The Genius Of Ray Charles

Not for me

Bit pretentious to call yourself a genius in your own album, but I respect it. First half is big band music, second half is orchestral. Music was kind of boring to me, but he has a great voice and the album is well composed. Favorite Track: Alexander's Ragtime Band

I prefer rollicking and fun Ray Charles to ballad singing Ray Charles. The first song on the album is amazing but then it goes to snoozetown and never returns.

Like jazz, not a bad artist. Just to old of taste for me.

Not for me. Kinda basic.

I really appreciate what Ray Charles did for soul music, and music in-general. I don't think this is the best album to represent his music. I think the big band backing takes away from him, as they seem to be the focal point of the record. It would be better if it was just Ray and his piano.

I mean it's pleasant to listen to, but after finishing it, I realised how there's nothing really memorable on this album, at least for me. I feel like it lacks of highlights. Great performances overall, and I like his voice. Sadly I'm also not a big fan of the scratchy production. Best song: Let the Good Times Roll

Ray Charles es un gran intérprete pero el disco es un rollo patatero de standards jazz-pop. En la primera cara aparece acompañado por una big band que suena a rayos y la segunda son una serie de baladas bañadas en melosos arreglos orquestales, pero que resulta más tolerable porque en ellas se aprecia mejor la voz y el piano de Charles.

Rating: 2.5

Not really my kind of thing but still good!

Think I just don't like big band stuff. First track was alright, Ray shone through and made it his own. Second track though, along with most of the rest of the album, felt too much like he was being told to try and emulate Sinatra, which is never a good thing. No need to listen to that again.

Smooth but not my cup of tea unless I saw it live

I like Ray Charles, i don’t like big band arrangements. They’re too coordinated. I prefer music to be more loose, especially jazz sounds.

Más o menos entretenido, pero no le he prestado atención. Supongo que darle 2 estrellas es justo por el interés que me ha producido. Buena calidad en el sonido. En este disco solo había una de las canciones más escuchadas de él así que tendré que buscar si hay algo que le haga más justicia.

Was okay but after a while it all sounded like the same

Understand why it can be seen as a timeless classic by jazz fans, but it's not for me.

Interesting to hear the blending old Big Band with R&B stuff. Decent throughout, sadly marred by the likes of Jools Holland pushing his honky tonk stylings on everyone.

Makes for nice background music, but not many noteworthy tracks on this one

His voice was unmistakable. Though I find the arrangements on the record overly bombastic, his voice makes it. I'd love to hear these pared down a bit. We're all here to hear Ray. don't make us wait.

Kinda boring but probably a great album if you're a big Ray Charles head

Jotain neroutta tuolla taustalla on, kun on niin smoothia. Mutta taustaksi menee

Pari hyvää tulkintaa, jotka voisin jatkossakin soittaa. Tuotanto on kuitenkin korvat tappavan hirvittävä (yleensä PIDÄN 50-lukulaisesta kämäisyydestä), ja valtaosa biisivalinnoista oman aikansa tusinamateriaalia.

There’s no denying Ray Charles has a timeless voice and makes some beautiful music. There’s some great songs on here. A lot of it sounds pretty dated (understandably so) and I can only listen to so much of that before it gets stale. Most of it, while good sounding music, was just un memorable to me. Don’t want to take anything away from Ray Charles though, he has some bangers and a pretty crazy life. Bright spot: Don’t let the sun

Iets te big band en jaren 50 voor mij

This is a record where the hallmarks of Ray Charles - the funky piano-playing and up-tempo gospel/swing/R&B/soul - is completely lacking. The result is a snooze fest through and through. Why is this one of only two Ray Charles albums on the list?

Oh no.. Ray Charles, an RnB genious for sure, but not on this album, where he is loosing it. Very boring and disappointing

You can hear the quality but it is totally not my style.

En osu oikeaan kohdeyleisöön. Taustamusaa.

não é meu estilo - basicamente é o tipo de música que vem na minha cabeça quando penso em um lobby/bar de hotel rico, conseguiria apreciar a música em um ambiente desses mas definitivamente não é algo que eu escutaria no meu dia a dia - Música com um feeling nostálgico/emocional, acho que é algo bom para ter como background de um evento/gathering mais chique ou escutar uma que outra música dentro de uma playlist mais diversificada.

It's fine background music. Sorry.

Not much of a jazz fan so I guess I can’t appreciate the genius of Ray Charles

A compilation of rainy weather, slow jazz, not my type of jam instrumentally.

Njae, jag vet inte....

It's OK. It's a mood. More of a "time and place" kind of record.

Big band jazz. Nice... ...for 1 song.

blasty horns made many songs unbearable for me

This is the seventh Ray Charles album since his debut album. It's a swinging pop album backed by a big band and was his first breakout away from pure rhythm and blues music. Although the production of the album was marred by low audio quality, Ray Charles makes up for it with his brash, beautiful piano playing and peppy lyrics. This was a wonderful album, but it is starting to show its age, since the recording never fully captured Ray's amazing quality.

meh, lots of horns, not really me.

Honestly solid but I'd probably never listen on my own

Old ppl music. No BOPPERS dude

Genius schmenius. An album of dull crooning of which, 5 minutes later, I can't even remember one note.

Didn't really love this one. Mostly just not my style of music. It was fine in the background, but I wouldn't listen again by choice.

beurk, too slow

Big Band does me nut in. The ballads washed over me.

not for me

Sure it’s a great example of its genre but this isn’t for me.

nok ray charles no

Meh

Meh, shmaltzy big band swing. Not a patch on Ray's small combo R&B stuff.

I'm sure this is good quality but I really don't like this style of music!

just not my kind of music. but I acknowledge it's good for what it is.

De la musique d'ascenceur, de la soul sympa à écouter en fond 2 étoiles parce que même si rien ne sort du lot, rien n'est merdique non plus

Big band 50s music , not the R&B Ray I’ve come to like .

I’m not the biggest R&B/blues fans but it was nice to hear Ray sing, he’s got a great voice. Preferred the small group pieces on this one to the big band ones.

Contains some good stuff, but I don't think an album of swing standards/crooner ballads is the best use of Ray Charles. Some of his other songs show off his voice better, and have a more distinctive musical style too. Feels like you could sub in a Sinatra or whoever onto this record and the result would be pretty similar. 2.5

MID

You don't get this in Nandos. What a fucking arrogant album title. I don't think this one was great.

Meh Charles

Good old stuff, but is it really what's best from this genre, from this artist? All I'm saying is that's a lot of brass from someone who's known for his piano playing

This album was probably a big hit when it came out, but I really have a hard time getting attached to it. Neither the voice, nor the compositions, nor the brass arrangements or the texts make me experience anything. I'm sorry, I can't pretend and give a good rating.

good but not my thing

Bit disappointed with this, was looking forward to some Ray! Mind you, I only know him from the tour de force that is The Blues Brothers so maybe my sights were aimed too high. Shame really.

Altijd gezellig onze Ray, maar na een paar nummers heb ik het wel gehoord.

Beetje ego-klopperij, om je album 'the genius of Ray Charles' te noemen. En zo tof is het nou ook weer niet.

Boring.

Way ahead of its time.

Pleasant enough but nothing grabbed me on first listen

I love Ray Charles - and kudos for this being the seventh album he put out in three years - but this album is behind it’s time. It sounds like it was recorded in the mid-40s to early 50s. I mean, he’s good - don’t get me wrong. But I don’t think this is near his best work - nor could it have been considered unique in any way at its release in 1959 or at any point since. I’ll consider this a “blip” in an otherwise awesome catalog of albums.

Straightforward big band charts. I like this better than Sinatra-style crooning, but it’s still better for background / theme music than a dedicated listen.

“The Genius of Ray Charles” by Ray Charles (1959) This album is structured not according to theme or development, but by its style of delivery; side one being ‘big band’ instrumentation (brass & saxes), while side two being more fully orchestral with strings, low woodwinds and choral backgrounds. Side one is black tie & dinner jacket; side two is white tie & tails. All of this is deployed in support of Ray Charles’ piano/vocal covers of popular tunes. It’s great music. Very listenable. But it’s not the genius of Ray Charles. The album title is marketable but misleading, in that it uses his well deserved nickname “The Genius” to denote only a small portion of his highly eclectic oeuvre. And it’s his eclecticism (blues, rock, jazz, country, swing, pop) that merits the moniker. This was clear even in 1959, by which time he was well known as a songwriter and composer. But none of the songs on this album were written, composed, or arranged by Ray Charles. The main course of side one is overpowered by the splash & bash garnish. Ray Charles’ signature ‘wandering’ approach in his vocal stylings on well-known melodies is of great interest, giving a fresh take on classics like Cahn/Jones’ “It Had to Be You” and Irving Berlin’s “Alexander’s Ragtime Band”. But the big band/swing arrangements (by others, including Quincy Jones) are simply too overwhelming. It’s like soundtrack bits to B-movies in the detective film noir mode. I don’t want to hear one more diminished chord blast by six trumpets and four trombones. It’s too much. For God’s sake, just let the man sing! The orchestral arrangements on side two (all by Ralph Burns) are not as dominant, but the switch from the bombastic to the pallid is not much of an improvement. One this side we get a better taste of the incomparable vocals of Ray Charles. His wide-ranging baritone is famously rough but expressive, slightly raspy but abundantly sensitive. The penultimate track “Am I Blue?” has the most excellent arrangement on the album, but, sadly, the weakest vocal performance. A much better example of this genre is the retro “A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night” by Harry Nilsson (1973). Ray Charles is among the giants in the history of recorded music. Would that this album had done justice to his extraordinary talent. 2/5

Not a fan at all. I am sure he is a genius, but just not my cup of tea.

I can't say I'm a fan of big band and crooning ballads, which basically describes both sides of this record. I prefer Charles' later material where he gets more rock n' roll

Sorry Ray, just can't get this crooner music. There are some really good songs.....but just not me.

Beautifully performed standards. I can appreciate them, even if they sound a bit old and tired to my ears. The kind of thing I would put on if my parents were coming round and I wanted background music.

I know that Ray Charles is idolized, but just too slow and not what I'm looking for when listening to music.

Seems wrong to not give Ray Charles a larger rating, especially as the album starts with Let The Good Times Roll which is great but after that it's just not my style. A bit too mellow and the string arrangements are for me distracting. Would probably enjoy a simpler remix of this more with emphasis on the jazz trio components. Wouldn't mind if this came on at a restaurant or party but probably would look elsewhere for different Ray.

Only half way through before fatigue set in. Ray Charles is talented for sure but it's all so samey. Feels longer than 38 minutes.

Not my general cup of tea but this actually helped a massive hangover and found it nice running in the background - unlikely to explore again though

Saved Prior: None Off Rip: Tell Me You'll Wait for Me Cutting Edge: None Overall Notes: Similar sentiment that I've had for a lot of the much older albums; good music, important music, but not my thing.

Good, but not classic.

Always got time for a bit of Ray Charles, but this album was a bit too much big band than his usual soul for me. Only so much of that sound I can take before I feel like I’m at some black tie ball full of bankers...in New York. Nice enough, and a good soundtrack to breakfast, but that’s about it.

He may deserve the genius moniker but I’m not in love with the Ray Charles Big Band sound

Undoubtedly good, but not my style and rather forgettable for me.

Not the hugest fan of this, but it was enjoyable and deserved to be on the list.

Good music, but not my specific cup of tea!

I'm not a fan of jazz.

Not for me. Too ‘big band’ for my liking. All way too happy.

Wasnt in mood for r&b

I was so bored with this.

Not my cup of tea tbh. Fav song is ‘Let the Good Times Roll’.

What an odd title. Not my preferred style of his music. Great voice but the over the top orchestration ruins it.

I'm approaching this by viewing the artist as auteur; the album as their creation. So, as well executed and enjoyable as this collection is, I'm going to have to mark it down for those reasons. For a sound that fuses so many other genres, it has to be said this bluesy big band pop sound has a very limited vocabulary. That doesn't really matter though, it is all pulled off with irresistable charismatic energy by Charles and the wealth of musicians assembled - my dad would have loved this record, I'm sure. Charles may himself be an icon, this album - for me - while fun, is not really iconic.

yawn. Sappy music

no l'he acabat d'escoltar perquè és 0 es meu rollo pero s'ha de dir que mola, es animat i molen ses composicions

38 minutes and 32 seconds of shite. Also the dude's name is Ray Charles and he named the fufcking album "The Genius Of Ray Charles"!! Fuck off you arrogant cunt!!

The big band arrangements on side A are off-putting, but the orchestral arrangements of side B suit his vocal style better. This sounds like an attempt to mold him into a standard crooner, but there are much better singers for that. I don't think we get the real Ray Charles on this record.

I was disappointed by his blues. I expected better. I guess I’m used to his older raspy voice. I don’t hear the genius in this album.

Nah

I don't care

Not my type of music

Dnf

Nicht meine Musik!

Not a massive fan of this one. Ray Charles does Frank Sinatra? No thanks. I'm not ashamed to say I listened to about 30 seconds of each song before skipping on. It's really bland.

Dimery you dumb shit. Of all the bad choices you’ve made putting this list together, could this be the most asinine? In the same month that this was released, Ray Charles also released What I’d Say, and which of those two albums did you choose to include? This album is a collection of covers, that could easily be mistaken for any 50s crooner, there’s just nothing special or unique about it. Ray’s voice is good and there’s occasional a tinkle of piano under all the horns. What I’d Say is original compositions showing his style, skill and personality in full force. I get that a lot of this stuff is personal preference, but this one feels like Dimery simply doesn’t know what the fuck he is talking about.

Didn’t realize Ray’s (early) albums were so big band sound. Kinda slow, too. Songs are very similar, no standouts. His voice is rich, but the sound is out of date and not for me. (1.4*s)

How is there already another Ray Charles album in the list? I didn't like the first one and this one is only slightly better. It doesn't age well, this big band stuff will always sound dated. Not for me.

Enjoyed more than prior Ray Charles entry. I'm more into the big band sound than his soul/R&B hits. While it started with a bang it unfortunately slowed down a lot and was pretty mundane. Not sure I would listen to this with any regularity but it serves as a better entry to 1001 than a few of the prior 50s albums. I wasn't there in the 50s but it yet again doesn't sound like anything special. 1.10 stars

Have I heard this album before? No Highlights: Rating: 3/10 I could tell from the start of the album that this one probably wouldn’t be for me. The music in the first half sounds like the introduction to an old 50s talk show. The second half was pretty boring, felt a lot of the songs were very similar.

We all know that Ray Charles is a great singer and can play fun piano. Which is why when this album instead shoves Big Band music in your face it is so perplexing. A lot of musical genres from the last century have survived and thrived after they were the most popular music of their time. Blues and Jazz musicians are still able to build a following and release good new music. Big Band is shit and always was. It is completely abandoned in the zeitgeist and for good reason. This album wastes Ray Charles's talents and is basically a Big Band cover album. A shame.

Not my cup of tea at all. Mostly ballads and slow numbers that were pretty boring and forgettable

Not my bag

Way too “Big Band” from my liking. Sounds like he was trying to be the black Lawrence Welk with this one. There’s no energy to this music. Definitely not my thing.

I’m not really into blues, didn’t love this.

Not good

Damn, he can't see the bullshit like Tokyo’s Revenge. My jaw stuck from yawning and this music wasn't worth it

I don’t like his voice.

Too sentimental to my taste. Seams like a one track minded recording. Did not age well

I’m bored

IDK, not even listen

No

sick

I remember ray charles because when I was a child saw his movie

yeahhh