The Crave

Recording and production

Recording sessions for The Crave took place at Chapel Studios, Lincoln and 2 kHz Studios, London. The Crave was produced by Stephen Dale Petit and mixed by Jim Spencer (New Order, Johnny Marr, The Vaccines) and Ian Grimble (The Clash, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Manic Street Preachers).

Additional recording took place at British Grove Studios, Metropolis Studios, and The Smokehouse and at Petit’s home studio.

Guest appearances

Former Rolling Stone Mick Taylor features on slide guitar on "Slide". Dick Taylor of The Pretty Things and formerly of The Rolling Stones plays bass on "Need Your Love So Bad".

Keyboardist Max Middleton features on final track "Hole in My Soul".

String arrangements for The Crave were orchestrated by Chris Elliot (Amy Winehouse, David Gray, Adele).

Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood appears on album opener "3 Gunslingers" in the form of a pre-recorded answer phone message that features at the intro of the song, which was inspired by an evening in late 2009 which Petit spent with Wood and Eric Clapton driving around North London in Petit’s car. The song’s lyrics chronicle that evening.

Concept and influences

In keeping with his long-standing and well-publicised mission to incite a "New Blues Revolution", Petit has stated that his primary goal with the album was to "explore different ways of approaching and presenting the blues", and avoid re-creating stereotypes within the genre: "There are a lot of contemporary blues albums that adhere to predictable conventions: certain production values, arrangements, sonic cliches, stereotypical lyrical things and so on. I had zero interest in making an album like that… I wanted the music coming out of the speakers to sound like it was, say, 1935 or 1954 or whenever and 2010 simultaneously."

The Crave was celebrated by critics for its musical diversity. Classic Rock magazine described the album as moving "from Gospel to Punk via several shades of Boogie". Petit stated that he intended The Crave' to serve as a wide-lens view of the Blues as a genre, demonstrating its presence in a wide variety of genres and demonstrating the widespread influence of the Blues on other genres. Speaking to Classic Rock Magazine about the album's re-interpretation of Tupac Shakur's hip-hop classic "California Love", Petit said: "The hypnotic riff in California [Love] was sampled from a Joe Cocker song called 'Woman to Woman'. That riff is Deep Blues. Blues is at the core of Tupac's song. If people can't hear that… Well, you know, there were people in the 50s and 60s who said that electric blues, city blues, was not blues, thereby discounting the entire Chess Records catalogue."

Artwork

The album sleeve features a vibrant, contemporary design. Petit wanted to present the album in a way that was visually exciting, avoiding the usual presentation cliches associated with the blues genre: "I wanted to push boundaries and get up [blues] purist’s noses because if purists have it their way, the music goes nowhere. It just dies."

The cover was designed by award winning multi-media artist Oli Max. The remainder of the album’s artwork and packaging were designed by Monosapien and Olimax.

Critical reception

The album marked an expansion of critical recognition from blues-centric publications into the mainstream press for Petit and his music. Upon the album’s release, Petit was featured in The Times, MOJO, The Independent, The Sunday Times, Classic Rock and The Express, with the general consensus being that The Crave signalled his evolution and maturation as an artist. Blues Matters Magazine said: "[Petit] has expanded his playing, developed his songwriting and really delivered some fine numbers. His playing is dynamite, his vocals are exultant… This is absolutely the most personal album that has been released this year and possibly the most important – simply brilliant."

The album was listed in Classic Rock magazine’s "50 Best Albums Of The Year". "Cali Guitar Hero starts Blues Renaissance" said MOJO Magazine, continuing that "The Crave puts the blues in a contemporary context." The Times praised the album's "raw, fresh energy" and The Sunday Times Culture Magazine ran a lengthy feature on Petit and The Crave. The Sunday Mirror called Petit "a guitar sensation" and Time Out London labelled him a "new blues revolutionary".

The Crave also received widespread positive reviews online. Loudhorizon.com wrote: "The Crave is a seventeen track masterpiece. This album should see Petit vie for King of the Blues title." BRFM.com likened The Crave to seminal album London Calling by The Clash: "[The Crave is] Fabulous. The mastery of styles had me thinking of London Calling by The Clash. By the time the last song finishes all you can do is hit repeat."

Track listing

All songs were written by Stephen Dale Petit, except where noted.

1. "3 Gunslingers" – 3:49
2. "California" (Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, Roger Troutman, Woodrow Cunningham Norman Durham) – 4:10
3. "Let There Be More Light" (SDP, Chris Elliott) – 6:11
4. "Gun Song" – 5:09
5. "Soul Survivor" (SDP, Chris Borud, Gary O' Toole) – 4:23
6. "Need Your Love So Bad" (Mertis John Jr) – 5:08
7. "Judgement Day" – 1:42
8. "Cross Road Blues" (Robert Johnson) – 4:19
9. "Open" – 3:02
10. "The Crave" (SDP, Laurent Mouflier, Chris Belshaw, Federico Ariano) – 5:17
11. "Lookin' For Trouble" – 2:33
12. "Slide" (SDP, Gary O' Toole) – 3:50
13. "As The Years Go Passing By" (Deadric Malone) – 3:47
14. "Sunnyland Stomp" – 1:11
15. "It's All Good" – 2:59
16. "Voodoo Lover" – 5:01
17. "Hole In My Soul" – 7:58

Personnel

Additional musicians