11. The Genius of Ray Charles - Ray Charles.

I know very little about Ray Charles, except that he was blind, and played the piano. I guess I need to watch that biopic about his life. A quick Wikipedia check reveals Ray received some impressive kudos;  Billy Joel allegedly said that he was more important than Elvis, and Frank Sinatra allegedly said that Charles was the only true genius in the business. That is high praise from some influential folks!

 So this particular Ray Charles album was a departure from his earlier recordings, in that he went away from the soul sound he had helped to pioneer, and went for a big band sound on side one, and a selection of ballads on side two. Indeed, I was quite puzzled to find that the opening track was a big band track. I was expecting more of a Little Richard vibe. I was completely wrong. The comparison that I made earlier regarding how Little Richard was just a little bit more exciting than Elvis on their respective recordings of Tutti Frutti came to mind. Charles is as good as Sinatra, who as far as I am concerned is the master of the big band sound. He is maybe even better, as his delivery seems to have more depth to it. There is just a little bit more feeling, a little more soul to his singing, and it is very easy to listen to. 

 The second side is mostly strings, and Charles delivers a ballad as well as anyone. The best track on the album for my money is "Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying". The piano riffs are gorgeous, just enough to give it that spice, and Ray's voice is intriguing as it cracks a little one second and then is clear as a bell the next. The strings nicely get out of the way and just create a backdrop for Mr. Charles to put a very laid back, yet effective verbal smackdown on some woman who treated him wrong. "Daddy's done turned salty..."

 The whole album is quite listenable, and the segue from big band to strings is seamless; it all flows together nicely. I did read a criticism of the recording that it did not translate very well to the digital medium. I'll defer to that judgement and pick it up if I ever see it in the vinyl bin. 

 Rolling Stone ranked this one at 263 on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.


Buy it here.

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