Reviews (page 8 of 13)
Surprised by this. Really nice and mellow tunes
Feels very New York Christmas. Very cool and boozy
Quintessential example of Big Band music although the recording quality is really poor. Very sudden but welcome transition to ballads in the second half.
Really smooth album to listen to, amazing vocals, happily have it on as background music whenever. Solid 4/5
I enjoyed this, though it does get a bit samey after a while. Absolute legend though, and makes me imagine being at a big party in the 60s. Feels weird not to give him 5/5 but there we go
Never heard anything but his huge hits and the songs from the movie. Enjoyed this album a lot.
Loved the big band stuff from the first half, and the ballads were really nice as well. Favorites: Let the Good Times Roll, It Had to Be You, Am I Blue
great album
I like the rock/blues vocals over the Lawrence Welk arrangements. Ha. I really mean that as a compliment. How can a person hear this and not love it. I'm giving it a 4/5 because being a teen in 1959 would have been awful without music like this. Hold on kids, 1964 is just a few short years away and you'll be in college, better understood, and very stoned soon...
fínt
Silky smooth voice. Soaring instrumentals. I have a very specific love of Ray Charles that is entirely cultivated from the film soundtrack. This doesn't have most of my faves on it, but it's a good place for me to start delving deeper. Some wonderful moments in here. You won't let me go and Am I Blue really got me weeping invisible but very real tears.
A real RAY of sunshine. It’s just delightful, effortless, blissful, and makes me wonder why I’ve not given Ray Charles more than a cursory look before.
4.5 - I feel like I'm enjoying Sunday brunch at a medium upscale restaurant on a sunny day, waiting in relaxed anticipation of that first cocktail. This record starts with peppy big band tracks and then gradually mellows into tender ballads. Ray Charles' voice sounds like gravelly honey.
Gute Platte.
Pretty fun!! Cool arrangements and Ray Charles’s voice and performances are so iconic. Still, a lot of these tunes fell kind of flat for me, but that might’ve been bc I was listening in the car on crappy earbuds. 7/10
Okay, a little boring. 7
8/10. Enjoyable, quick songs. Rather samey, but doesn't drag on.
Fun to listen to but the last couple songs got slow. Also there are some production issues that are a product of time. 7/10
Genius!
First album here. This was a good album. Wasn't anything super special, just a solid blues album. The audio quality was surprisingly good for an album from 1959. 3.7/5
Great one, very solid recording, that production is just amazing!
Nice to hear, what a voice! Lots of good songs. Some of the content of his songs haven't aged very well but these are pretty good for the most part.
I love Ray Charles and was obsessed with him for awhile. I love his phrasing on nearly everything. His music is like a comfort food to me. The Atlantic years are definitely my favorite period but the recording on this album is kinda harsh, especially when listened to on headphones. Wish I had this on vinyl. Definitely prefer side B with the more low key arrangements that allow you to hear his piano playing more clearly. Kinda wish the whole album was in that more restrained style but "Let The Good Times Roll" from Side A really swings.
What a joy! Just right up my alley. When you think of the ten most known Ray Charles songs, I'm guessing not a one of them are included on this album. And yet this comes as close to a perfect Ray Charles album as you're going to find, especially from this era. I expected to hear Ol' Ray's version of "Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" to be the one I only knew by Gerry and the Pacemakers, so this version was new to me. I'm sure Ray would have nailed that version, too. Look, it goes without saying Ray's a legend and both albums on this list deserve placement in the upper echelon. But after hearing Ray's version of "Come Rain Or Come Shine", I have a hot take. I prefer Don Henley's version. If you knew my appreciation of Henley's work that wouldn't be surprising at all. I could listen to Don Henley and Ray Charles sing the phone book.
Amazing album!
For an album this old, the recording quality is very surprising. The horns at times can sound a little squished, but the mix is actually quite nice with nothing mixed too low. I've never been well versed in music before about the 70's, but this album makes me want to change that. The Genius of Ray Charles was much more enjoyable than I expected; however, I much prefer the first half to the second. Highlights: 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, and 12.
Won a game of tft to this :)
Wonderful to hear Ray with a full orchestra! A legend
Holy horns, Ray! The production on this record really elevates these songs. I felt like reaching for my non-existent Old Fashioned the second "Let the Good Times Roll" started playing. Even if Ray Charles has objectively better songs from different albums, the first half of this record put a smile on my face. The latter half is mostly slowed down piano ballads, but honestly, he earned it. Time to dive deeper into Ray's lengthy discography. 3.5/5 Fav Tracks: Just For A Thrill, Let the Good Times Roll, Come Rain or Come Shine
A compelling mix of late period big band and piano ballads tied together by Ray Charles' soulful delivery. Not everything lands perfectly, but it leaves a warm impression. Ultimately, I think some of his strongest work is elsewhere. Rating: 3.5/5 Favourite tracks: Let the Good Times Roll, Come Rain or Come Shine
Storbandsjazz. Rätt bra.
Mooi.
Goeie uptempo bigband muziek
Really enjoyed this, definitely deserves the acclaim
Jazzy
This was a good one. All classic songs and very mellow as we read our books before bed. ****
A high 3 from me, rounded up to a 4. Love Ray Charles, but would've preferred a more soul album than the one we got. A sign of the times, but wish the album was longer too.
I respect him
4/5
Gut
tres bon musicien inspiré mais encore pas le bon album ma préferé hit the road jack
Good old Ray. I’d heard some of these before. Others are new. I like how the album was arranged, A side having different instrumentation from the B side. Great listening for a Sunday morning
Great jazzy/R&B/big band music from a legend
extremely good
Classic. Good stuff.
Not something I would typically listen to, but I really enjoyed this. 3.5 stars.
Genius. Most of them.
Just a phenomenal talent and Ray shines on this release. True legend, true genius.
The music is great, but my goodness this album is abysmally recorded.
8
Production: 11/20 Songwriting: 15/20 Innovation: 10/20 Bangers: 20/20 Emotional response: 16/20 =72 Lovely stuff
Another “let the good times roll”. Listened twice.
Good sample opportunities...should resisten
Swing
I have had friends who are really into Tom Waits but my only exposure to him was Step Right Up. Sexy, jazzy,
Classic Ray!
Not as prolific of an album I’d thought it would be but Ray can still knock em down
good
the "I'm gonna pretend I didn't see that" guy ray charles is good. great selection this week again so far
Great album. Preferred the back half of more piano-based ballads to the first brass band stuff
I recognize the genius of Ray Charles- but personally I've never been a huge fan of loud horns, big band style music. Four stars for being a building block of popular music just not really my thing
A lot better than expected. I went into this with some preconceived notions, unfortunately, but I still enjoyed most of the album. The ballads are definitely better than the uptempo.
1959. Key Songs: It Had to Be You, Am I Blue, Alexander's Ragtime Band
BENE DAI CI VEDIAMO ALLA PROSSIMA SALUTAMI LA FAMIGLIA. COME AL SOLITO PER QUESTO GENERE L’ASCOLTO È SEMPLICE E IMMEDIATO, PUR NON LASCIANDO UN SEGNO PROFONDO. 3/5
6.0/10
One of those albums I find near impossible to rate. Its the classic conflict of thinking its musically great while having an aversion to its style. I dont even find it annoying as such just find it jolts me along which is a problem. Like a radio that just wont quite come into tune. I mush through a ballard and smash through the bright overly excited Jazz sections. I dont know what to say or how to explain it. Sorry will cop out on this one. I suspect its a band / sound of times past and that time is not now (least to me).
Some good old crooning
Perfectly fine album. Pretty sad, pretty jazzy.
Jazzier than I expected!
encore une fois en plein session tricotage, c’était cool, toujours moins fan de jazz (la honte) mais my bad, je crois que ça me touche pas tant
(2/1089) I don't like the distorted horns in the first half of the album. I liked the second half better. All the songs are simple and the performance is good, but sometimes I was bored. Favorite: Just for a Thrill, Come Rain or Come Shine Least favorite: When Your Lover Has Gone 5/10
Can’t go wrong with Ray Charles. Unfortunately, most of the album didn’t stand out to me, except for 3 stellar tracks. Top tracks: Let the Good Times Roll, Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Cryin’, Come Rain or Come Shine
First and last track amazing
превосходные простые песни НЕВЕРОЯТНО приятный инструментал, так красиво и мощно мне по ушам еще не били я это однозначно буду переслушивать и мерить по этому похожие работы 3.5
Egentlig god, selv uden noget som helst, jeg kendte på forhånd. Men det ender med at trække ned, at jeg simpelthen forbinder koret i mange af de sidste sange med Disneys Juleshow. Det blev lidt noget følelsesmæssigt rod.
1950s orchestral-type arrangements aren’t for me, so some of this was a slog. But the sax and Charles’ singing and piano on many of these tracks managed to wake me back up again.
I like Ray Charles and I enjoy a lot of his songs but I'm not sure I enjoy them as much in an album. 3.5
Old-timey big band. Trumpets, strings, old standards. Pretty, but not really my jam.
The first half is some big band jazz, which is fine. The second half is some crooning, which is fine. Overall, it's fine.
He has a beautiful voice. And I enjoyed this, the big band parts a bit more than the piano ballady parts to be fair. I will happily listen to a Ray Charles song if it comes on the radio. However, I find it hard to get truly excited about any of this. It's obviously quality. He obviously was a genius in his genre. But it's not a genre that makes my heart sing. So its getting a 'its perfectly fine': 3/5
This was pleasant enough but I would have thought Ray Charles' other iconic albums would be included on this list instead. This is not representative of what his music is best known for.
JAZZ stomping my foot
Muziek die meer dan 65 jaar oud is, daar moet ik toch vaak even zin voor maken. Of in ieder geval geen tegenzin. Want Ray Charles is ondanks naam en faam inmiddels wel enigszins gedateerd te noemen. Ik stel me hier toch altijd van die ouderwetse grote diners in Amerika voor, uit de tijden van de ouderwetse Italiaanse mafia. Dat beeld wordt vast versterkt omdat ik momenteel een gangsterserie aan het bekijken ben. We krijgen dan ook jazzy muziek te horen, met een blik (soms schelle) toeters. Ik hoor weinig van de piano door die bigband, maar Ray is uiteraard wel te horen. En gelukkig is hij redelijk in vorm. Op het eind wordt het wel wat gezapig met van die trage crooners. Dat vind ik toch niet de kracht van Ray Charles, dat mag wat meer energie uitstralen. De vorige keer gaf ik een 2, ik zal dit keer een 3 geven. Maar het had ook andersom kunnen zijn. En ik ben nog steeds erg mild hier.
Frank Sinatra once called Ray Charles the only genius in show business. Ray didn't shy away from the label — in fact, the word "genius" appears in the titles of no fewer than six of his albums. The tradition began with this record; though, to be honest, I struggle to see what exactly is so "genius" about it. Ray Charles is undoubtedly a master of the genre — he’s practically responsible for the birth of several new ones, after all — but here we hear fairly standard (albeit decent) big-band jazz alongside lyrical piano ballads (there’s a clear divide: the first side of the record is livelier, the second more laid-back). As was the norm back then, every track is a standard; there are no original compositions whatsoever. Still, the album isn't bad — especially if you listen while imagining yourself sitting in an old cabaret or casino.
Dinner party music
Back half is where its at
Nice solid album with some great horn sections, while also having many laidback pieces to complement
Sounds almost like proto-hair metal
I always enjoy stuff like this when it comes on, especially Ray Charles. Again, I'll probably never reach for this on my own, but i do enjoy being exposed to it.
nice but not my thing
Good individual songs, together as an album a bit of a confusing listening experience - one song is peaceful and the next will be brash a loud. It doesn’t feel like an album I could put on and relax to, because if it’s a relaxing evening I’ll love the quieter songs but then the louder pieces will be jarring. Vice versa - also not something I’d put on if I’m in an upbeat mood because of the mix of tracks. Love Ray Charles though. 6/10
Good
It's kind of disappointing that the two Ray Charles albums I've had so far are not what I consider his best. I love his debut and question why it isn't on this list. I want to rate his music higher. It's definitely not bad, though. Very easy to listen to and enjoyable.
#438 Quite enjoyed this, probably more as it went on. The quality and talent is undeniable and he probably justifies that album title. I can’t imagine I’d seek this out again but it does feel like essential listening. Heard before? ❌ Would I revisit?❓ Listen before you die? ✅ Fave track(s): Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying Rating: 6/10 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
favs: let the good times roll it had to be you when your lover has gone don’t let the sun catch you cryin’ am i blue come rain or come shine rating 2.5/5
Nice and mellow
A good listen overall.
Good
A little too much jazz standards and not enough R&B Ray.
a really smooth and pleasant listen. Ray has a great voice and the instrumentals never disappointed. i would say there are no bad songs on this album but some do blend together quite a bit. but there was no moment where i wasn't vibing. it feels kind of simple but it just works. best songs: "Am I Blue"
Helt ok! Är inte överdrivet förtjust i storbandsmusik men det funkar ok här. Inte det mest fantastiska jag hört och jag gillar annat av Ray Charles mer. En stabil 3a ändå.
Not much variation, sorry Ray
Solid. What a voice.
Great voice, passionate delivery, obviously great playing. I enjoyed the album, even if I am not a huge fan of the genre.
I don’t have a problem with Ray being on this list.
Cool 50s pop
I like this challenge, because its empowers me to listen to new albums and genres that I otherwise never cared to. Will i revisit this often? Probably not, but I admire the talent, and the instrumentation that went into this album. I didn't have a hard time getting through this, Ray Charles is 1 of a kind. 3/5
It was good, as you'd expect, but I think the other entry was better.
mid 3.5
First song was a banger, last half of the album was a little slow but overall it was way more enjoyable than I thought it would be going in what else do you want me to say 3/5
Fun and jazzy, good vibes
좋긴 한데 계속 듣다 보면 집 가고 싶은데 할배가 노래방에서 노래 계속하는 기분
Not the Charles I like but good
Lovely. Solid. Bang in the middle. 2.5
funner than the country and western.
tetszett főleg a hangzása, viszont a végére egy kicsit már túl hasonló volt számomra (3)
Eh, one of those that I don't really need to listen to much of. Fine enough. Old school swinging pop. Good, nothing I'd choose.
The album's name is appropriate, considering Ray Charles was a musical genius. This is more big-band, swing style jazz than people expect if all they've heard are his standard hits. And if you're not into big band, you're not going to enjoy this album.
bra men också lite tråkigt?
The 2nd half of the record is better than the first. The first part's not bad, but the sound gets a bit repetitive at some point.
This was fine and an easy listen. I'm ok with just the hits from Ray.
Moving in
#227/1001 🇺🇸 🕶 Much preferred the second side. The ballads really showcase Charles' voice opposed the brasher big band tracks which make up side A. Best tracks: Tell Me You'll Wait For Me, Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying, Come Rain or Come Shine.
I'm not saying he wasn't a genius, in fact I am sure that he was! And in the 50s too, this was really it! The height of cutting edge! Also it goes without saying that there is monumental importance to the Black musicians of this time and their endless influence on all contemporary music. That being said, this kind of croony, big band kinda sound just isn't my vibe and that's okay.
idk why but I kinda thought Ray Charles was a bit edgier than this? Compared to the other really old soul and rock n roll stuff this lacking that manic edge that a lot of the others had. It's obviously very nice to listen to and all that, not saying it's bad, just not grabbing me
Second Ray Charles album. Preferred the first but this is pleasant enough.
Pretty good album, while blues isn't in my regular listening I did enjoy this album
Great album. But not my kind of sound. I don’t live in New York and visit jazz bars and drink whiskeys and smoke cigars. I assume this type of music is for that type of crowd.
Just like Alice in Chains’ “Them Bones” and James Brown's “I Got You (I Feel Good)”, Ray Charles' “Let the Good Times Roll” is one of the great jump-scare openers. After a couple of seconds of silence, that horn suddenly blares in your ear, leaning you covered in the coffee that you were about to drink. After you've recovered, it's of course very enjoyable. Everything that Ray Charles does is. His bluesy piano twinkles as the big band fills the gaps between his raspy, frenetic singing. His voice is absolutely fantastic. Not only does he somehow hold a note absolutely perfectly while dissolving into a full-on shriek, but he injects so much energy into everything with his singing. It's impossible not to be in a good mood just from listening. Unfortunately, for a good half of this album, he moves away from that winning formula into a more Sinatra-esque take on slower numbers. Which is fine and still very enjoyable overall, and it does show another aspect of his incredible voice. But it's not what I come to Ray Charles for.
Good listen
Ray is a one-of-a-kind talent!
Pretty good for a blind dude
i get it but not for me
70
Have to listen it again
An even mix of upbeat big band and slower ballads. Perfectly competent and then some, as Ray Charles always was. Kind of wish this particular album focused on just one of the above genres/styles, though. The latter half was definitely stronger in my opinion.
Me gustaría escucharlo un día en el mood adecuado, siento que podría estar muy bueno. Lindo, agradable. No sé si estoy para un álbum entero de esto, pero a la vez es corto. Bancamos.
08/07 Not bad, but not into big band music
Let the Good Times Roll had me at the horns intro. And then it got all bluesy and slower than I generally like. Happy to have no misogyny and violence, but it's a bit out of my comfortable listening zone. Ray Charles was genius in his time. 3 stars I think.
Beautiful but so, so boring and sad.
I’m not a fan of the “big-band” stuff and I think Charles’ voice is iffy at times but some stuff was pretty good. Am I Blue and other more melancholy songs were pretty good and I added one or two to my library.
Ray Charles showing off his vocal skills here. Still a little overproduced, over-orchestrated. Let the man cook!!! He is at his most comfortable on the straight 12-bar blues. More of that, more R & B. Surprising to see how high the rating is for this on here. Like a cold glass of water on a hot day, really refreshing.
didn't finish it but I liked it
I'm familiar with Ray Charles - but only a little bit. I currently have 5 songs liked by him on Spotify, and it looks like none of them are from this album. This is very "big band"-ish. Much more than I was expecting from knowing a few other Ray Charles songs. More like Frank Sinatra stuff. Ok, I see the first half is more big band style and the 2nd half is more strings/orchestra style. Ray Charles has a great voice. I think I like his more R&B style songs like "What'd I Say" - which looks like it was released the same year as this album (1959). But some of this is pretty good and started to grab me after a few listens. I ended up liking 6 songs - "Let The Good Times Roll", "It Had To Be You", "Just For A Thrill", "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin'", "Am I Blue", "Come Rain or Shine" Glad I got a chance to listen to this - as I have now added 6 more "new to me" songs to my Spotify collection. Liked songs on Spotify: 6/12 Rating: 3/5
Deilig gammel blues og jazz!
just for a thrillいいです パッパァーーみたいなやつ多くて、そういうジャンルなんだなと思いました。 あんまり刺さんなかったです。 ゆっくりのパートはいいと思うけれど急にパッパーーみたいなの来てびっくりするんですよね 後半でそれが少なかったのでよかったです
האלבום טוב עם המון שירים אייקונים שתכירו גם אם לא שמעתם אותם פר סיי. שירים שכיף לשמוע אם כי מרגיש לעיתיםד רפיטטבי ומוגזם עם כל החצוצרות אבל זה הז'אנר לא באנו לשנות היסטוריה השירים מרגישים כאילו משם הוציא את הנדוש
Perfectly decent music. Good to have on in the background.
Enjoyed the jazzier stuff to the Big Band style tunes at the start. Immense talent, not really for me.
Is it blues? Is it soul? Is it jazz? I don’t know. The ambiguity (perhaps caused more by my ignorance than by any real characteristic of the music itself) makes for an interesting listening experience. Probably won’t make it into my heavy rotation but definitely into my dinner playlist.
Hit the road, Jack! Bueno, este disco no es de esa canción pero igual vale la pena recordarla.
Well...this is obvioulsy good. However, I find it hard to rate this very high. It is good, but I"m not a big fan. Overall, I tend to prefer the more stripped down songs rather than the ones with a big band.
Not nearly as good as Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music
Des standards jazz interprétés sans grande saveur. Ça me fait penser à du Sinatra, et bien franchement, je ne suis pas vraiment emballé par ce style/époque.
I mean it’s right there in the title
Me parecio un album muy tranquilo, muy bueno, muy relajado primera vez que escucho ese genero y me gusto la serenidad que trasmite
Not too bad. I enjoyed the ballad filled second side a lot more than the first side
Nice. Not my favourite Ray Charles era but nice 3.4
Even Ray Charles can see that this isn't even Ray Charles' best work. Just other people's song sung wonderfully & soulfully by Ray. It's disappointing because it's not as fun or joyous as his later hits. Him & his piano with some back up singers are what I prefer when I think of Ray Charles. This is not the right one, baby! Nuh- Uh. 3
Du Ray Charles, grande voix mais j'écouterais pas tous les jours
A very good album, just not my cup of tea
Undeniable talent on display here but I think it fits the same bill as the Buck Owens album. Always happy to listen, but might not be my first choice.
First time I've ever listened to a Ray Charles album, and well... it was a pleasure! Love it front to back!
It's a Ray Charles album.
It was pleasant enough and he has a good voice
I'm really lost for something to say here and I can't tell if this is burnout or just a general disinterest in the record beyond its passable listenability; it's pleasant. That's the best thing I can give it. Probably could've died without hearing this one. Recording quality is pretty great for the 50s though.
I guess Ray Charles just isn’t really one of my guys. I don’t know why. Life is a mystery
I mean, the guy’s legendary. What a voice! Hard to hate any of this, although I think I prefer the slower second side.
cool but not it for me
Ray Charles is an odd one for me. This album came out in ‘59 in one of jazz’s greatest years ever. But odd as it may sound, I wish there was more Ray Charles on this Ray Charles record. Hot take but a few tracks have him mixed way lower than he deserves for a solo album. Not my style of big band jazz, but it’s certainly good.
Kinda surprised Ray didn’t write any of these tracks. Nice arrangements, wild stereo separation, but just decent overall.
Album très dur à juger, à ce stade c’est de la paléontologie Je peux pas faire sembler de trouver ça danser ou stimulant, c’est juste plus d’actualité Quand même, la voix et le charisme de Ray Charles me sont toujours très agréables et les instruments restent superbes Bon en fait l’écoute est agréable. Tell me you’ll wait for me ! Am i blue ! Et come rain or come shine ! Chapeau l’artiste, pour avoir réussi à m’intéresser. Je pense préférer la seconde moitié 7/10
good ol' jazz.
Bien
Nice, won’t remember in a day or two though…
The music is nice but it's honestly a little hard for me to tell how much of a genius Ray Charles is when I can't really tell most big band music apart
The front half is fun, even if the recording quality isn’t great. The second half kind of lost me with one ballad after another.
Cozy and warm
1 and 3 bangers
This album is a good one! "Alexander's ragtime band" it's a funny song.
Chill to listen to, would listen again if in the mood for this type of thing.
This album really felt like one big performance from start to finish. The big band elevated it a lot and the outcome shines bright. The voice of Ray Charles is pretty impressive as well. Not so much in terms of the tones he hits, but in his firm delivery. It was a fun listen but I feel as if the songs would have stood out a bit more if more distinct ideas had been incorporated. Right now the same idea is being repeated over and over. It is a well-developed one but I would have loved to hear more variations of it. I liked "Let The Good Times Roll" and "Am I Blue".
Didn’t really grab me
Ray Charles’ voice is divine. The rest of just okay, but I got a bit bored with it.
Genial finde ich etwas hoch gegriffen, aber schon gut über weite Teile.
Nett.
Sure, it’s fine. Horns are mixed sooo loud on some songs, goddamn.
i would definitely give this 3 stars. I do find it quite good and the beat is honestly quite vibey but not something I would listen to often.
Third week into this. Let’s get jazzy and blue-y with it. I liked this. Obviously it’s iconic work that has stood the test of time and its influence is undeniable. BUT it did get a bit too repetitive for something titled ‘The Genius of Ray Charles’. —Poem— silhouettes of stripped back dark warmth and bright voids past-radio tones glimmering from the roofs to bright reflections bouncing off the busts on which they skewed scents caressing cheeks lightly pre- stains of the lips this invite is without close the answer is waiting at yours
RATING: 7.5/10 HIGHLIGHT: Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Cryin’ LOWLIGHT: When Your Lover Has Gone
Why they gotta put all the upbeat songs on side a and all the ballads on side b? They're both good, but mix it up.
Not my style
Peaceful as fuck
Сборник песен
Back to the 50s for this one! Let the good times roll started with a bombastic horn entrance which, unsurprisingly, I thought was awesome. It had to be you was alright. It was more of what I expected out of this album, but I was slightly disappointed after enjoying the first track so much. I felt like I could totally swing dance to Alexander’s Loblaw Band. Your lover has gone was actually quite a good listen. Deed I do was upbeat and funky. I liked the piano in just for a thrill. You won’t let me go was quite… boring. Don’t let the sun catch you… was also sort of boring but better. Come rain come shine was a pretty decent way to end things. Overall I didn’t hate this, just not my thing. I think Ray Charles was a very talented dude, and had a great impact on music, I just don’t love his stuff. 3/5 ⭐️ 172/1089
Pretty decent, good to go back and hear some of these in original format. Overall a middling to good album
Un peu décevant, ça manque de subtilité et c’est un peu cliché, en terme de jazz vocal je préfère Nina Simone
#36 An easy listen, but not something I generally seek out. The first half was all big-band, and stood out more than the latter half of similar sounding string-backed ballads. Alexander's Ragtime Band is my personal highlight.
A couple great songs and a lotta filler
There seems to be a trend of African American artists who take up orchestral or big band arrangements. I guess that was a way into society. I don't love some of the arrangements here as I am not totally onboard with the upper crustal regions of culture. What does come across here, is the voice. It saunters, meanders and strolls. It has a quality that forces you to listen. It is a great voice. I like Ray Charles' country album in spite of the arrangements and I feel a little less so here. That is probably more due to the growing up with more country than 50s rock and roots music. If this was just Ray and his piano, it would be an easy 4 and possibly a 5. Finally, I really let my personal choice touch this one and I will give it a 3. It would be okay if I was visiting business or lawyer friends who genuinely loved big band.
3.5 stars
Not my cup of tea, but it was actually ok.
Grand and confessional. Highlights: It had to be you, don’t let the sun catch you crying
I really wanted this album to score higher but two things held it back. 1.) The overall production is poor, leading to crackles and garbled, maxed out distortion on the high end. 2.) The first half of The Genius of Ray Charles consists of big band songs with accompanying brass. I'm not against big band, but you're here for Ray Charles and he's lost in the loudness (see previous complaint). You can't even hear his piano during this segment. Thankfully this is rectified in a lower-key second half that allows the real genius to shine.
druga połowa albumu >> pierwsza
So smooth. Not really done much Ray Charles, but it's enjoyable. perhaps a tad too easy, But that was the style of the time I guess. It certainly earns its spot on the list, but for me personally it's just a 3.
It's fine. Not a fan of vocal jazz. But this is pretty good
Ok, but not my favourite Ray Charles, seems somewhat stilted at times.
Couple of hits, not a bad album, pretty average overall.
It’s good but pretty non-eventful and not a lot of the tracks stood out, with the exception of ‘Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying’ and ‘Come Rain or Come Shine’. Also, there wasn’t much meaning or cohesiveness to the songs it was sort of like “oh here’s this one, and then, oh here’s that one”, it wasn’t much to grasp onto to say the least. I’m pretty confused why this is on a list of ‘1001 albums to listen to before you die’. Obviously Ray Charles is a legend, he was a 50s musician and is still lionised today with 10 million Spotify monthly listeners which is EXTREMELY impressive if you just take a moment to consider that. Nonetheless, I think it wouldn’t be a remote loss to anyone to have not listened to this album before their death and I don’t mean to sound like a dick, I’m just being honest, I think there are much better choices you could pick.
Good!
Beautiful songs, and the man is an amazing performer. But overall, there wasn't anything groundbreaking in here for me
Very cool album, has a big band swing thing going on side 1 and a more blues/ballad orchestral groove on side 2. I prefer a more upbeat Ray but fans will like this one. It is a cool listen but I don't see myself replaying this a lot, I would just stream the songs I really liked.
Ray Charles is an exceptional talent. So fun listening to this pre Beatles stuff and contextualizing what they achieved against this style. While the vocals and piano is clearly impressive - I’m not coming back to this over and over and over again like I am to post Beatles sounds.
This album is just okay. It doesn't sound bad in any way, but I didn't feel anything for this album.
Good and fun, but surpassed by others over time.
Late night lonely bar vibes. This would keep me ordering another whisky on the rocks.
It is really not my type of music, but i think it is good enough
This is nice, Ray is a legend, brass is a bit splashy after a while, which took the shine off it for me.
Ray Charles is one of those artists I've heard of a lot without having really heard much of their music. This album was pretty good, but I didn't find myself blown away by it. Perhaps I need to listen to it again sometime, but for now I'm rating it off my first impression.
6 - good not great. Ray was never my fav
Rays a cool singer, great voice - this album was decent without being outstanding
Very good if you like jazz I’m not the biggest jazz fan so 6/10 but if you like jazz then like 8 or 9/10
Not crazy at all about the arrangements, but it's Ray freakin' Charles.
Ой важко мені сприймати музику Рея Чарльза більш ніж щось фоново-архаічне. Втім пару пісень додав собі у плейлист.
My 2nd Ray Charles album. I liked it more than the other, another man with a great voice.
Preferred the first half to the second, but not bad overall
Wow, I did not expect to like this! I thought it would be kind of samey and old fashioned, but I actually was vibing a lot. I thought it was extremely cohesive and ended in a nice climax.
Liked the back half of the album more than the front
Very nice - didn't really get out of 3rd gear for me though. 3.5 stars.
Ray Charles is a genius. The arrangements didn't really do much for me, but he did. His playing is so fun and his charmisma shines through. It's enought to make this a great listen.
Not my favourite of Charles's work. In general, I just don't the slower stuff of this genre (see: 'Just For A Thrill'). Don't get me wrong: he does a much better job of this tempo than the vaunted crooners of this age (the Rat Pack can stuff it) but whenever I hear that ponderous brushed beat on the kit and that plodding, plunking at the bass, I get myself ready for boredom. Makes a good tune for a slow dance at a wedding, though. Thank goodness for the piano interlude or I'd need to be taken to the hospital in a coma. Otherwise, it's Ray Charles. It's pretty solid. Ought to be a 4 but there's much better work of his. This is apparently considered his "breakout" from rhythm & blues but I'd say it's more like his watering-down for mainstream (white) audiences of 1959 -- it's worse. But I guess if Pat Boone is going to make bank on enshittified versions of Black music, Ray Charles has every right to try to do a better job of it. Anyway, it's 60% Ray Charles and 40% country club-palatable boredom. 3/5
This one kinda flipped back and forth between being some great, Falloutcore-esque music, and more bluesy stuff that I'm not crazy for. So overall, just kinda middling for me, but still a good album.
En ollut aiemmin kuunnellut Ray Charlesia, vaikkakin olen joskus vuosia sitten katsonut miehestä kertovan elämäkertaelokuvan. Ihan kelvollinen levy on kyseessä. Viime aikoina on ollut vähän väsymystä tämän projektin kanssa, mutta eiköhän tämä tästä iloksi käänny.
Good Album. Distinct Style. Not really my cup of tea however..
yea this kinda bluesy jazz isnt for me. but still a good eye opening album
I like it, but it doesn’t stick with me as much as Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music. Likes: It Had To Be You; Alexander’s Ragtime Band; Am I Blue; Come Rain or Shine
What I admire about Ray Charles is that he knows what he’s doing musically. He knows how to layer the horns together, his songwriting is simple and yet from the heart. But as I listen to big band music like this from this same era of music, I can’t help but be questioning constantly, “I’ve listened to this somewhere, haven’t I?” It’s as if the structure of the songs he makes have the same as many of that time period. Though I recognize the beauty and timeless nature of this album, I don’t think this is something I’d revisit any time soon or in the distant future. Overall Score: Strong 5
Is dit dan het oudste album op de lijst? Wel echt een klassieker om mee te openen. Heb een hoop hiervan ook op vinyl, maar ben wel benieuwd hoe een 'echt' Ray Charles album nou loopt. En ja dit is een lekker album, Ray heeft een geweldige stem en de muziek klinkt gewoon echt goed. Maar het is ook echt achtergrond muziek voor mij. Het lukt mij gewoon niet echt om de volle aandacht er bij te houden, het gaat toch al snel als veel van hetzelfde klinken. Is het goed? Ja. Is dit een album wat ik perse in mn vinyl collectie ga willen hebben? Nee. Ik ben eigenlijk meer dan tevreden met een best of collectie zoals ik nu heb. Ik denk dat ik gewoon niet de grootste fan ben van de Big Band sound zoals die zo aanwezig is op dit album. Prima, weet ik dat ook weer, nog steeds een meer dan prima album om even aan te hebben want hij duurt ook niet zo lang. FAVO: Let the good times roll, When your lover has gone
I enjoyed this. A very energetic and power album. It’s not something I’d usually sit and listen to, more something that is usually in the background. But glad I listened as I have always been interested in listening to Ray Charles.
This was alright but it's just not my thing. Felt fairly impassive to it on the whole
Very nice listen. Definitely want to listen a few more times to understand the genius. Very good for a drive I feel like. Lower rating on first listen but this one feels like it will grow as I do with it.
has a timeless charm to it...makes me feel classier than i actually am. Not necessarily something i would seek out, but enjoyable
Me gusta, re de música de fondo de película
Incredible voice, charming music. Perfectly happy to have listened to it, doesn't necessarily distinguish itself from other Ray Charles I've heard, but that's a minor knock.
Not bad to listen to, sounded a bit too much like Christmas music
3/5
The songs aren’t as strong as on his other recordings, but the raw talent and passion push through. Ray is great, and this is a good starting point.
I enjoyed this, but I can't say it's the best that I've heard of the genre or the best that I've heard from Ray Charles himself
Too jazzy
Ray Charles is great, but it's hard for me to get into the big band stuff. I did like Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin'.
It is very noticeable that the album format did not fully work for 50s artists, despite being genius, as Ray (no pun intended). Great songs, but it gets a bit boring after four songs or so.
Started really strong and catchy and ended with softer songs, still caught my ear throughout.
ay me he aburrido un poco, está así muy película disney en los 90s
Good old big band music.
pretty smooth big band stuff, this was an easy listen. though wouldn't say i was really impressed by any of it
A fine artist. Not a great album.
I like the swing band style and he does it well.
It's great but not something I would ever choose to listen to. Basically nice background music. Definately should have at least one album of Ray Charles work on this list. However there are two, which I have not heard yet.
Impossible to dislike.
What kind of sub genre do you prefer with your Ray Charles music?? Blues or Jazz?? This question is very relevant in determining which Ray Charles album you’ll prefer to listen to on the site. This is my second of 2 Ray Charles albums I’ve heard for this project, following the more Blues themed “Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music”. By contrast, “The Genius of Ray Charles” is much more Jazz themed. That being said, both albums are unmistakably Soul music first, and still 100% the type of Ray Charles music you’d expect in both cases. While this one is much shorter and tighter than Modern Sounds, I’m a bigger fan of Blues than I am Jazz, and nothing really hooked me on this one. Everything is great on this album, I want to make that abundantly clear, but nothing blows me away. It’s also basically the same tempo for nearly 40 minutes. It works well, and the songs don’t end up sounding samey, but you really do get the point very quickly. If you love it, you’ll really love it. If not, it’s just kind of ok. I love and respect Ray Charles, especially his voice. You listen to him for the voice, and the voice alone. Everything else is a bonus. That being said, the “everything else” in question just isn’t really my thing. It’s fine, but nothing special that would make me want to personally come back to it. Emphasis on personally. If my metric for an album was based only on singing, this is a 5. If it was based on what I believe a professional review would be, it’s a 4.5. On my own personal enjoyment, which is what I’m using in reality, it’s a high 3. I really love the boisterous, paradey sounding intro song “Let the Good Times Roll” the most out of the other songs. Reason being is that it was uplifting, fun, and memorable. It’s like something you’d hear playing in the streets for Mardi Gras or during a victory celebration for your local sports team. The other songs, while still undeniably great, aren’t going to be stuck in my head as much. A little too light for my personal enjoyment, and surprisingly a bit of a downer feeling in general. I don’t know if the album was made this way intentionally, but the first half is much more Jazzy and uplifting, while the second half is much slower and less interesting in my opinion. I much prefer the first half to the second half. Oh well, that’s a pair of 3 star reviews for the great Ray Charles. An undeniable goat of a singer, but not one I’d actively seek out to listen to personally. Still, this was an awesome weekend album and I’m glad I was able to check it out to see what this legend is capable of.
Crisp, melodic.
Did not expect no lyrics. I’m a mild enjoyer of jazz but got bored with a full album. Good quality music that is not entirely my cup of tea.
Toying between a 3 and a 4. As big band goes it was pretty good, but not my genre I think
It is fine, didn't blow me away.
Upon reflection, I got my Ray Charles and my Charles Wright mixed up. Amateur hour.
Good but I can't see myself listening to it. The start would be awesome live, and then end would be nice in the background. The vocals sound good but aren't saying anything special, but the big band stuff makes up for it with its excitement.
Ray Charles top, este disco normal
I imagine this is the chosen album for many overpriced warm-lighting vinyl cafe's in KL. But it was quite nice.
Ray Charles with an orchestra. Nice enoughm
Yep feels like the 50s
I absolutely adore ray Charles's voice but the instrumentals are not it. there are more misses (like when your lover has gone) than good songs. I do prefer his other work.
A wonderful musician with epic tunes and an epic voice.
Notes
Well done big band jazz pop music.
Great
I think Ray Charles is overrated! But that doesn’t mean he’s still not worthy of praise. This album I prefer to a lot of his others but it’s never too memorable to me.
This started out really strong and I was expecting to love it, but it lost me pretty quickly. He's a good singer and the arrangements are good too, but it's one of those that feels important yet dated. Too heavy on the love ballads rather than the jazz.
It’s Ray Charles. I think I’m always bummed that these albums are cover albums. It’s fine.
yeah decent, kinda forgot it was on, which isnt a bad thing, but also not a good thing
jazz is not my thing it seems
big band jazz olden covers happy elevator music. not lifechanging
The band is tight. Ray is smooth. A great collection of jazzy standards that I can imagine my Nan would have loved. 3.5/5
6/10- I love the passion Ray has. I like that it used to be cool to really care. This would be an album I would have on at a dinner party or an open house style thing. It’s sounds like an elevated version of what most albums from this time period sound like.
It's a nice listen and Ray Charles is extremely talented. I wouldn't go back and listen to it very often though. 6/10
En todelt plater med swing på første halvdel og ballader på andre. Likte godt swingen, balladene ble litt kjedelige. Men ei ok plate som vrikker seg mellom 3 og 4. Lander på en sterk treer.
A solid album. Curious as to why this one made the list, where it seems like Ray Charles has so many albums.
This is very different from the Ray Charles I thought I knew. I dig the big band backing him. It's a good album but not something that really hit for me. 3.5 stars.
it's a nice album. it's all covers tho. i suppose modern sounds was too, but i preferred that album. the flow is weird - would prefer big band and ballads mixed throughout.
Background noise but like really good background noise
I like Ray. This was a nice collection of songs, though there are several I like more. 2.9/5.
Not my favourite Ray style!
7/10 - Great to have in the background, you know what you're getting with Ray Charles
Ich glaube, das ist mein ältestes Album hier. Der Blues von Ray Charles ist aber zeitlos. Unterstützt von einer Big Band, viele Balladen. Angenehm zu hören. 3/5
Album #73: The Genius of Ray Charles Genre (W): Swingin’ pop, traditional pop, rhythm and blues Singles: Let the Good Times Roll, Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin' I have listened to this album before. Thoughts?: I like a lot of the arrangements for the songs and Charles’ vocals. However, the volume, while great for some songs, is too loud for others, which creates an ear piercing listening experience. Favorite songs: Let the Good Times Roll, It Had to Be You, Alexander’s Ragtime Band, ‘Deed I Do, You Won’t Let Me Go, Tell Me You’ll Wait For Me, Am I Blue, Come Rain or Come Shine
En gammel legende som jeg har til gode å sjekke ut. Vocal jazz. Romantisk og melankolsk. Stort sett en snorkefest, noe som ikke overrasker med tanke på utgivelsesår, men langt fra elendig. Top 3: Just for a Thrill, Let The Good Times Roll, Come Rain or Come Shine
1001 Albums Vol. 0036: The Genius Of Ray Charles ============================================================ Introduction: ...Woah...it felt like I kinda wasn't in my own body for a second there. I don't know...it was like I could see through my eyes, hear through my ears, but not talk through my mouth. It was kinda like some...unknown wise being took control of me for a second there when I first saw Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden on that album cover....Yeah, I felt a lot wiser too. Almost as if I had knowledge of the whole universe on the brink of my mind that was just a flick away from truly focusing into my brain....yeah...all of that sounds about right...maybe it's a sign of some kind. It was just so extraterrestrial yet human at the same time a-and...I feel as if I'm getting a message from...the beyond that's telling me that...I was high...Yeah, most likely explanation for that. AND NO, DEA! I already said I don't have any illegal substances and never have. It was probably second-hand from my neighbors since they think that doing it is "the coolest shit in the world man." Yeah, so like I said before DEA, don't even try it!...Yeah...that's probably what happened. No God would want to possess my body...but maybe...no! Alright, enough, focus! Where are we now? Well...holy shit...is Elvis skinny again...and is that woman wearing a pillbox hat? And do I hear the Louvin Brothers infamously annoying voices??? Are we...seriously back here again??? Aren't there only supposed to be like twenty albums from this decade or something??? Why is the generator bringing us back here so often?...Oh well...I mean, I generally expect most of these from the 50s era to be pretty weak anyway so let's just see what we got here this time I guess...hopefully something other than Folk or Country-based Folk...Oh well...this is interesting. Ray Charles huh? Can't say I've heard of him before. Let's just get a few facts about him and his album here.......OH...well this is certainly going to be an interesting one. I'm pretty sure this is the first artist that we have come across on this list that I can confidently say...or at least confidently restate from what I see online...actually invented a whole new genre of music. Not "helped make it mainstream" or "shifted the entire scene of it." No. Like, Ray Charles is the FATHER of an entire genre of music. And it's one of the bigger genres of music too....I'll give your brain like...however long it takes to process these words and dots to guess............................................Or you processed the words and then took like a whole minute to decide because you're a cheater who's no fun. But I mean like...fair though. What the hell am I going to do to stop you through indirect text on a screen that I don't even know anyone is ever going to read? Though oddly enough quite a few people have read my At Fillmore East of all that I've written and 17 different people have decided to give it a like. I mean like...out of all the albums I've written about so far...that's the one that I'm most known for on this site???? Some of my others have gotten like one or two likes but...At Fillmore East, Seriously?...Okay, seriously though, I do genuinely appreciate all the random people who actually read even a little bit of what I write on this site. I do genuinely love the discovery of music and writing these in a way that I am both proud of and a way that I would consider to be...well...myself and my personality through text can get genuinely kinda exhausting at times. Like, seriously, thank you, thank literally anyone who stops by to read just a second of these. It does mean something to me..............Alright. Anyway, now, with that said...Soul music was invented by Ray Charles!!! Yay! Did you get it right??? Well...I'll never know because there's no way for you to tell me! Yay to that too! Alright, but anyway, yeah. Ray Charles invented Soul music, a genre of music that really kinda is one of the bigger and more recognized genres today. I'm not going to get into the specifics of what Soul music is here as I'm sure we all have at least a basic idea of how it sounds. Just know that Ray Charles is the father of Soul, alright? Good. Now, before THIS specific album, The Genius Of Ray Charles, Mr. Charles was...well...a pretty big name...but his name wasn't anywhere near as big as it was after he released this album. Yeah, so basically, Ray Charles pioneered the most basic form of Soul music in the mid-50s and then this album essentially served as the breakthrough of both his name and of Soul music into the mainstream. Why? Well, this was Charles's first album to mix the genre he had already established with many of the huge mainstream genres of the time. Basically, this album is considered important because it is what essentially brought Soul to the mainstream via combining the genre with already mainstream genres. Yeah...so...we're not going to be listening to the first Soul album ever made...but rather the one that brought the genre to mainstream. Which...really is kinda weird because I would consider an album that invented an entirely new genre of music to be more important than one that gave it mainstream attention but...I digress I guess. But...now comes the question. As stated above, Ray Charles made a distinct shift in his sound with this album from the more obscure and "pure" form of Soul into one that intentionally was made to sound much more appealing to a wider audience. Was this change any good? Or is this album going to seem like more of a desperate attempt to introduce a genre of music an artist established to a wider audience? Was this change really deserved at all, or should Ray Charles either have stuck with his original sound or evolved it in a different direction? Well...as I almost always say, let's just go ahead and see. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Track 1: Let The Good Times Roll: 8/10 Track 2: It Had To Be You: 7/10 Track 3: Alexander's Ragtime Band: 7/10 Track 4: Two Years Of Torture: 6/10 Track 5: When Your Lover Has Gone: 6/10 Track 6: Deed I Do: 7/10 Track 7: Just For A Thrill: 7/10 Track 8: You Won't Let Me Go: 5/10 Track 9: Tell Me You'll Wait For Me: 6/10 Track 10: Don't Let The Sun Catch You Cryin': 7/10 Track 11: Am I Blue: 7/10 Track 12: Come Rain Or Come Shine: 8/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Conclusion: Yes, no, maybe to put it bluntly....What? What am I talking about? Oh. I was answering the three questions I proposed above in a very direct and blunt way. You're welcome. I probably cut down a very long and unnecessary tangent for you to read there by being blunt. I saved you some time and expect you to repay the price by getting this review to the number 1 spot for this particular album! Let's go guys, we got this! All you have to do is smash that like...no, thumbs up button! It helps out a ton and is completely free!...This album wasn't free back when it was released though. (Stupid way to transition, I know. Let me do what I want!) It apparently cost $3.98 for the mono version according to Rather Rare Records. Which...you know...is literally less than the price of some Thank You cards nowadays but....Anyway, yeah, the album. Um, well, I guess I'll go ahead and start with the first side of the album and only the first side for now seeing as the two sides of this album use completely different musical styles. I'll get into Side B later but I thought I might as well describe both sides separately seeing as they're very distinct from one another. Alright, so, Side A of the album. First we'll dive into its music....And...well...Mr. Charles decided to go Big Band here. You know, the kinda music that utilizes a lot of blaring Jazz instruments. The genre that I know more as a distorted mess since I love The Caretaker than what the genre actually is...yeah...that genre. It's a genre that I didn't have nearly any experience with before this album, yet I found it decently pleasant throughout. You have all of what I would imagine to be the essentials in terms of Big Band music here: huge horn crescendos, some sly and jazzy buildup, backdropped percusion that can take the foreground in crescendos, and purely ecstatic energy radiating from the various instrumentation. Yeah, I think that's a pretty accurate description of Big Band for ya. You also And...well...that honestly is kinda all there is to say about the music here. I mean, Ray Charles is playing a piano on some tracks too, but we'll get to that in a minute because I want to pair that with something else I have to say. Anyway, the album, while sounding musically pretty decent throughout, really doesn't do all too much to change up what I just described above across the entirety of the A Side. You can listen to Let The Good Time Roll and you'd have already listened to about what 80% of the other tracks on the A Side have to offer. I mean...uh...there's like...a different percussion instrument used in Alexander's Ragtime Band. It sounds kinda like wood is being hit. And uh...When Your Lover Has Gone sounds kinda soft compared to the other tracks? But yeah, that's about all the variety you're going to get in terms of music. And I know that this was Ray Charles's first time writing Big Ba-...or wait...no....Okay, I did not see this coming in a million years. Quincy Jones, a producer we've seen before on Michael Jackson's Off The Wall, wrote and conducted the Big Band segments across the A Side of this album...? Really? Look, I know the 50s were a completely different time for music and all, but I mean...you would really think that a legend like Quincy Jones of all people would be able to write something better than...this....Like I said, the Big Band is not bad at all across individual songs, but the exact same sound, exact same energetic tempos, and exact same sounding crescendos can pretty tiring pretty quickly. And Quincy Jones of all people? Wow. I would have expected better from him. I may have to move him down from legend to just...medium rare status after hearing his contribution to this album. So, yeah, basically to sum it up, the musical aspects of the A Side of this album are pretty alright across individual songs, but can get somewhat tiring to listen to on an album level. It's a problem that we've seen plenty of times on here before, and one I'm sure we'll see many, many times again. So, with the musical aspect of the A Side mostly established, let's move onto the lyrics pretty quickly....The lyrics are pretty decent at best. They're pretty typical lyrics you would see from the 50's in which you can kinda grasp the entire premise of the song from like the first or second line and then the song just keeps building and expanding around that premise for the rest of its runtime. They're nothing really all that special either in terms of the topics they cover, something that I would probably dislike immensely nowadays but works perfectly fine with the 50s. Let The Good Times Roll is about...well...letting the good times roll, Alexander's Ragtime Band is about coming out to see...well...Alexander's Ragtime Band...same joke but I don't care, and Two Years Of Torture is about not getting over a breakup in two years time. They're simple, extremely dated, yet only get a pass since they were written in the 50s. Now, with that said, despite being written in the 50s, there is something that I still can't really give a pass to here. That being the fact that there are some tracks on the album, especially in the first half, where the lyrics and music actively clash with each other over what they want to accomplish. I've actually already described an instance of this above. Two Years Of Torture tells the tale of someone who has been heartbroken about a breakup for two whole years, yet the Big Band never stops to sympathize with this imaginary person and just keeps on rolling with the crescendos anyway...or more specifically Quincy Jones never stopped to sympathize since he wrote those segments for the album. Alright. Medium rare down to just well-done. You'll only earn your legend badge back after Thriller. Got it Quincy? Good. Now sit, you don't get to stand with the legends like David Byrne or Robert Smith as of right now. Good boy....alright, so Quincy Jones aside, yeah, there are some moments where the lyrics and music are at war with each other. This is more apparent on the first side of the album than on the second, but it is a recurring issue across the record nonetheless. Regardless, the lyrics still remain pretty consistently decent across the entire record. But holy shit, the same thing can absolutely not be said about the production. Quincy!!! Oh wait, nevermind, you didn't produce this album. Alright, side back down, you're not out of the doghouse yet and probably won't be for a very long time. So anyway, yeah, the production on this album is a complete mixed bag. It's pretty well-done and soulful on the B Side but the A Side is a completely different story. You remember all of those crescendos I described earlier? Yeah well, while they are pretty energetic and all, they also sound...well...abysmal at times. And this doesn't necessarily just apply to just the crescendos either, there are plenty of calmer moments too where the Big Band sound just terribly produced. You remember how I mentioned Ray Charles's piano playing earlier? Yeah, that's finally coming back into play here after like 1,000 words later. Well, while he doesn't play piano on every song on the A Side, it's actually kinda hard to tell Ray Charles is even playing piano on a few of the A Side tracks at all because of how loud the Big Band is. Like, it drowns pretty much everything else out at times and sounds very unbalanced compared to just about everything else in the studio. And yes, this was the 50s but like...that's not an excuse either. I know for a fact that Miles Davis was able to perfectly balance the sound of his trumpet with all the rest of his instrumentation in his 50s albums, so why couldn't Ray Charles do the same? Look, this record is going to get a ton of leniency from me just because of the time at which it was released, but this is something that absolutely does not get a pass in any universe. Hell, I'd say even the Louvin Brothers did a better job at producing Tragic Songs Of Life than Ray Charles did here. And that's really saying something because if you didn't know...well...Tragic Songs Of Life is...certainly something. It's just...the production could have been a lot better, okay? Alright, now with all of that out of the way, let's finally move onto the B Side and discuss a few things there. So first things first, music. What did Mr. Charles do differently here from the A Side? Well, this side of the album leans much more into the soulful melodies that Ray Charles was already known for while having a bit of a 50s pop edge to them. You have much more slow and melodic ballads, an entire backing chorus, and a greater focus on Ray Charles's piano which is great cause I know the piano was mad it wasn't getting any attention on the A Side. And honestly, this style works a lot better for the album than the Big Band style of the A Side did. The songs about tragedy and heartbreak continue here, so the more laid back and emotional style of music works really well here in unison with the lyrics. The production is also just way, way better as well. You can clearly tell that whoever produced this album was clearly more experienced with producing relaxed and slow melodies than huge ones. Also, I haven't mentioned it yet, but Ray Charles's style of singing works really well here as well. And I'm talking about on both the A and B Sides. He manages to make his voice have a more energetic and raspy tone to it throughout the A Side to match the tone of the music all while retaining the distinctive soulful style of his voice he was already known for. And, of course, since the B Side is much more soulful, he sounds great on that side too. He tones his voice down a bit to a more relaxed and emotional state which works really well with the material on this side of the album. His voice is honestly one of the only consistently good things across the entire album, which while sounding like an insult, is an actual genuine compliment from me seeing as we've come across some pretty terrible singers on this list before....Microshift...what? Who said that? Ah, it was probably the wind. The wind really has been hating on that album a lot lately. I think it said something about it when I was listening to Bayou County too but I can't quite remember...Eh...it must be in the same boat as everyone else that Microshift really does not deserve to be on this website. Now that I'm thinking about it though, I really do need to go back sometime and edit some of my track ratings for the albums I've already reviewed. Because looking back, Negative Space absolutely does not deserve a 10/10 at all. Like holy shit I seriously do not know what I was thinking then or where I was at mentally to praise that song that much...But uh...where were we? Oh right, Ray Charles is still in the room with us. Uh, he's giving me what kinda looks like an angry glare now....Oh...okay, I'm sorry Mr. Charles. This review is about you and not about an album 50 years in the future...I'm sorry. So um...right, the B Side. Well, the B Side does kinda suffer from the same problem that the A Side does in terms of consistency. You remember what that problem is? I know this has been a pretty long review so you may not. Well, if you don't, the B Side, while featuring enjoyable tracks, suffers from its music feeling a bit TOO consistent across its entire runtime. Like with the A Side, pretty much everything I described above regarding the music is really all that the B Side has to offer. So like with the A Side, I found myself feeling kinda ready for the album to be over when I was getting close to being done with the B Side. Again, no song is really bad here by any means, but it does get to a point where the simplicity of it: lyrics, melodies, predictability, really starts to test your endurance rather than be an enjoyable experience to listen to. Really, one of the best moments in the entire album is when you reach the shift from the Big Band sound to the more soulful sound. I mean, it really shouldn't be, but the shift in style really just feels like a breath of fresh air...though the walls start closing in and the air becomes filled with fumes again by the end of the B Side anyway. Eh, maybe I'm just being a bit too critical here since this album is pushing the 75 year mark...Jesus fucking Christ...but I don't know. I'm not and never have been huge into the 1950s, so I really have no idea how anyone would "properly" rate an album from an age when the album was so much simpler. Are all of my criticisms here actually considered good things by everyone on the face of the Earth? Maybe. I don't know, but I'm probably going to get to know quicker than I want to since the generator seems to love to keep hauling me back to this era. But...um...yeah, that's about all I have to say about this album. It's certainly an album, that's for sure. Oh...Ray Charles is glaring at me from the corner of the room again. Um...well...let me rephrase. It's a "good" album. You did more right than you did wrong on here, Ray Charles. You brought your soulful voice and Soul as a whole to a wider audience as well, so who couldn't love you for that?...Okay...he seems to have calmed down. Well...you're dismissed now, Ray Charles. You have permission to hang out with uh...well...you can hang out with uh...I don't know. You can hang out backstage with Anthony Kiedis or maybe...Jack White if you wanted to. You certainly aren't going in the doghouse like Quincy Jones is, but you're certainly not allowed to hang out with Thom Yorke or Robert Smith either. Uh...yeah, you look good right about there between Afrika Bambaataa and Tim Buckley. Smile everyone! ============================================================ The Genius Of Ray Charles: 6/10 Song Average: 6.8/10
Really enjoyed the string arrangements, but the rest of the album did not draw me in too much.
This was good! I wouldn't listen again, because this isn't the type of music I keep in rotation, but I appreciate it for what it is.
An enjoyable record, though one that never fully settles into a clear identity. The first half leans into vocal jazz and big band arrangements, while the second shifts toward a lusher, more string-driven take on the R&B and soul style Ray Charles is better known for, giving the album a somewhat split personality. Both styles work well enough on their own, but the contrast can make the overall experience feel a little uneven. One pleasant surprise, though, is the production — despite being an early stereo release, it avoids the exaggerated channel separation that dates so many recordings from the era.