#20 The Genius Of Ray Charles by Ray Charles

I do believe that my first exposure to Ray Charles was when I was much younger and he appeared on Sesame Street. I don’t remember in what capacity it was but for some reason that particular pairing was the first that cropped up when I was looking up this album on Spotify. So yea, I did not exactly have the most normal first exposure to Ray Charles but it was definitely a happy one… even if Channel 4, to my shock and dismay, no longer show Sesame Street. Even if they did contribute to my phobia of broccoli.



Anyway, back to the topic at hand.

When you release an album with the precursor The Genius Of… you need to have some stones as if it turned out to be a bit of a duff album you would end up as a laughing stock crying into your piano. But don’t worry then-wunderkind Quincy Jones is in charge of the song arrangement so all should indeed be well. So what do we have here:

Revolutionary Album? Check
More Jazz? Check
Rhythm and Blues? Check
Another of these revolutionary albums that leaves me cold? Checkaroonie.

Much like the case of The ‘Chirping’ Crickets’ this is just an album that just doesn’t capture my imagination that much. It’s ok as background music but the moment you bring your head back up to listen to the music and it appears that not much has really happened since you last took notice.

Also one thing that I guess has been lost since vinyl was ceremoniously left behind in favour of cassettes and discs is the whole flipping of the record. That is something that would have worked well here with one side being mostly ballads and the other being more up beat and jazzy. When just listening to it in one uninterrupted run (excluding adverts) it feels that instead of two clear sides it is more like the car has made a sudden detour en route to the Sherbet factory to take a sleep under the nearest tree. Weird analogy I know but that’s what this album made me envisage.

Don’t get me wrong, there are a few good songs dotted here and there, such as Let The Good Times Roll and 'Deed I Do, but for an album with the audacity to be labelled as the work of a genius it just falls a bit flat for me.

5.5/10

Fab Four:
Let The Good Times Roll
‘Deed I Do
Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Cryin’
Come Rain or Come Shine