#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'

#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