Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music

classic Ray Charles, can't go wrong

So I like jazz and I like old country but this just seemed like old pop music. Maybe at the time it was revelatory but it just seemed like old forgotten songs. I would much rather listen to many of the originals.

great album with killer arrangements. It’s honestly a vibe. Just too much of the same vibe if you ask me.

Herrlich

Think I may have been a little generous before with the last Ray Charles album because it is nice music but it really just isn't for me. It is sweet how caring these artists were for their partners but hearing the same concept over and over again does get really tiring. Just nothing about it that makes me really want to listen to it even if it is nice it is just not hitting with me. I may have to review the other one again but this one felt slower so maybe that's why I am more negative but it's only a 2 for me. Stand Out Songs: You Don't Know Me Just a Little Lovin' I can't Stop Loving You

Great arrangements. Ray is the Man.

Ray Charles has a marvellous voice and his command of the piano is on full display here. Whilst listening to the full two volumes in one sitting is perhaps a bit much, I have no doubt that one would thoroughly enjoy themselves sitting down and listening to these songs.

Great big band arrangements and inventive songwriting.

This is a very good album, great singing and great instrumentation. Ray Charles has a great voice. My two biggest complaints are that it seems like he somehow manages to say "love" in every other sentence, and the slow love ballads (the ones with the sappy string arrangements and choir that sound like Christmas music) all kind of sound the same. 3.5

It was okay.

Some interesting adaptations

Great album.

cool

It’s ok. Just a compilay

Ray Charles doing country is a crazy thing, The mad man did a reverse Elvis and appropriated the white man's music. While his soulful piano and iconic vocals on tracks like "I Can't Stop Loving You" are masterful, the album is frequently weighed down by dated, overly schmaltzy string arrangements and syrupy backing vocals that struggle to age gracefully.

Ray Charles has a superb voice.. the music though is awful. It’s sickeningly bad. In fact it’s worse than that . 🤢

Obra fundamental de uno de los artistas esenciales del siglo XX. Sobre los hombros de Ray, James brown y Stevie Wonder (se les pueden sumar Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong Y Duke Ellington) se erigen una pléyade artistas del calibre de Prince, Michael Jackson, Beyoncé, Tina, Aretha, Marving Gaye, y un largo etcétera. Este disco tiene un valor excepcional, a ritmo de Big Band, con unos exquisitos arreglos que le sientan como un guante a la inconfundible voz de Ray. Se escucha de principio a fin y entra como la seda. Fino-filipino!! Que no incluya himnos como Hot the road Jack, Unchain my heart, What I´d say, Mess around, I got a woman, Hallelujah I Love Her So, Come Rain Or Come Shine, Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin, Let the Good Times Roll o Georgia on my mind y sin embargo sea su mejor disco dice mucho de la dimensión del mismo. Las canciones más recordadas son "Born to Lose", "Careless Love", "I Can't Stop Loving You" and "You Don't Know Me", aunque el Worried Mind de Buddy Guy merece la pena mucho. Publicó este mismo año otro volumen de canciones, con You are my sunshine como excepcional punta de lanza. Recordemos que estamos aun en la era Pre-Beatles (publican su primer single a finales de 1962) y otros artitas están aun muy lejos de sus mejores obras (Dylan, Beach Boys, Supremes, Stevie Wonder...) Otrso grandes discos de 1962 son los deHowlin' Wolf, Roy Orbison o Booker T.

It's very good for it's genre. I debated giving this 4 stars, but ultimately, too many of the songs have the same sound. This is very close to 4 stars though.

The charming voice of Ray Charles is basically half of the job done for the album. Add in some great music in the mix and we have an excellent record. Music heritage.

Very listenable although it is not my favorite style of music. Often reminds me on christmas songs. ;)

An album I did not know existed and instantly made my “wanted on vinyl” list

- Excellent! - Great for walking on my walking pad

Boy, country and western music has changed a lot over the years. This was very nice and easy to listen to, would make a good soundtrack to a lazy Saturday morning spend reading with a coffee.

Gran voz pero unos arreglos orquestales muy desfasados y pelín recargados.

There are good albums and there are historical albums. And then there’s this one, which is effortlessly both. Brother Ray probably did more for racial relations in the US with this album than any single person in the 1960s not named Martin or Malcolm.

Loved it

Lounge music, more jazz, very similar, but okay for wait room music

An artist with an incredible gift. Timeless music

Not sure I'd really call this 'country and western' music but that's a bonus for me really. I mean it's Ray Charles, you know exactly what you're going to get. Fantastic voice on that man. I'm pretty sure he could sing the assembly instructions for an Ikea bookshelf and it would be great. That said, I don't think I can give this more than 3/5 and it's definitely not his best work. It's a good album but this kind of music just doesn't blow me away.

Great album to cut your finger nails to.

Croony and classic, lots of love ballads

3.5

Nr. 156/1001 Bye Bye Love 4/5 You Don't Know Me 3/5 Half As Much 4/5 I Love You So Much It Hurts 3/5 Just A Little Lovin' 4/5 Born to Lose 3/5 Worried Mind 4/5 It Makes No Difference Now 3/5 You Win Again 3/5 Careless Love 4/5 I Can't Stop Lovin' You 3/5 Hey, Good Lookin' 3/5 You Are My Sunshine 3/5 No Letter Today 3/5 Someday 3/5 Don't Tell Me Your Troubles 4/5 Modnight 3/5 Oh, Lonesome Me 3/5 Take These Chains From My Heart 3/5 Your Cheatin' Heart 3/5 I'll Never Stand in Your Way 3/5 Making Believe 3/5 Teardrops in my Heart 3/5 Hang Your Head in Shame 3/5 Average: 3,25 This held up over time pretty well, aside from the female choire. That sounds super dated.

Before listening: I really just don't wanna. Nothing about this title makes me want to listen to this at all. I'm not in the mood, just leave me alone. After listening: Definitely DNF. I did try, as in I put my headphones on and clicked play, but this album just did not resonate with me. Nothing about it was enjoyable at all and you're talking to a guy who somehow gave Bjork 2 stars. The fact that it went for over an hour made it even worse.

Just good vibes here, great for a drive in the sun or late at night

Bij voorbaat dacht ik dat Ray Charles een afro-amerikaanse vleug gegeven heeft aan een genre wat toch vaak geclaimd wordt door de witte man. Maar zo country is het album niet. Meer jazz en r&b. Wat er precies modern aan mag zijn, god mag het weten. Het schijnt wel muziek geweest te zijn die de dansvloer bezette met witte en zwarte mensen. Vanwege dit fraterniserende gevoel krijgt het album een voldoende. Maar verder was het een flinke zit. Rating: 6/10

''Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music'' leest de titel. Modern is een relatief begrip, blijkt maar weer. Ik respecteer en waardeer Ray Charles, maar dit is het meest oubollige album dat we tot nog toe hebben mogen beluisteren, en lang niet de oudste. Big band muziek is niet mijn cup of tea, en ik was dan ook wel helemaal gaar in m'n hoofd na er 1 uur en 15 minuten aan blootgesteld te worden. Zeker innovatief om een hele lading country standards in een R&B mal te gieten, maar het flitsende van dat kunstje is er na een nummer of 5 al wel vanaf. Een aantal originals zijn me bekend, en geen een komt echt beter uit de metamorfose dan dat hij erin ging. Wat toch frappant is, met zo'n stem als die van Ray. Hij heeft zoveel soul in die keel, waarmee hij voor een groot deel verantwoordelijk is voor de totstandkoming van het gelijknamige genre, maar ondanks dat het allemaal heel echt aanvoelt verveelde de algehele melancholie me wel een beetje. Ja z'n liefdesleven lag in shambles, en nee heroïne zorgt nou niet echt voor een opgetogen stemming in huize Charles.. Nummers als 'You Are My Sunshine' zorgden dus ook voor spaarzame zonnestralen in een met donderwolken verpakt album. De uptempo stijl ligt meer in het straatje van z'n geweldige album 'What'd I Say'. En alhoewel ook erg oubollig, wat vaak een doorn in het oor was bij het beluisteren van dit album, 'I Can't Stop Loving You' is een prachtig nummertje. Het gospel-achtige koor voegt echt wat toe. Maar al met al zijn twee hoogtepuntjes te weinig op een album van 24 nummers, bezongen door zo'n machtige stem. Ik kom telkens weer terug bij z'n swingende jazz albums als 'What'd I Say' en 'The Genius of Ray Charles', maar deze klikt gewoon niet. Misschien is het ook deels de ongelukkige timing, zo direct na een andere oldie in de vorm van Fats Domino. 5,5/10 Highlights: You Are My Sunshine I Can't Stop Loving You

Dit vind ik toch wel mooi. Deze lijst gaat van hot naar her, maar soms blijft de plaat toch even hangen in hetzelfde tijdsgewricht. Van Fats naar Ray. Fijn voor ons gemoed. En met opener Bye Bye Love waan je je direct in een Amerikaanse 50s/60s movie. Ondanks de ietwat treurige trekt zie je zo het hoofdpersonage met een glimlach op zn gezicht the American Dream leven. Bijzonder hoe deze Amerikaanse cultuur toch zo in onze breinen is ingebakken dat wij er zelfs nostalgische gevoelens bij krijgen. Toch is de plaatopener een vreemde eend in de bijt. De overgang naar de volgende nummers is te groot. De nummers zijn heel soul met strijkers en een laag tempo. De afwisseling met de R&B songs (zoals Just A little Lovin') is soms wat te abrupt. Nummers als Born to Lose en Worried Mind halen alle energie uit het album. Misschien zijn ze onder bepaalde omstandigheden wel mooi, ik vind ze hier echt too much. I Can't Stop Loving You is de lead single maar steekt er voor mij niet perse bovenuit. Veel lekkerder ga ik op de meer uptempo R&B nummers. Eigenlijk is dat mijn algemene conclusie van deze Ray Charles plaat. 7/10 Highlights Bye Bye Love Half As Much Don't Tell Me Your Troubles ("I got troubles of my own', geniaal toch...) Hang You Head in Shame

3-stars

Good background music

Ray can cook along, but this one is more my dad’s speed. There are others in his catalog that I will play before this one makes the rounds.

Una espectacular colección de canciones clásicas de country reinterpretadas con códigos de blues, jazz y R&B. La espectacular voz y carisma de Ray Charles transpira a través de cada una de las pistas de este LP doble, con una producción envidiable incluso para la época que pre-data incluso a The Beatles. Sumamente inspirador, relajando y recomendable.

3.5 stars. Opposite of some other albums on this list where the music is great but the singing is the downfall. Some fairly boring/generic country and western tunes but Ray Charles' voice makes it all a pleasant listen nonetheless.

10/10

Hmm. Not sure country and western means what you think it means.

Appreciate this helped smash racial barriers of music. Not my cup of tea but what a voice.

I guess

Ray deciding to cover country western songs in 1962 is badass. Recently, we listened to Stardust by Willie Nelson where he did what he wanted by covering old standards (including Georgia on my Mind by Ray) instead of country as expected from him. Ray pulled off this move 16 years earlier - doing whatever he wanted to, pushing the boundaries and breaking down expectations. Love it. You don’t know me and You are my sunshine where my fav tracks.

What a legend and man is this just chock full of bangers featured in various movies. I think most of my Ray Charles listening comes from movie soundtracks. This was great.

Is this the first pre-Beatles record we listened to? It definitely sounds like it. I love when an artist gets big enough to do whatever the fuck they want, and this record is great. It's not held up well to time though so only a mid rank.

If I had a nickel for every time I’ve learned to respect country music within the last twenty-four hours, I’d only have two nickels, but it’s weird that it happened twice.

damn this album came out 62..the year my dad was born! bye bye love is good. this is gonna be really good isnt it......hehe OKAY RE-LISTEN TO THIS!!!!!!!

Genius Ray Charles!!!

I'd heard of Ray Charles, but never really actually listened to him. I understand why he was so popular and made a big impact on music in general.

Es muy buen disco, aunque no pude terminarlo.

I like Ray Charles and know some of his material but I did not enjoy this one very much. I guess one issue is this is a double album being volumes 1 & 2, so it seemed a bit long. Some songs are fine, but overall it just kind of became background noise. Don't see myself coming back to this one.

Incredible stuff, but a little too much of it for me,

Great album, but loses a star for length.

decent

Nice chill listen. RC broke barriers for his music. Was fun to listen to but dunno if i would seek it out

i had to sing Bye Bye Love for Chorus and hated every second of it because there was only four of us in the baritone section and I hated Chorus because I was shy as FUCK lmao You are my sunshine is a classic

I enjoyed. I’ll be listening to this more and I’m sure I’ll enjoy it more as I listen.

It's okay - I can't express how much I hate the song You Are My Sunshine and should be a 1 just for including that.

Not my thing. Background music really. Had a few songs I recognised

Soaring melodies and backing music that fit Ray’s vocals perfectly

It's fine.

Sounds good but a little corny at points.

It was pleasant to listen to, but didn't really catch my interest

Im not crazy about Ray Charles. All these songs sound like they were written and performed better previously by someone else. Also sounds like a performance while you eat dinner at a tableclothed dinner theater in the 60s drunk on martinis and champagne. But i know hes amazing and these do sound great but the horns and band over power any sort of piano playing going on if any.

ni lo escuché

pretty good

I'm pretty sure I wrote a review for this already, but it looks like it didn't get submitted. I think this is the rating I gave, not sure though. It's skilled music even if it is a very long album. There's a lot of really great tracks, but one of them connects with me more than any other. Favorite track: "You Are My Sunshine" :)

Bless the man and his beautiful voice, but this music is not for me, got a smoothness and 'big band' jazz type of music I just find boring.

Blind guy getting wanked off for the 1st time is a crazy cover picture.

pleasant

Good 3.5

Hard to beat Ray's sound, especially from this era. I genuinely enjoyed this all the way through.

A bit boring this one

Kind of feels blasphemous to give Ray Charles something this low. His voice is timeless and his contributions are so much more than this album, which I enjoyed but didn't stick as much as I hoped it would. 3.5/5

Pretty cool album, some of it felt pretty Christmas-y. A lot of big band style swing. Would be fun to learn some of these songs

solid tunes feels like you could dance with someone’s marj to every song on this album that bloke knows how to play a saxophone banger

Þetta fannst mér skemmtileg plata jafnvel þótt hún væri tvöföld og þar af leiðandi frekar löng þá missti maður aldrei fílinginn eða þreyttist á að hlusta. Algjör negla sem fer pottþétt aftur á fóninn.

# Playlist track - You Are My Sunshine # Notes - Ray Charles is super brave to go on and declare what the "modern sounds" are. - I'm by no means a music historian, but it does look like he was right. I never heard this album before, but I kind of recognize it. - Super interesting piece of history! - Album is a bit repetitive after 24 tracks. Taking one star out.

Not every track is a banger, but how on Earth did I not pay more attention to Ray Charles before this???? This was a great Monday morning listen as I was getting my act together to start my week. Some of it was a bit too "oldie" for me, but more often than not I found myself smiling or tapping my foot and just enjoying the listen. Go Ray!

Mostly good

Do not listen to when depressed. Otherwise pretty good album.

8/10

I'm no music critic but I can see why this album made the list. I'll give my thoughts. Good: - This album sounds really good, especially considering it was made in the 1960s. It may just be my earbuds but it sounds like Ray is singing right in front of you. It's beautiful. - You can truly feel the emotion in Ray Charles singing. Throughout the entire album. - The orchestration is beautiful in every song. Bad: - It is a little repetitive. I really like this genre of music though so not that bad.

Ray‘s here to deliver the chill vibes.

Really rather good.

Such a great album -- great songs, great arrangements, great voice. I'd listen to this anytime -- and certainly will again.

Although the compositions might not be as intriguing today, one must admit that it is quite incredible to release this in 1962. Truly groundbreaking with awesome vocals and piano from Ray Charles - as is expected.

An incredible selection of songs modernized by an incredible talent. The arrangements are beautiful and though it may not seem as revolutionary today, you can still easily get lost in the voice of Ray Charles.

More like Modern Sounds in Big Band. Kept thinking this album is gonna get better, didn’t happen. I guess ya had to be there 60+ years ago when the sound was modern, it now sounds really dated. Comes in near the top of the 1001 too long albums list, though. Best song is Hey, Good Lookin’ because it sounds nothing like the other songs on the album. Wanted to like the album more, but no matter how historic I can’t rate it above (1.2*s)

#6 Ray Charles - Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music (1962) Country Soul, Rhythm & Blues, Traditional Pop Big Band, Swing, Countrypolitan Never listened to Ray Charles beforehand, damn. I can see why he's so influential. This album was before the likes of Pet Sounds and Rubber Soul so it does feel more like a collection of hits than a cohesive statement... but man do those hits HIT. It's like a bridge between the music of the 50s and 60s. Favourite Track: Hey, Good Lookin' Least Favourite Track: Half as Much

Treacle 1 star

Heavy on the violins and 60’s background singers and some big band. But damn, what a voice.

Post Modern Jukebox before Post Modern Jukebox; Scary Pockets before Scary Pockets. A ton of great old country songs redone marvelously in a big band setting. I love old country songs and this album gives us another way to enjoy these classic songs

Great classic tunes by Ray. A stuff you listen and dance with loved ones.

Another classic.

OK

-its really just old people music

favourite: A02, A05, A10, A12, B02, B04, B09, B11, B12 least favourite: A04, B05 notable tracks: - A10: really like the more minimal instrumental, allows the vocals to shine here - B04: great sonic change from the rest of the album, backing vocals add a lot here half the songs on vol 1 sound the same, wish it was a bit shorter - that being said, they all sound great so not a huge issue vol 2 has a lot more variety and generally more interesting songs think the backing vocals are overused a lot, could have been just ray charles on most of these songs mayb 7/10

*(Notes are only for the first volume) Ray Charles has an undeniably recognizable voice, and this album is certainly proof of that. The orchestra and big band do a great job in complimenting his voice, and the covers of country songs work much better than expected for the most part. Admittedly I think it is rather front loaded as the back half of it has some of the weakest tracks, in particular It Makes No Difference Now and Careless Love. "Well you know I once was blind; but I'm so glad, so glad I see"

Mid

Decent work by Ray Charles was with the listen

Pure voice. Horns and strings. Soul. Crystal clear recording. Space to breathe. Wonderful in every way.

If you’re looking to grab your old lady by the waist and swing away around the fireplace on a cozy winter night, this is your stuff. If, on the other hand, you’re looking to do virtually any thing else, this is not your stuff.

Rate Charles was something special!

This was alright. Might be a tad too long, but it's not a major issue. Best song on it is It Makes No Difference Now.

Great vocals, chill vibes, some nice love songs. Didn't exactly rock my world, but it was a decent listen, and I'd much rather listen to something like this than to a certain heavily 'overrepresented on this list' genre for the 10000th time. Could have been a bit shorter imo, but it's ok.

Just not my cup of tea

Good album I think I’d listen to it a lot more if I grew up during the 50’s

Can't go wrong with Ray, even when he's covering country and Western songs.

This was wonderful

I very much enjoyed this one. 4.5

I do not like this genre of music. Sounds like something you would a couple dancing to in a fancy restaurant in the 50’s

I was finding it hard to get into this album for some reason. I got about 6 songs in, and just wasn't feeling anything that stuck out to me.

Well, this was a lie. This album is neither modern, country, or western. Anyways, this is a very groundbreaking, albeit fairly middle-of-the-road in terms of quality, album. I'll start with my biggest complaint, one that has been repeated for various older albums at this point. It's kind of repetitive. Most songs feel the same, which is kind of to be expected. However, when the album is fairly short and the quality of the songs is as high as it is, it isn't as big of a deal as it is with other album. The sound is great. While it doesn't really feel like country, which may be good or bad depending on who you ask, you can still feel the emotions that come with the best, most honest country music. Ray Charles, of course, was a great singer. The instrumentation elevates his singing to create a very high quality album. The main reason why this album deserves to be on this list is more so about the cultural significance rather than the actual album itself. This thing, as stated earlier, was groundbreaking. It's kind of funny since a lot of popular music in the 50s was white men covering songs made by black men, while this album is the complete opposite of that. How neat! This album broke racial boundaries and is considered an important album for a good reason. So, with every thing in mind, I think this album deserves a light 4/5.

Oh, man. While I don't love a big band, I can't deny the likely influence of Ray Charles on songs like "Under the Boardwalk" (1964) by The Drifters and "(Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding (1967). I lit up listening to "I Can't Stop Loving You" in mono and found myself switching between each L/R earbuds to hear the different parts of the song. What a trip. I preferred Disc 1 to Disc 2. By the time I made it to the second half of the album, I couldn't help but wonder who hurt this man. Who broke his heart? There were at least a half dozen songs in a row lamenting a lost love, and it felt like a hasty breakup. 60s music tends to remind me of Christmastime, and it's not my favorite. But I did like the album, all things considered!

Swingin'!! 4

Superstar talent on a subpar album.

This isn't country and western at all. Big band sound but he does it so well. It makes me smile😊

This is a good one.

Some classic tunes on here. Didn't hate it.

Angestaubter Rythm and Blues

It was really long. I can see this being his genre, and maybe all the albums sound like this, so I don’t see why it wouldn’t be split into a few album. Every song sounded mostly the same, but they were good.

hes one of the goats ong really cool concept fuckin with this heavy rn it would be criminal to give this any less than a 3 so much passion in his voice truly a man enjoying himself only thing preventing it from gettin a 5 is it is quite slow at times but shits vibey

Ray Charles sounds great here. Some good interpretations of the standards he re-worked. There are sections of the album that can feel repetitive–particularly during a string of slower songs–but once the more up-tempo songs kick in, there's more variety in the sound. Kind of wish the country and western was more prominent in the musical arrangements to create a stronger fusion of the worlds he was bringing together.

It was nice, and had a good vibe for certain situations, but not something I would go to unless ready for that situation.

Not super exciting, but a beautiful expression of the mainstream jazz tradition. In addition, there is something to be said about the whole blending of soul and country, which must have been pretty radical at the time. Great performances, great arrangements (its Marty Paich and strings, duh) and a nice way to start the day.

Oh boy, this draaaaaags. I don't have time for an album of country song covers that's so antique and out of touch with modern sensibilities. Ray's voice isn't suited for this style, the playing is repetitive, the lyrics are downright dreary. I can't find any possible reason anyone would want to listen to this, unless you're 60+

Just goes to show you that a great musician can even make the dumbest country, western and folks songs sound passably cool. Totally unnecessary though.

music great. sound quality medium.

# 166 : Noice! I just love songs and albums you can sing along too. How good is that! Country songs done a different bluesey way. Funky. BYE BYE LOVE

2.5 - None of the hits. Kinda boring by Ray Charles standards

Timeless Also listen to this in Puerto Rico. Very enjoyable. Highlights: Half as Much Worries Mind You Win Again - such a classic I can’t stop loving you

What's next.....Death Metal Christmas Carols?

ein paar banger dabei

Schöner Soulkitsch, mag ich ja

Not any country music I’ve ever heard. Tell Ray he should have stuck to what he knew.

It shows you the versatility and Genius of Ray Charles.

This was a nice listen, it felt very nostalgic. I personally wouldn't go out of my way to listen to this on the daily, but as a vinyl to play in the background I think I would really enjoy it.

It’s hard to rate albums like these. All of the songs are good but they sound SO similar.

A great Hifi album

Swing wie Franky!

Sorry boys, my review disappeared

God I am so sick I forgot how I feel about this album. 5/5 no misses and beautiful singing

Pretty slow

An intriguing blend of country, blues and soul.

Lovely. As always.

lots of classics

Es ist gute Musik, auf jeden Fall. Schade, dass RC Streicher braucht, um auf den Massengeschmack zu treffen. Seine reduzierteren (Blues-/Jazz-)Alben sind auch allererste Sahne. Daher hier einen Punkt Abzug.

Enjoyed this. Also, the Making Believe song - had no idea that the Social Distortion version was a cover. Really like that song.

It's possibly my favorite thing in music when an artist covers a song in a new genre that is so well done, you feel like it was meant to sound that way all along. This double album does that magic trick 24 times in a row without breaking a sweat. As always, I like his ballads a little bit more, but there's not a bad song on this one. Masterpiece.

kan ikke lige se mig selv finde den her frem igen, men det er nogle gode arrangementer og ray charles har en fed stemme!

Ray Charles er åbenlyst god og sån, men synes det her var lidt kedeligt og tandløst. Han er federe på singler.

Pladen var nem at høre og stilen var lige præcis hvad jeg forventede af den her plade.

BB Swing und SlowFox, 1962 -> 2

Gorgeous and like listening to a piece of history. A little too sad for my taste and current mood!

Songs from the primordial ooze of modern popular music. A little sleepy for my taste honestly but Ray is a great performer.

The horns go crazy. Charles' vocals are amazing but pretty much every song gives off christmas and the horns and string instuments is constantly assosciated with the holiday season. great album though. November dinner party album.

la calidez y calidad

Kalle ankas jul

I truly don’t think this is the best ray has to offer us. He role played as Sinatra. Honestly, he’s an incredible crooner, his voice is amazing, that’s why this is a 2, but I feel like I expected something more. Hopefully we get another ray album.

A bit too long but I loved it, it’s a great comfort album for a Winter day. [0137/1001]

Bien. Muy bien canta. I Can't Stop Loving You.

disc 1 is pretty good? but zzz disc 2 is 1/5 for me. 2 western 4 me i think 1962 is just too old for me. i dont feel anything except "damn this is old" and i had to skip so many because they sounded very samey

While hardly an unpleasant listen, and having a collection of standards on a list like this makes sense, I really don't see myself returning at all. Bye Bye Love is the highlight for me, though moreso because I recognize it from Simon and Garfunkel's cover on Bridge Over Troubled Water.

Magnificient voice

I really like this kind of music and appreciate what Ray Charles tried to do here, but I just couldn’t get behind this album. I’ve heard some of these versions over the years and they just never clicked with me. Still, three stars for the musicianship.

The album title makes a big claim and Ray doesn't back it up. Too much orchestra, not enough country. I'm not sure why this is scoring so highly elsewhere, it's monotonous, repetitive, long, and boring. Dear Album: Put These Chains Back On My Heart because I Can Stop Loving You.

I like Ray's voice but the songs sound very repetitive on this album. Background music is simple big band with not a lot of variety. Feels like label just put Ray in a sound box and pumped cookie cutter tunes in for him to belt out.

Some of the background tunes with strings and orchestra are nice but otherwise it is a series of similar sounding tunes arranged to a similar treatment. Maybe this was a refreshing take on some classics at the time. For me it was just a set of redundant, relatively dull love/soul songs. 1.20 stars.

A bit to adult contemporary for me...I like the more upbeat Ray Charles. 1.5/5

I really enjoyed I Can’t Stop Loving You, Hey Good Lookin’, and the cover of You Are My Sunshine, which is pretty good version. Generally, the music was fairly listenable, but Jesus cheer up, Ray! Maybe if you sing about something other than women leaving you or wanting to fuck other guys, they might stick around a bit longer! Good album to listen to if you’re struggling with a breakup, I guess. Or terrible maybe.

Pretty nice stuff. Simpsons reference: I think so PS. I need to start putting more effort into these reviews.

Gave me Christmas movie vibes. And Disney movie vibes.

Ray has got a good voice. This is a really good album when you are chilling out. Really like, you don't know me, the rest of the album was okay

It was fine, I like Ray Charles but there was nothing amazing here for me. I wanted to like it more.

im sorry ray, its not you its me. im just not feeling it of late. im not usually like this! or maybe this record is just a bit tepid? who knows. anyway today i learned i dont like mahler 8

I did not enjoy listening to this album. 1.25 hours of the same love some repeated over and over. Ray has limitless talent but it didn't shine through on this album. 1/5

Good album but wasnt the vibes for today

6 / 10 Sonido Big Band de la época, con Ray Charles fuera del Blues.

Bigband ravintola musiikkia. Aika tasapaksua. Herkkää

Massive legacy and influence doesn't change the fact that if I was ever stranded on a desert island with nothing but this album, I would probably repurpose it into a pair of PVC pants. Sorry, I'm running out of ways to say that I don't care for old rhythm and blues. I respect it, but this is not my kind of music.

the Volume 1 is an easy 5-star decision, in the Volume 2 the sounds might start getting a tad repetitive but it does not really diminish the power of this work – it's worth 5 stars for its cultural significance alone the slower songs are so dreamy and the faster ones make me want to dance swing again

Really calm love music it’s pretty sweet shit. 3.3/5

3.2/5 Best Track: I Can't Stop Loving You

Enjoyed this a lot, country songs reworked as big-band and choral arrangements, amusing but well done and done with affection and interest in the material.

Should probably delve deeper!

As with many of these albums, it wouldn’t be my go to, but it wasn’t bad.

Ray Charles is a great musician. I like his music and enjoyed this album- possibly more of a fan of his more blues and jazz works (“Georgia On My Mind” and “Hit The Road, Jack” come immediately to mind) but this is good stuff. Have you ever played improv on the piano with your eyes closed the whole time? It’s a great experience. Ray Charles was a legend. Three and a half stars.

Very enjoyable, I love this era of music. It is so earnest and wholesome. This was exactly what I needed to get started on a Monday morning. It is exactly what I expect out of this style of music and it did not disappoint. 4 stars

Awww sweet and nostalgic. :)

Day17 - amazing what a great song interpreter can do with already great songs

music for the oldest of oldheads, full of soul, melody and wit. leave it to ray charles to make a hefty collection full of mostly lovely tunes for swinging or cuddling. oh yeah, and my favorite track broke me. it's the track that plays in the ending scene of tezuka's metropolis (fantastic movie, perhaps someday soon it deserves to be streamed). and holy damn i didn't expect it. not only did i think of that but of course i thought about myself and my own relationship... it's. it's a lot. i wailed like a fucking baby.

ray charles is great, but i sort of swing back and forth on his music. his up-tempo r&b stuff is great and i love that, but the more slow, ballad style of songs he does sort of leaves me a little cold. not that it's bad, but just not my thing. this album is mostly the latter, not the former, so for me it was not the most exciting album, although the quality of the album was high. still an enjoyable listen for a monday morning.

Relaxing bops 🎵

I love Ray Charles. Great orchestration and performances.

Klassischer, sinfonischer Jazz. Gute Musik zum Kuscheln und vor dem Kamin liegen. Erinnert auch an Winterliche Weihnacht.

The songs on this album are big nostalgia from my teen years. I love it! That being said - it's been a while since I listened to the whole album all at once, and I didn't realize how... samey it sounds? Like it sounds like maybe two really long songs. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I actually am finding I wasn't necessarily blown away by the album as a whole. Still a great listen though, and it made me remember what it was like to be a kid and wish I was a hacker.

Ein Wunder: Country Hits für Big Band arrangiert! Danke Gerald Wilson, Gil Fuller.

I'm not usually a fan of country and western but I quite liked this, especially the more upbeat songs. High 2/low 3.

Well Yes No Thank You

очень скучно (хоть и никаких претензий к вокалу)

Glad to finally have listened to this album. Love all the band pieces and the wide range of styles it covers.

There are some really good songs on this but I’m not a fan of the old, weirdly intervaled harmonies. Like the endings of (at least) the last 5 songs on the album. It’s a 3 star album with some 5 star songs.

Love the band! And Ray Charles is, like Johnny Cash, an iconic voice that helps to define American music over the last century. Simply LOVE this album. A bit mellow with orchestration but still brings a smile.

Based off the first track I thought this was going to be an album of classic country western songs done in Ray Charles' signature style of piano based blues. Bye bye love, was a great start to this album. I didn't recognize any of the other songs, but Ray's piano playing really makes this whole album. The whole thing just rocks. Inreally enjoyed this album

SO GOOD. Would listen to on repeat. Deserves its place in modern music history.

Unsure if I would want any of these songs in my rotation. But I enjoy live music, so hearing this in the bars would be entertaining. Although, maybe I am not the biggest fan of this album because he is so sad. I wish he was more happy. I enjoyed hearing the backup vocals, and would be interested to see this integrated in modern music.

Good album. Songs blend into each other almost too much. Favorites: Worried Mine, You Win Again, I Can't Stop Loving You, Your Cheatin' Heart.

Some good songs,.

Smooth classics

Fantastic

I got quite bored of it and didn't really have any opinions while listening to it. But it wasn't offensively bad at least

I mean I cant find anything bad about it but I did not enjoy it and got bored a couple songs in. I was googling Ray Charles while listening and unsurprisingly he was a huge womaniser.

It was a fine enough album, Ray has a good voice and the songs are crafted well enough but there’s not a whole lotta country going on here so the title is a bit misleading. For the lack of variety here it’s way too long at an hour and fifteen. Pleasant enough to listen to I suppose but I won’t be returning 2.5 stars

Great way to feel like I'm in 1930s. nice a excited songs, very romantic

Meh

It is Ray Charles - enjoyable music and vocals. Just not riveting - it's good music for the background but nothing i really feel like i need to focus on. I do like "I can't stop loving you" but definitely not the best Ray Charles album

Classic. I like the pieces that leaned towards swing.

One of the great all time albums. I have listened over and over. The voice, the arrangements. Amazing.

Bien. Muy bien canta. I Can't Stop Loving You.

Hopelessly dated, rating to my own tastes without historical context. It is nice for what it is though.

-mixes country and folk with R&B, pop, and jazz seamlessly. no point during the album in which i felt like it was "doing too much" -everything on this album feels effortless, Ray Charles's voice is hypnotic and layers beautifully on top of the backing vocals. however, the way the background vocals often echo Charles's can get annoying when listening to the album in full -while the album is cohesive in sound, most of the tracks are able to stand out from each other -the lyrics are incredibly personal, making the experience of listening intimate; which contrasts well with how loud and layered the instruments are on tracks like - Charles's vocals and the band are harmonious, and the string sections on tracks like You Don't Know Me and Your Cheatin' Heart have a charming back and forth with his voice -the album trails off a bit at the end -4/5

La voix est belle et sentie, les arrangements réussis, mais ça reste plus d’une heure de Ray Charles qui se lamente, se victimise et shame les femmes de sa vie.

Great Music. Romantic Beautiful Sounds. Easy listen and with the right atmosphere its perfect! listened it while working and it was snowing so it made sense. 4 Stars cuz its not really a Studio Album but its definetely great fking Music!

Sensacional

This album is a neat take on country western songs. The sentimentality of 1950s country songs fits well into Ray Charles’ Big Band style. Though I didn’t take any songs from this album, I appreciate the experiment. One other note, is that many of the songs have a 1950’s Christmas song vibe.

Classic

now that i know other people can read this i will attempt to be less unhinged. i wanted to make an elaborate warm meal while listening to this. rom com credits music which admittedly i am hook line and sinker for. like the front half better than the back half. enjoyed myself, sue me

Enjoyable listen, a bit mellow. Jazz vocals aren’t for me.

not something i’d normally listen to but i enjoyed

Typical slow rhythmic classic jazz, chill

I feel like I need to give this a closer listen. Had it on in the background at work and it was super pleasant but I've only dug in a little to what makes it great. Interesting part is that it's a Country western album with a big band, but the songs are so obviously country songs/themes. Can't wait to dig in again. It will prob get a higher rating next time. I think I like disc 2 better.

I like Ray Charles singing the blues, Country and Western is not mine. To be honest - the album sounds a little bit better than expected. Therefore 3 stars…

gute Substanz, bisschen viel Geigenschmalz, heute altbacken

I would have never known these were country songs. Ray is a genius.

Fun album but a bit monotonous.

What amazes me is that what was viewed as such a stylistic, and genre, leap sounds so natural and honest…I suppose that’s a measure of his creative genius

Just sounded a little mid. More western than country music, kinda felt christmassy in some sense which I did enjoy.

Early and easy Soul. I like the voice and the slow music

Liked it for what it was, but not exactly my favorite

Swelling strings and soulless backup singing straight out of 1960s America. No thanks. Ray Charles is the GOAT, though

didnt get to listen to the whole thing but from what I heard I really enjoyed it, Ray Charles a legend fs

Love Ray Charles but not a massive fan of country & western music. He does it justice and I like the orchestral spin on some of the country classics.

This wasn't what I expected. I like this genre of music, it's nice to listen to in the background when working or studying. Will listen again probably

chill background music

smooth, relaxing, charming, happy. the only downside is that i would use this as background music, not for intentional listen - but really good for it.

Classic!

Really good. Really really good.

This was so good that, despite being pretty sure only Volume 1 was intended to be on this project, I listened to both.

Solid.

Solid piano, repetitive

Every Ray Charles hit but sound quality poor. Would love to hear every one of those hits remastered!

its all so sad. his ventures in love never panned out. he was always on the losing end. poor guy. didn't care for this grouping even though I like ray Charles.

I'm not sure how often I may go back to this album, due to the length and that I'm not so into R&B. However, there were some great tracks on this double-disc that I was really into. I believe it was "It Makes No Difference Now" that really surprised me. I'm also not a big fan of Charles's voice, but I do have a lot of respect for what he did with this album, both musically and culturally, doing all these covers of white country singer's songs that would get a new audience interested in a black singer's music in 1962.

Definitely not my Kind of music but I can respect for the genre it is.

1960s vibe

Damalige Hits in Richtung Swing oder Rhythm and Blues gecovert. Ganz nett, aber nichts was mich vom Hocker haut. Damals sicher etwas besonderes, weil jeder die Originale kannte.

Not my usual style of music but if you want to hear some really good music from the 50's this is absolutely a good choice.

Awesome version of You Are My Sunshine!

A standard

I think I enjoyed the history of this album more than the album itself

Pleasant, well instrumented mix of standards with excellent production, instrumentation and backing vocals.

"Modern Sounds" may be Ray Charles' greatest album(s). Charles' move in to country and western was possible because he gained artistic control of his projects in the early 60s. Previous success afforded considerable freedoms - and a rare level of creative control for the era. Charles crossed racial lines moving into country music. He brought his vocal skill, R&B background, and big band orchestrations to these country standards. His soulful renditions brought considerable critical and commercial success, and helped bolster Charles' position as one of the most influential American recording artists.

What even is this? It’s like big band with terribly annoying back up singers. I did not like and could not force myself to listen even though Ray Charles’ voice is awesome.

Very well executed covers of c&w songs, most of which are better than the originals.

Amazeballs

Pretty slow and sad. Not my thing, but that being said, Ray Charles was a truly unique talent

What a joy to the ears. What thought provoking messages. This album marks a moment in the history of music. Total joy.

This is the kind of challenge I was hoping for but also not prepared for with this project. How to rate an album that is quite clearly and objectively beautiful and essential, but so far outside my own wheelhouse that I’ve never heard it before and probably won’t put it into regular rotation. It feels daft to underrate it based on my own ignorance but pretentious to just slap on a 5. But I thoroughly enjoyed the listen, at times spine tingling and heart wrenching. Musically excellent and vocally delightful. While I may not put it into regular rotation, when it does next come up, I know I’ll be very happy to spend more time with it. ‘Midnight’ gave me goose bumps. 3/1001

Did nothing for me

Many classic songs which I knew only the cover versions from.

Not owned: Streaming I’m not as versed in Ray Charles as I probably should be? I think this is one of my brother’s favorites (will ask him tomorrow when I see him!) To point out the obvious, the vocal performance is superb. Arresting on “I Love You So Much It Hurts.” Production is clean. Prefer the band over the strings; recorded in two separate sessions? Strings eventually sound like Xmas music. Length is apparent when songs sound similar. 3/5

Lovely love songs with a kind of Christmassy vibe for some reason

I don’t know Ray Charles’s body of work. I know him more than his music. That’s a shame because I really,loved this record.

This was interesting.

Jazzy show tunes from my parent’s era. Very pleasant and easy to listen to.

Good for the christmas vibes, a few good songs but Also a lot of meh

Many standout songs and a wide variety of blues/jazz/"oldies". This is an enjoyable album.

J’ai pas eu le temps de le finir, mais c’est de la bonne zique

This is the stuff. What a great album.

Old timey

I love Ray Charles, album is ok

I have a lot of respect for Ray Charles for making this album. The racial implications at the time must have been substantial. That being said it’s a cover album and many of the originals are better versions.

Absolutely perfect.

Bye bye love is an excellent opening track. I like the big band style orchestrations and the harmonisation of the backing vocalists is very nice. I’m not a huge fan of the slower songs and find them all to be too reminiscent of an old Disney movie in terms of their openings and orchestrations. The vocal harmonies and strings are not what I expected. Ray Charles has an incredible voice which carries most of the songs.

What a great album

nice voice, but so syrupy, overall I really don't like it.

Basically Day Charles singing loves songs in the big band style. Pretty good stuff.

actually felt a lot like a xmas album. this is one of those albums where its pointless to score because its just not to my taste but its ray charles so i know its good

Too long and we all by now my thoughts on Country.. it was destined to fail

I’m sure it was groundbreaking at the time and some songs show a great blend of blues and country, while others are schmaltzy and too polished.

This is a really fascinating album. Love Ray Charles’ singing and piano, and the concept of reworking C&W could’ve been a risk. But he really pulls it off. The whole album works, and there’s several standout songs. My only gripe is the early 60’s sound, there’s a bit more orchestra than I’d prefer. But that’s minor. I’ll certainly listen to this again, it may well end up purchased. 4.5, I’ll round this one to 5/5

It’s ironic that the album is called Modern Sounds…. there is nothing modern sounding about it. Being released in 1962, music had already changed with the invention of Rock n’ Roll and The Beatles would arrive the next year. This just sounds like Christmas music to me. I respect Ray but I just can’t get into it 4.0/10

Classique mais efficace, un peu trop auto-similaire cependant.

I respect the concept behind repackaging country music into a big band jazz sound. Sonically it sounds like Ray Charles does Sinatra. But I miss the r&b Ray Charles. Maybe there’s one of those on this list too.