased a couple of times, including under the title Too Many Cooks.[2]

Production

Produced by Bruce Bromberg and Dennis Walker, the album was recorded in two sessions.[4][5][6] Cray wrote four of its songs.[7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[8]
Robert Christgau	B[9]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[1]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide	[10]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings	[11]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[12]

Robert Christgau wrote: "Cray can recite his catechism without kowtowing to orthodoxy--guitar like Albert Collins only chillier and more staccato, voice like B.B. King only cleaner and, well, thinner."[9] The New York Times, in a review praising the artistic growth of Cray's Strong Persuader, from 1986, thought that his first three albums "variously recalled the Stax/Volt and Atlantic soul sounds, big-city funk, and bar band rock-and-roll."[13]

The Globe and Mail commended "the winning confidence, the cool reserve, the sense of pure style and the respectful curiosity about the blues tradition."[14] The Toronto Star thought that "even as a young and impressionable guitarist, Cray had amazing strength and versatility, and no appreciation of his work would be complete without this excellent album."[15]

The Rough Guide to Rock deemed the album "raw and teeming with promise."[6]

Track listing

Personnel

• Robert Cray - Guitar, Vocals
• Richard Cousins - Bass
• Nathaniel Dove - Keyboards
• Buster B. Jones - Drums
• Tom Murphy - Drums
• Dave Olson - Drums
• Curtis Salgado - Harmonica, Vocals
• Nolan Andrew Smith - Trumpet
• David Li - Tenor Saxophone
• Bruce Bromberg - Producer
• Dave Stewart - Producer
• Dennis Walker - Bass, Producer
• Dave Crawford - Engineer
• Bill Dashiell - Engineer

References