#31 Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music by Ray Charles

Well Mr. Charles, so we meet again and for the final time. Maybe this time it shall be under more felicitous circumstances where your hat is not as large as your belt. If you are unaware of what I am talking about then I redirect your attention to my review of The Genius Of Ray Charles where I took great umbrage with the rather liberal use of the word genius. This time however his album sports the far more acceptable title of Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, so let’s see whether this album does exactly what it says on the tin.

The concept of this album is indeed a fascinating one for the realm of country music is still basically a whites-only club. Try to name a successful black country musician, I guarantee that it is not an easy task. So, back in the sixties this was definitely a great undertaking. That is not to say that any of these songs sound remotely country in anyway, because they don’t. Instead what Ray Charles has taken all the cards and then stacked them in his favour by changing the arrangements of these songs to suit how he plays. So instead we have the lavish fifties style production mixed in with blues and jazz. Interesting to note though is the use of Modern Sounds in the title when in fact songs like Born To Lose and Worried Mind have production values that would not sound out of place in the Bambi soundtrack.

It is interesting how some songs contain elements that echo songs that are to come on this list, with Aretha Franklin, Ute Lemper and Rufus Wainwright immediately coming to mind. So there is no question of how influential as an artist Ray Charles was. The songs themselves are also wide ranging withing the scope of jazz and blues an amazing danceable start in the form of Bye Bye Love, or the sumptuous strings in You Win Again. As albums go this is, at least to me, a far better offering than The Genius of Ray Charles. While this may not be terribly consistent it is still a very good listen and earns it place here on the 1001 list not only because of it’s experimental nature but also it’s different when compared to what was around in 1962.

If you want my advice, this is the Ray Charles album you should listen to first as while it is strangely revolutionary it is also a far more gentle introduction than most of his previous offerings.

7.0/10

Fab Four:
Bye Bye Love
You Don’t Know Me
Careless Love
Hey, Good Lookin'