Personnel: Robert Cray (vocals, guitar); Jim Pugh (keyboards); Richard Cousins (bass guitar); Tony Braunagel (drums).

Audio Mixers: Don Smith ; Martin Pradler.

Recording information: Santa Barbara Sound Design, Santa Barbara, CA.

Photographer: Erika Goldring.

Because of the five-year gap between studio albums and a major overhaul of his touring and recording band, THIS TIME is being touted as the beginning of a new era in soul/bluesman Robert Cray's long career. For better or worse, that's not really the case, as this is another in a long line of classy, well- produced, and immaculately played and sung releases from the always dependable Cray. The ballads, especially the slow-burning seven-minute title track, are some of the finest he has penned, although the singer/guitarist's well-worn themes of the emotional disconnects between the sexes haven't changed. Upbeat, more lighthearted material such as the opening "Chicken in the Kitchen," the organ-led jazzy "That's What Keeps Me Rockin'," and the tough Memphis groove of "Trouble & Pain," a tune that sounds like an Otis Redding outtake, alter the generally serious mood. The same holds for the jaunty Caribbean-inflected rhythms of "To Be True." But even though this isn't much different from Cray's previous 14 studio releases, it's a consistently engaging set that will please his existing fans..