Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music

Not what I expected for my first album here but it was a good surprise tbh. The first volume is much softer than the second volume but 1 hour and 14 minutes of jazz was actually very nice. Why is is called country and western though...

Hmm dreaded this when I saw "country" Charles does have his style that's wholly his own and this is so much better than most. However it's still the slow, pondering type music which is country all over. He has a great voice though. 3 but an interesting 3

Very nice. Not something I would listen to regularly, but I can definitely appreciate it. 3 stars.

I do like the big band sound. And I do love Ray. This is what I consider a "context" album: the setting that you hear it determines whether you think it's a great album or, as is my case today, it's just okay.

S-l-i-c-k.

Twas alright. thought it would be better. maybe it was the slower music on a day i needed some pop

Ну нормально, но это не мое

It's not giving country and western imo. The slower songs are giving Etta James

I much preferred disk 2. But you can here a progression from a big band sound to more soul

This was a good album. The themes/lyrics get redundant but it’s a very chill album that’s easy to listen to. Great instrumentals as always by Mr Charles.

Despite its name, I did not dislike this album. Ray Charles definitely makes each song his own. The album has Georgia on it so that helps it.

It's a long album, and too repetitive!

Good songs and voice. Not a big fan of the big band style.

Some delightful Ray

a little honky tonk for my taste

Man one song in and I'm wondering wtf this is. It's like country songs made into showtunes and sung by Ray Charles and his backup singers? Alright the 2nd song seems a lot better and what I would want to hear from Ray Charles. Okay I overreacted on the first song, the rest of them are classic RC.

This brings back memories. My parents had Volume 1, my grandparents had Volume 2. He was one of the few secular artists my grandmother would listen to. Love hearing him bring some soul to country classics.

prob other albums by ray that i would like more but good record.

Soul, R &B. Un poco aburrido.

Sounding more ‘big band’ than ‘country’ to my ears, enjoyed this more than I thought I would.

Good vibes tah l'époque j'ai bien aimé, un peu slow et tout, mais je pense 70% des sons ont été sample par des rappeur s et ça c'est cool a+

Ágætis plata. Ég er ekki mikil countrystelpa, en Ray setur hér sinn svip á gömul og góð slík lög.

Ray Charles brought together many popular songs and reworked them. The work was done quite well just not sure that it feeds my desire to listen to original works.

This album is interesting in its construction, but for the most part it's not very fun, which is what I come to Ray Charles for. It's definitely not bad, and there's clear musical significance to the approach he took to this album, but it doesn't really make you tap your toes until you get to the last song 3/5

3.5. It's fine. A couple of real classics.

A rather good album with the sound of the 60s drenching from it, however, there isn't a stand out song. The songs are all just pretty good. 62%

Good music to sort my vintage cameras to

Dry and not for my day and age but romantic for someone like rag Charles but definitely not the music he was known for , more reflects the day and period he was in

Ray sounds great. Not much of a fan of the choral style backing vocals. Good songs.

S'écoute bien, c'est du Ray Charles, on connait bien, mais rien de particulièrement remarquable non plus dans cet album.

Easy listening

Country, folk, 1962. This record is a vast collection of interesting and danceable songs and also commercial successes like "I Can't Stop Loving You". Maybe it's not an artistically sophisticated album but it's definitely a good one in every aspect of its composition.

Not what I expected for Ray Charles, but nice

Great album for chilling. Mr Charles has a great voice

I know this must be foundational in many ways but I just usually can't get into the big band sound

Ray Charles is great and all but some of these 60s albums just really make it plain how much popular music has progressed since then.

I love Ray Charles but this is a big miss for me. It probably sounded good at the time but 60 years onwards it just sounds quaint and old-fashioned.

Just a bit too much Ray in one go for me.

Brings back some memories - a lot of these songs were sung by my mom when I was growing up.

Ray is great. I’m not a fan of country standards though.

Well, now, this is certainly an unexpected offering from the great Ray Charles. He's such a talented performer. Really nice to listen to this one.

Interesting, for the time culturally groundbreaking. I have to say, not very keen on this style of background chorals. That said a few great tracks, but not really a consistant album for me. I love Ray Charles, this as a whole is not great for me

Hij heeft een prachtige stem en ik kan me voorstellen dat de jeugd in de jaren 50 dit helemaal geweldig vonden! Voor mij prima te luisteren, maar niet mijn favoriete muziekstijl. ***

I’m going with stcarp on this one. The upbeat stuff is great. The slower stuff is nice, but I’m unplussed. Less slow, more upbeat. Mr. Charles is quite the talent.

Chill

høyres ut som musikken i gamle disney-filma

Took forever, good for the background though

An enjoyable album that has a pretty low ceiling. Ray Charles is a legendary musician however the songs are a little dated and his style doesn’t have much variance. They are executed well and he’s a good singer/pianist. The double album gets a bit dull towards the end just due to my personal taste. I’d listen again but sparingly. 6.4/10

Some good songs but a little one note. I like the other styles of music that mr Charles dabbled with

Gar nicht so schlecht aber kein fan von diesen Balladen ich penn ein

A bit boomery but enjoyable

I enjoyed this album, popped it on in the background, don't think I stopped to listen to any specific tracks

I enjoyed this for the most part.

Wow Ray Charles such a legend! I love the upbeat bops on this album!! Super fun big band tracks, there's no matching the cool of Charles' voice. I mostly didn't love the slower songs but You Don't Know Me is such a great tune which I love from the film My Best Friend's Wedding hahaha so I enjoyed that one!

Wow this was quite a lot one! I really enjoyed the upbeat ones but started to find the slower ones a bit sad, samey and depressing

Good stuff, nice and boppy

An enjoyable listen. Not my time but great Xmas music

Отличная музыка и для тех дней, когда тебе плохо, и для тех, когда хорошо.

Good… not much more to say on this one.

Thought it was going to be some shocking country but wasn't too bad. some cool songs

This is just one of the many albums Ray Charles has created, but it is one of his later and more popular ones. This album is tuned more towards country, folk, and Western music, instead of his usual R&B or jazz music. Ray Charles remixed popular country songs into a soulful R&B style. Something that appealed to every type of music lover at the time. The album was coined during a time of racial tensions in America as being a "blending of white & black music". Also, this album has been certified gold in the US. Modern Sounds went on to be one of the most popular albums of 1962, almost winning Album of the Year at the Grammys. It has since been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. The album broaden the appeal for country and R&B music to new listeners that may have never given these genres a chance. For this reason alone, this album is important. You'll love this album!

Am I going to hell for thinking Ray Charles is boring? Incredibly talented but boring. And the choir sounds exactly like an old Disney film.

great voice, songs and arrangements very much of its time

Enjoyable big band sound

It seems quaint that this album is titled 'Modern' when the music would not seem out of place in a 1950s motion picture soundtrack, or a Hanna Barbara original animation. But top musicianship shines through nonetheless

Good enough!

I really like this one. Especially for Ray Charles to come around talking all this shit about how he's a better musician than most. To be honest, he is. However, for me I am not super sure his sound is super my ideal sound. Like I did this big band orchestral sound. But I also like the low down and simple stripped country.

Not too bad! Didn’t dislike any of it

This was an enjoyable album, but I found myself a bit bored when I reached disk 2. I think this more a dancing than a listening album.

Enjoyable

It didn’t really grab me, but musically it was fine. Don’t know if I would go back and Re listen but I can see the appeal

It was good to hear some of those classic songs and in the main they were good versions, reminded me of my parents. Having said that I probably wouldn’t seek them out so a solid 3*

Fine.

Not as pleasant as a previous more jazzy Ray Charles album so slightly disappointing on that measure. A bit hum-drum, lacking pizazz. Had to wait until well into the album to hear any nice piano soloing. Low 3 because it is still pleasant.

It is not music I would go to myself, but I can enjoy it

Doesn't really seem very country but enjoyable enough.

Some pretty good jams on here and let's be honest: if all country and western music sounded like this we'd probably be better off for it. Still though, the stuff that resonates the most with me is when those big band horns hit and that don't sound like no country at all, gawdammit. I might prefer the version of "Bye Bye Love" in ALL THAT JAZZ a tad more, but this one swings, cat. Might not be the record I reach for when I think of listening to Ray Charles, but perfectly good white folk dinner party background music.

2nd listen. Some true classics. Great sound and style. 3/5

Soul, simpelt, lækkert klaver

I love Ray Charles and his sound. This album was a great listen but I felt it was a bit disjointed - going from popular music of the time and then to "cowboy" music and back again. I feel like it would have flowed better as two separate albums but I enjoyed listening nonetheless!

This album is nice easy listening I suppose but nothing really stands out, and if you want true Ray Charles I feel like this isn’t it.

His music definitely has a time and place, like a wedding or cocktail party. Otherwise, the album had no flow to it and most tunes uneventful. I wanted more piano!

* You Don’t Know Me * Born to Lose * Don’t Tell Me Your Troubles

While I do appreciate its intentions, I felt this was mainly carried by the faster tunes rather than the slower ones, which unfortunately became to common for a good portion. Favorites: "Bye Bye Love", "You Don't Know Me", "Hey, Good Lookin'"

Q: This is "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music" by "the Genius" Ray Charles. Bringing in not only the typical rhythm and blues, jazz, and soul elements of the time's pop sounds, it also integrated country music and big band music as well. It created an irresistible set of love songs that captured the hearts of people regardless of race. Released in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement, this album once again showed that music unites! So, would you like to listen to forty minutes worth of generic (but not bad) '60s love songs? A: I won't mind I guess. I grew up listening to these kinds of songs in the radio every Sunday anyway.

Beautiful songs

Not really a fan of musicians interpreting music genres that are not their usual forte and in this case Ray Charles' modern take of country and western. Don't get me wrong, he doesn't put on a cowboy hat and strum an acoustic guitar, instead it gets the grandiose treatment with horns and strings. At times, it's a bit overdone and hard to listen to after a while, but overall his treatment of the songs and his performance makes it a worthwhile listen.

Good album, full of beautiful Charles blues ballads.

Solid

Maybe it's just because I got this early December but Ray doing his take on country just sounds like Christmas songs.

Shines in comparison to the last few albums that have been lazy 80s mumblecore. The heat and the passion and the excitement here sell the album. Ray is damn good. There's a definite country western thing here (duh) but my boy Ray plays that piano so damn good that I can ignore it. And then it gets to the second disc and it's just not very good. First disc is a 4, second is a 2 so let's call it a 3. Goods - Just a Little Loving Girl (Will go a long way), Hey Good Lookin' Bads - the second disc is weaker. Art - Classic. The bold colours and thick lettering give it a solid impression. Ray is mid song, the passion clear in his expression.

Was originally going to give this a 2, but according to Wikipedia it goes for 39min, not 75. This pushes it up to a 3 - it's super dated and I really shouldn't try and judge it too much, but it definitely gets its point across loooong before it finishes. 3/5.

Buena voz para un gran intérprete de aquella época. No me transmite, aunque es innegable su calidad

Very good

Prolly 3.5 but I'll Give it a 3 cause there is no in-between...

Love the voice, don't care for the songs.

Seems like a big inspiration for a lot of artists. The word "Classic" comes to mind a lot and I get a lot of Sinatra vibes. Overall very good.

Great opening. The romance. Really enjoyed Volume 1. All blended into one towards the 2nd volume.

Makes me want to listen to old country but RC rules so fuck that ol white man music

Wow. Orchestral C&W sung in a sort of jazz/soul style by Ray Charles. I don’t know what I expected but it wasn’t all the strings. Very ‘40s easy listening? Is it possible to even rate this? Not something I’d listen to on the regular, but I’m glad it exists.

Overall isn't bad, I do like the era of music mainly because of how simple it is. Rays vocals are good on the album(I mean its ray charles). Don't hate the album i'm just finding it bland. Just doesn't feel like his best work. Good set of songs just can't go higher than a 3 personally. Just not my style

I enjoyed some of the songs in the album. I wouldn't say that the album was a banger. It felt a bit out of my taste but still nice.

lush strings and i can see how it was well received in 62, but it's a bit...boring now. 3

lots of classics that my parents + grandparents would play while cleaning the house. grows a bit stale and musty by the time the 2nd volume swings along. 3/5

Qué bonito madre mía. Me lo guardo para ocasiones especiales.

Very pleasant. Ok I am being churlish, it's god though!!

Not for me

very classic Ray Charles. Loved that the album is actually like a vinyl and has two "sides" Wouldn't go out of my way to listen to it again, it's slow, but it's very good

Saved Prior: None Off Rip: Bye Bye Love; Born to Lose; Hey, Good Lookin' Cutting Edge: None Overall Notes: Certainly one of the greatest albums of all time from an importance and quality standpoint. Subjectively I thought it was pretty good.

Really like this album, little bit old timey but it's got a nostalgic grand parents feeling that leaves you feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. Ray Charles vocals are on point

hi guys i'm back. lost my URL but I'm here now. this was fine just not rly my jam

Hard to hate a big band sound. Haven’t given this artist much time in the past, but he isn’t a million miles away from the standard of Sinatra. Listening on Spotify dilutes some of the purity here and I feel it would be better on vinyl. Some excellent songs here and I “see” many reasons to listen to his other albums if it’s as good as this one. Double album was probably a bit much but can really see that Jamie Foxxxxxx nailed him in the movie.

Ya got me with the title. It's jazzy and early soul. Best seller and massively influential with sharp vocals and big band instrumentals that would help define pop music to come. Some classic songs but otherwise it's just an album of Ray Charles being himself.

Come in altre occasioni, questi album mi trasmettono un forte senso di nostalgia ma allo stesso tempo di non appartenenza. Ci tante ballate tra le tracce, tra cui la famosissima "I Can't stop loving you", che rendono l'ascolto un po' lento. Alla fine comunque non riesco a sbilanciarmi più di tanto.

Well done

Talented musician singing other talented musician's songs

Nope, not my favorite from Ray.

Mi piace lo stile e il modo di Ray Charles però poi trovo la sua musica troppo piaciona e poco divertente. Alcuni brani sono troppo natalizi, lo risentirò tra l'8 dicembre e il 6 gennaio.

this is long but hey it's music i'm kinda into so i'm good. on song 2 and it seems like it's going to be pretty varied. 'i love you so much it hurts' perfectly captured the feeling of falling in love. songs so far are just lovely. my soul feels soothed. i'm afraid i got bored about 8 tracks in but it's still super pleasant music lol. it's good background music i imagine they played this at like fancy restaurants and events lol. i didn't dig as much the tracks that lean more heavily into country territory. but it's whatever, not the worst thing ever. adds more variety at least. the heavenly choir started to get a little annoying somewhere in between 'i'll never stand in your way' and 'make believe' lol. thank god it was about to end. in smaller doses and w/o paying it my utmost attention, this is gorgeous music. as most almost 2 hour long albums, it'd be better if it was 40 minutes long with just the best songs lol. 3.5.

Álbum de corno 1920 but cool... Meio longuinho, fica um pouco repetitivo e cansa.

Like a trip to another time. I struggled with some of the songs subjects tho, a little too much love lost and ‘I won’t stand in your way if you love another’ for my tastes. I actually struggled to tell some of the songs apart from one another! Musically rich with big band instruments and clearly talented Apparently Ray Charles became one of the first Black musicians to be granted artistic control by a mainstream record company, ABC. Reading up on him, he had 12 children with ten different women and was addicted to Weed and Heroin. How he had time to record any music I don’t know...

teilweise sehr cheesy, teilweise recht netter swing

Bluesy lyrics over sweet melodies

tres long, trop long, Ray est neammoins un eleve appliqué, 3/5

I'm getting behind - lots to catch up on! I really enjoyed this to start with, then it got a bit samey and boring...

Vooruit, ik ben in een goede bui en vond dit nog best te doen.

Leuke versie van ‘Bye bye love’, verder had het wat energieker gekund.

3.5/5 I liked it but it wasn't my favorite RC album

Nice enough to listen to whilst working from home. Nothing made me really sit up and take notice. Its Nice and nothing more. 3/5

3 - kann man schon geben

El viejo mote 'viejitas pero bonitas' hecho disco. Canciones que para el momento de grabar este disco ya tenían 10-15 años de existencia y que puedo catalogar en dos grandes grupos: las calmadas y las movidas. Las calmadas: muy muy lentas, muchas cuerdas, muy sufridas, casi todas. Las movidas: big band, más metales, menos sufridas, sólo 2. Todas hablan de amor. En su mayoría canciones lentas y tristes, es un disco lindo si estás en el momento de oírlo, porque si no es bastante pesado. Se agradece montones cerrar 38 minutos de sufrimiento con Hey Good Lookin! Songs: Just a Little Lovin', Hey Good Lookin', I Can't Stop Loving You.

Surprising, fun, glad I listened all the way through. This is now officially my favorite country album

Este álbum tiene un background muy interesante. Creo que para nosotros, después de TANTOS años es difícil apreciar su importancia, pero aprecio la influencia que tuvo en: - La emancipación de la raza afroamericana - La difusión de la música country En cuanto al aspecto musical, pues sí, definitivamente tiene el estilo de Ray Charles (incluso mi mamá lo pudo reconocer, por alguna canción que estaba escuchando), pero creo que me daría flojerita volverlo a escuchar todo.

Talented, yes. Kinda boring by today’s standards, also yes. Music from the 50s/60s just moved at a slower pace. His blues/jazz is great tho.

Hyvän fiiliksen levy

This was a long walk, as it’s essentially a double album. I will start by saying overall “meh.” for me. Maybe it was too long, or maybe it was the fact that I just didn’t vibe with all of the tracks. It was probably a combination of both. This is one of those projects that I think would have been better served as a single album. Keep it at a reasonable length and just include the bangers. However I do understand that this was originally split into two volumes. And volume one was so successful that they had him do a second. I think that speaks to how different this was in 1962. The style and sounds Ray was employing were a mix of those that had been around for a while and ones he pioneered. But also ones that he melded together. I think this is overall very much a period work. I can appreciate it for what it is, what it was, what it did and meant at the time… I get the importance. But am I going to through it on for the hell of it? Maybe, maybe not.

not in the mood for sappy love songs rn.

I thought I'd quite like this, and the politics of it is cool and interesting. As an album though it hasn't aged very well, just some pretty backgroundy soft jazz covers.

if i was rating based on sheer influence, then this is undoubtedly one of the very top contenders on this whole list. but im not, sooooo

Old styled, good voice. Not my thing

Not my bag. Probably great objectively but I did not care that much

I like Ray, but this Soul, Cuntry and Western Christmas album is a long slog. Talent, voice, musicianship etc are great, but if the music's not your bag it feels like you are on a treadmill going nowhere fast.

Had quite high hopes for this - figured it would be an exciting take on C&W, but is somewhat saggy and saccharine in the end.

Eipä oikein tääkään lähtenyt

Tämmöstä Ameriikan musiikkia. Nää biisit on vähän sellasia, että kun on kuullu ekat 15 sekuntia, niin koko loppu biisi on täsmälleen samaa. Oli siellä nyt pari vähän parempaa, mutta kokonaisuus jää silti kakkoseks.

Ei tämä kyllä ihan samalla tavalla lähtenyt kuin Shake Your Tailfeather. Jotenkin tuntui että piippuun jäi aika paljon tavaraa.

This is the type of music you can envision aging baby boomers listening to. Excellent for what it is, but not something I would usually put on. Really should be 2.5 stars, but rounding down since I really cannot imagine putting this on.

Did not age well. Obviously important just kind of boring

An unexpected Sound; Is this country music? Strings too syrupy.

2.5. Smooth background music

This was really disappointing. I was expecting something more soulful and with some character but we just got crooning that sounded like the soundtrack to a 1970’s straight to tv movie. His piano playing was good but it was relegated to a minor role in the piece.

Great voice, but lost amongst the sea of schmaltz, horrible doo wop backing vocals and overly orchestrated instrumentation. There are some classics peppered amongst this but it was a bloated album and they are only classics due to the amount they are replayed and not neccessarily by virtue of how good they objectively are. Flirted with giving a 1 but would do a disservice to Charles’ singing.

I won't deny Ray is incredibly talented but all of these songs sound soooo similar, it's just not for me.

Kind of boring, thoroughly unimpressed. Credit to the legendary ray charles for being so influential for his time but with a modern lens i dont feel inspired. Also wheres the country????

Another stalemate from Ray Charles this time unfortunately. The legend of this record must be derived from its social importance, or how unusual it is…or really anything other than the actual music on it, because this is completely unremarkable. I don’t have any problem with this smooth early-60s easy-listening sound that Charles has chosen; in fact, I grew up listening to a lot of this sort of music, and it’s executed by-the-book here. The more upbeat numbers are done in a hearty big-band style that’s also pleasant enough. But whatever interest and freshness there might have been in reinventing the songs this way back in 1962 is basically lost, I think, and this is no more entertaining than contemporary Mancini or Sinatra. I’m not against the idea of enjoying or revering an album for meta-musical reasons, but I can’t find those here for myself and so I hoped for more pure, reactive enjoyment, and generally didn’t find that either. I find that “You Win Again” is the one song I look forward to here, and so I’ll probably add that to a playlist somewhere. Otherwise, I have to repeat something I said about Charles earlier: I suspect this program will give me more Ray Charles in the future, and I expect it will be better.

40/100

I was unaware of this album and unfamiliar with Ray Charles. The album had a big social impact during the civil rights era. Much of the album are dragging, big band ballads. The arrangements are perfect as is the band and vocals. The strings give it a very dated sound. Standouts to me feature more keys and I could use much more piano on the entire album. Standouts: "Bye, Bye, Love," "Hey Good Lookin'," "Oh Lonesome Me" I understand the social impact at the time. However, the big deal over black artists rearranging and recording country music songs now seems disrespectful to the history black artists have in country, folk, and blues. Also, without any connection to the original songs, the rearrangements aren't impactful.

Der big band sound hier ist mir zu schmalzig. 2.5 noch für die schönen Piano solos, aber zu wenige davon

The classic dual strings and harmony choral vocals that is so ubiquitous in early pop songs is probably my most hated musical trope, it's so sickenly sweet and shmaltzy. Unfortunately that this album is dripping in it because the bops are still there. Can't make it past the shmaltz though. Sorry Ray.

Not a fan of big band I think

A bit boring after a while.

Nothing but respect for an album where the leading Black music star of the day took on the whiter than white country songbook and tore down barriers. Unfortunately, the sickly choral backing vocals are tough to listen to nowadays and I never did like country music anyway so in my view he’s working with lesser material

Artiste connu de nom, c'est la première fois que j'écoute un album complet. Je n'ai écouté que le volume 1, c'était suffisant. Les morceaux lents sont très ennuyeux ('I Love You So Much It Hurts' par exemple), mais quelques morceaux plus dynamiques ('Hey, Good Lookin', 'Bye Bye Love') relèvent l'ensemble et lui évitent la note minimale. Par ailleurs je n'ai reconnu aucun morceau, et je ne suis pas trop fan de l'accompagnement orchestral ni des choeurs. Je n'écouterais donc pas le volume 2, et je ne risque pas d'écouter de nouveau le 1 ! =>2/5

i can listen to 1 or 2 songs but more is too much for me

Not much to say, I just found it really mediocre. Doesn't sound bad but not my kind of stuff.

not my cup of tea... very monotonous and repetitive, would listen again if i need to sleep lol. ray charles had a great voice tho

It's ok. It's an album of covers

They’re classics, of course, but I still find it all a bit too much of the same. Two stars...

Being an Australian Millenial, I think this album has a context that is completely lost on me. I am not of the time or place to remotely understand it It's pretty good technically though.

Ray Charles is a genre-bending genius. But this style of country he is experimenting with is very much not my preference. Too many sweet strings, not enough rhythm. 2/5

the type of music u listen to on a christmas eve to morning

I mean Ray Charles is great but this album doesn't really do it for me. A bit too slow for my taste.

I think this is probably very important

Phew...I like Ray Charles but this is...dusty and old

I can see why its good music its just not me, i found it boring. I found the second part more entertaining. His voice is great but not my style. My fav song was born to loose, was beautiful.

I didn't enjoy this at all, but it gets two stars because it was a brave attempt to fuse country with jazz.

Absolute landmark album that suffers from being 65 years old and the book combining volumes 1 and 2 into a single album. I could easily justify a 3 if it were just volume 1 but by the end of volume 2 you have listened to 24 songs that sound (to me) nearly indistinguishable It just kind of turns into forgettable, repetitive background music, there was a stretch of 5 songs at the end of the album that genuinely sounded identical. The strings and choir(?)/backing vocals sound pretty dated and a lot of the ballads sound like christmas music and like i enjoy christmas music and all but 24 is a lot of songs

3/10 If this was the type of music I listened to, I'm sure it would slap

I wish I could hear these songs the way he might do them today without the chorus in the background and the orchestral backing.

This was way too long for me

Niet mijn muziek. Voelt als van die oude liedjes die in de fallout games zitten, maar dan zonder de fun. Bietje oude zeik muziek. Zal vast goed zijn, maar niet voor deze jongen. Plus de kwaliteit op deezer is ook echt bagger. Nee.

I'm disappointed with this album, despite being a fan of Ray Charles and the original songs. Arrangements are over the top and take away rather than adding to the songs.

Just a bit dull. This style is music was massively popular in the past, but it's just a bit old fashioned and very vanilla now. Well done Ray, nice singing, and the band was good. Just wake me up when you're packing up your instruments. The last few songs were painful. Just wanted it to end.

The instrumentals are repetitive, I did, however, enjoy the romantic and jazzy vibe.

I didn’t love it

sounded pretty good 2.8

2.5 stars It started off strong. But it ended up being mostly the same. The background singing sounded like cheesy old choruses in old movie musicals and I just couldn’t get down with it.

ni fu ni fa, estuvo chill

It wasnt my thing, would have been better if it hadnt been for the awful backing singers. Turned it into Radio 4 Sunday afternoon easy listening. I only listened to a side and a half

As much as I respect the musical genius of Ray Charles, this album was definitely not a hit for me. It dragged and was honestly a chore to listen through. 3/10, Favorite Song: You don't know me

The music is ok, but it is not near as groundbreaking as I expected. On the contrary, I found the record rather boring. 2.5/5

I’m sure this is good but I just don’t enjoy this type of music

Very chill. Kind of made me want to go to the US. All songs felt like they blended into one though

i hate to say it but this was a bit of a snooze fest

I can't see myself listening to this again. Ray is a legend, just not my thing. Pretty good for what it is.

Lush and polished does nothing for me.

La verdad no me encantó. Tiene un buen inicio pero me perdió después. Es largo y no me parece aburrido, pero costó. Básicamente estuvo en segundo plano. Pude haberle dado una 2da escucha pero no me llamo lo suficiente la atención, solo por eso la nota (tengo que diferenciar).

Nøj, hvor jeg bare ikke forstår appellen i sådan noget her, jeg hopper så meget af på alle de trivielle kærlighedstekster. Det virker så overfladisk, jeg kan slet ikke være i det. I mit hoved er den ultimative jazz-tekst man kan fyre af: "See you in my dreams tonight", og alt jazz-tekst er bare en afgrening af det. MEN VI ER HER JO IKKE FOR TEKSTEN så: Man skal virkelig være blæse-nørd før man synes det her er fantastisk tænker jeg. Så ville jeg godt kunne høre det, de sidder tight og kompositionerne er sådan set fede nok, men det er bare meget ensformigt i mine utrænede ører. Altså, det er okay, jeg slukkede ikke albummet før tid, men jeg var klar, da det sluttede. 2.1-agtig

det bliver lidt for kedeligt for mig. det siger mig i hvert fald ikke rigtig noget. jeg er (stadig) ikke glad for det jazzede, og det bluesede bliver lidt vattet for mig, resten lyder som en disney-film - en af de gamle. sue me. 2.4

Smooth as silk and so well executed. This also means that there are no edges or any roughness that makes this almost boring.

#374 / 1089 Heard before? ❌ / ✅ (partly) Revisit? ❌ I can appreciate the history and cultural impact of this record and Ray Charles' artist persona, but the music is what I'm reviewing and that doesn't touch me. Album of mostly cover songs, reworked to suit the current music fashions, wouldn't get much of an reaction out of me today, let alone over 60 years ago. I can appreciate the orchestration and the big band vibe on some of the tracks, but again, the music is not to my taste. Strong 2/5, weak 3.

For me this was an album signalling the end of something not the start. Dated.

This isn't my favourite version of Ray Charles. Too much crooning and not enough soul or swing - you can run from the country source material but you can't hide it. I get the significance though and it's quality stuff. Just not for me. 2*

Lekker rustig

Easy listening on a sunday morning. Alright but not my thing.

2.5

I really wanted to like this one. Unfortunately, the urge to skip many songs was strong. I especially did not like the background singing. Ray is a great singer but I did not love this.

I have no qualms about big band music necessarily, but I don't claim it to be my cup of tea. Like the last Ray Charles album I had, musically this is quite interesting. However, it grows tiring for me pretty quick. Just not something I would picture myself listening to again.

2.5/5 Très cool à mettre en fond lors d'un apéro ou un repas

Not really my cup of tea overall, but I’ve got to admit: after enduring Tom Waits and Captain Beefheart back‑to‑back, it’s refreshing to hear actual tunes again. Melody! Structure! Vocals that aren’t rasping, bellowing, or actively trying to frighten livestock! Ray Charles brings such polish and ease to these songs that even if the style doesn’t totally grab me, it’s impossible not to appreciate how smoothly it all goes down. The arrangements are classy, the performances are warm, and Charles’ voice is so effortlessly controlled that it feels like a palate‑cleanser in the best possible way. Not something I’d rush back to, but it was nice to spend some time in a world where everything sounds pleasing, tidy, and beautifully sung.

Rays albums are always worth listening to. This is stretching it though. The cod sentimentality of country music doesn't marry well with rays soulful voice

I actually like this fine but it's undoubtedly one of the weaker albums I've gotten so far.

Ray's not my style

Not terrible but its not christmas and this feels weirdly christmassy......

Some good songs, a bit samey in parts

I don't want to hear Ray Charles singing these boring country songs. But he's still the coolest. Imagine releasing an album called "The Genius of Ray Charles" two years into your recording career.

Relaxing but repetitive romance jazz

Too slow and old for me. Second volume was the better of the two though.

not my vibe

sorry this all sounds like the same song...i got bored

listened twice and was disappointed

Wanted to like this more than I did as I quite liked the concept. However Ray’s incredible voice is not enough to save this overlong overindulgent collection of jazz songs so smooth they immediately slide out of one’s memory. The worst songs include horrifically saccharine sweeping strings and that awful sort of choir that has a completely indeterminate number of singers. The more up beat big band tracks aren’t too bad but again there’s just tooooo much.

This album was okay, but possibly not the best introduction to Ray Charles. A bit slow for my liking. I do love his voice though. I may have to seek out some other albums to see what they are like.

Ray Charles is a legend. No doubt there. Unfortunately, this is another album that falls prey to the awful 60s overproduction. The first songs was great, then came the wall of strings and chorus. It's like Lawrence Welk was in the studio with him.

Christmas vibes. Not for me.

I admire Ray Charles but this is just a bit mediocre to be honest

This feels like an album that could be a 3 on the right day but today I was just not engaged

Apparently Ray Charles took a bunch of Country songs and Un-Countryfied them. It could be an interesting idea but it's not. I don't even think this was "Modern" for 1962. Hey Ray, the 1940's called. They want their Country AND their Western back. So much violin swooning with bad backup singing that you could gag on it. Great music for your Grandma!

messing up country AND western since 1962...

IMHO, this doesn't work well for Charles's vocal talent. Some Big Band swing standards with debatable lyrics and no real vocal challenge. Mediocre music leads to mediocre singing. He could do way better.

I found this album to be a lot more conceptually interesting than I found it to be musically interesting. I acknowledge Ray Charles is a talented artist, but this was just not thing. The tempo was just too slow on most songs for my taste. I'll be interested to hear another Ray Charles album that is not just covers of a genre I already don't like. I don't ever see myself revisiting any of these songs, but listening was still an interesting experience. Also if you want to hear a blind black man sing both "I'll be your slave" and "I was once blind, but now I see" this is the album for you. Favorite Track - Bye Bye Love Least Favorite Track - You Don't Know Me ⭐️⭐️

Not sure the larger sound works with these country songs

With the album title I didn't expect it to start off so jazzy.

When RC came up, I thought excellent- I’ll enjoy this one, but I didn’t except a couple of tunes…..

I fully understand why this album is on this list, and how important it was. I also don't want to listen to it again.

Country and Western music? Hmm. Volume 2 got sort of close but not really.

After reading the description of him turning country standards into R&B, I was excited. I was underwhelmed. It was boring and slow. Sometimes his wonderful voice or the virtuous piano playing came through, but not often enough. I liked “careless love” Maybe it would have helped if I knew the original songs and hear the changes.

Ei aukea. Tai on siis musana vähän sellaista amerikkalaista vanhahtavaa taustamusaa, esim leffoissa tms mutta en ole tällaista aktiivisesti kuunnellut enkä ehkä tule kuuntelemaankaan. Toki tällaisen soittamiseen ja tallentamiseen 1960-luvulla on pitänyt olla huippumuusikko, jota toki arvostan kovasti. 2/5

vegetables, classical bluesy

Poor lonely Ray. I think I counted 12 girls who had binned him in that album. Music a bit dated fir me, but sympathy allows a 2.

Meh.

Delete every other song to leave the upbeat ones and I'd dig this.

I like the songs individually but I do not enjoy as an album.

Hyvin soittaa bändi, jossain vaiheessa kappaleet alkavat kuulostaa toisiltaan. Sanoitukset liian yksipuolisia.

Nice voice, nice concept, but the big band approach is slow and very saccharine. Sounds like a home furnishing store soundtrack.

Interesting that he has an album essentially made up of cover songs. Of course, he can work magic with pretty much any tune. And his work here is a prime example. But again, there's only a top limit I can give to an album that relies so heavily on the work of others. I think it's probably a 3 or 2 as is, so I'll jump down a peg due to them being covers.

Ray har mye annet i baggen som er betraktelig bedre enn dette. Hadde kanskje funka bedre rundt juletider.

Kom meg ikke lengre enn spor 3. Holy shit så sykt snork.

Et album som humper av gårde i et jevnt tempo. Forglemmelig, traust, gammeldags. Dette er musikk det stinker gamlehjem av.

Eurgh I feel like a cultureless attentionspanless void. This just didn’t set in at all for me, I could barely distinguish from track to track and I just really don’t like big band swingy stuff. That said there are some lovely moments and he has such a smooth voice. What I have really learnt in the last few days is that albums should be 11 tracks max. Sorry Ray.

At first this was relaxing background music you could put on and not have to think too much about it or what it means or anything. And then by disk 2 you’re tired of it. 24 tracks?? Come on. Too jazzy

Yeah it was nice to have on in the background for a little bit but then I did end up just turning it off out of both a bit of boredom and also repetitiveness. I'm sure it's wonderful to some and makes a lot of people smile, but sadly not me.

Would listen again. I liked the first half of the album the most. Chill vibes.

not my cup of tea

Reasonable. A little repetitive in places, but a great voice.

Bit slow and borders on boring, some good covers but not very ray Charles

nicht so richtig was für mich leider :I aber glaube liegt auch am genre

Sorry. I do Not want to hear the album a second time.

I love you, Ray, and these are the best versions of these songs I've heard but I'll never listen to this again.

Lot of music going on here, probably too much if we're being honest.

4 - BAD

3/10

Two jazz albums in a row? I'm still on the search for finding a single worthwhile Jazz album - one I can clearly understand to be better than the majority of jazz albums, but so far the music tossed up by this list has fallen short. I've actually hear this one before, and it took is parpy nonsense. Yes, I know this one is less jazz than Jazz, but still... The best thing about this album is the fact that it proves no amount of pleasant vocals or modernizing can ever turn shit Country music into good music.

I'm not a fan of albums composed of cover songs in the first place, particularly songs from the only genre of music I dislike. At least Ray Charles is a good singer. Favorite Track: "I Can't Stop Loving You".

Great singing but the lyrics are really same-y and I lost interest quickly. The kind of album to appreciate but not really listen through often

Not for me

Album #38 Ray Charles: Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music Obviously, Ray Charles is a legend, and the songs he is covering and repurposing are also iconic; yet this album just fails to captivate me. Funnily enough, an album being marketed on the back of turning classics into modern-sounding songs becomes outdated very quickly. If this album concept were to come out now, instead of Ray Charles turning classic Western and Country songs into ‘modern’ soul and R&B songs, it would be something like Taylor Swift covering Fiona Apple songs and turning them into hyper-pop, or Imagine Dragons covering Smashing Pumpkins and turning it into stomp-clap. My point is that modernity is an empty concept and ever-fleeting; it is impossible for something to remain modern. One moment, a sound is innovative and fresh, then the next, it is played out and corny. That is why the classic albums which engage me the most are those that attempted to establish something new rather than relying on what the ‘modern’ sounds of the time were. The only artist I can think of who accomplished that would be David Bowie, as he essentially just adapted his style to whatever was cool at the time, though that's more to do with him having his finger on the pulse of the culture, rather than trying to emulate the popular music of the time. For what it is, this album is obviously important and impressive, yet I really just have no desire to listen to it again for whatever reason. Best Songs: I Can’t Stop Loving You, Bye Bye Love, You Don’t Know Me Worst Song: Hey Good Lookin’ Score Out of 10: 5

Fun, he sounds great, but it got repetitive for me by the end

Feels bloated and is hard to get through because of it but enjoyable. Thank you kayne for discovering this guy, very cool.

Not a fan of slow songs

I understand it is historically and culturally significant, but it's not for me. For all these songs, there are components I think are good. Ray and the backing chorus have great voices, of course. Instruments are also played well. The technique itself seems fine, but the substance being delivered by that technique does not hit the mark at times. Slower pacing and less variation in style/intonation can make for monotonous listening. There are some songs that introduce more instruments, are more fast-paced, or have more interesting/jazzy elements. These feel like breaths of fresh air, but having reprieves from monotony does not save the whole album. For subsequent listenings - assuming I'm targeting enjoyability - I would probably cut it down to a subset with the more interesting gems. Unless/until I get a better appreciation for the historical progression of music, I don't think I'd get much out of the remainder.

I respect his life and work, but this album was rather idle, that is, almost all the songs sound the same, melodically and thematically :)

Classic and always a go to

The first part of the album was fun. Got a little bored towards the end. Would give a 2.5 if I could.

This was disappointing. I'd heard a few Ray Charles songs before and liked the R&B and blues aspects of his music. This is 50s style country that is monotonous and basic. I don't think his voice goes well with the style either, I'd rather listen to Arthur Alexander.

Not for me, songs about love, blugh! Some songs have a jazz feel and are quite funky, but mostly love songs.

Sounds good but not my genre of music and also gets repetitive and kinda boring

It’s nice background music - I think a lot of it belongs in Disney films to be honest. For me it is very repetitive and samey but maybe I just don’t understand the genre. I don’t mind it I would turn it off but I wouldn’t choose to listen to it.

I like Ray Charles. However there wasn't that much memorable songs in this album for me.

Cool weil man sich sehr aus der zeit gefallen fühlt aber bisschen zu monoton

☆☆ The album reminded me of Christmas songs. And I didn't finish listening to it because I just didn't want to

This was such a slog. Pretty sure I heard the same song about 9 times. Would be higher rated if it was cut in half, but far too much of the same stuff for me to enjoy it.

Elevator music about a guy who is really struggling to get laid. The repetitive nature of the songs gets pretty grating, so didn't enjoy this album much. Most of the songs by themselves are alright and I wouldn't mind having to hear them while going up 20 floors, the one exception being Careless Love - made me feel like I was going crazy because there's like 6 lines and he repeats each for an entire verse. God awful. Not saving any of these songs to my playlists.

en vrai, c'est bien mais en tant qu'album je peux pas mettre plsu que 2

I just don't see it

I was actually quite looking forward to this as an album I’d been meaning to check out. In my head it was going to be Ray doing a sort of country-got-soul thing with the potential to be mint. In reality it’s him ruining a bunch of Hank Williams and other tunes with schmaltzy big band nonsense, and only a couple of decent take aways.

Way too dated for me to like. The orchestral and choir sounds are just soooo old sounding. His voice is great and so is his piano when you can hear it.

Indiferente. Esperava mais de um nome como Ray Charles, mas ao todo achei um disco entediante.

The “French sex comedies” of ubiquitous thrift store records. I like Ray Charles. I like country music, at least the era of it he is mining. I like modern sounds! A deficit of the sum of its parts.

Snooze fest.

My knowledge of Ray Charles is from a couple of hits, his appearance in the Blues Brothers, and the movie, Ray. This is not what I expected, and this was a disappointment. Sorry Ray, this one only gets 2 stars, and one of them is because I know you can do better.

I know I should love this, "Ray Charles" and all that, but honestly... I can't stand the over-the-top horn and violin arrangements - this hasn't aged well for me. Sure, Ray Charles is a great singer but this is covers album, I don't rate him as an artist. Covers albums never score very high for me, and I'm not very much of a Big Band guy in the first place. But yeah, he's a good singer and some of the songs are alright.

This was a struggle. It had its moments, but really didn’t do anything to surprise me or make me sit up and take notice. I respect Ray Charles as an artist, but this really isn’t for me. At over an hour also, this was a bloated, difficult listen.

Nah

2.5. Hørbart, men lite givende

Some great stuff on here, but way too much sheen. Stings, horns, swing arrangements, barbershop harmonies — just too much.

Not at all what I expected from a Ray Charles album - it's really a big band/crooner style album. Not my bag. Far too much schmalzy strings and 1940s big band stuff.

In the right setting I could see how this would be lovely. But on a Monday morning at work its kinda dull.

Vraiment pas fan de ray Charles

It's all the same.