IN BRIEF: : <i> Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to five (a classic). : </i>

*** Robert Cray Band, “Midnight Stroll,” Mercury. A stinging guitarist, a smokin’ vocalist, a true brown-eyed handsome man, young Cray revamps his band, adds the semi-legendary Memphis Horns and checks in to the Cheatin’ Place with yet another solid album of nether soul noir blues. “The Forecast (Calls for Pain)” and the title track--with its inside aside about “Howlin’ Wolf on the radio”--are the standout songs, but Cray’s sinewy, Sam Cooke-in’ vocals cut through the now-familiar shadowy ambience like the light reflecting off a freshly drawn knife.