Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music

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.

I thought it´d be too long, but I really enjoyed myself. Great record, nice variation, great surprise!

solid renditions, really interesting how Charles managed to make all of these songs his own. They do not sound "country"

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

I know of Ray Charles (of course) but had never focused on a whole album. From the outset, this is impressive for smooth, high quality arrangements and performances. I particularly liked the opener, Bye Bye Love, because I knew the original tune, and the big band arrangement is cooking. I'm not a big country fan but turned out I knew quite a few of these songs, and I was happy with the versions here. But somehow most of these songs didn't stand out as engaging such that I would want to play them again. This is relevant to replayability of this album for me - it's a long album, I could listen to it again, but not clear why I would bother. On the other hand, reading Wikipedia filled me with respect for the achievement - doing C&W songs in RnB/big band style, in 1962, and being popular across multiple markets, was a big deal and IMHO still is. So I'll rate this Very Good, 8/10.

A bit old timey for my likes, nothing 8 don't like, just not much that I do.

Turns out I'm a big fan of Ray Charles. That's been a fun discovery

What a fantastic album. There is not a single bad track! The production is solid - great panning so the listener feels like they are in the room with the performers. My favorite Ray Charles song will always be "You Don't Know Me," but his energetic rendition of "Bye Bye Love" that kicks off the album may take the cake here! This whole classic collection of songs never gets old.

너무좋고, 멋지고, 대단하고 너무좋아

Ray charles has a sick ass voice and his piano skills are legendary. With the background singers and strings i cant help but feel that it sounds like a christmas album which is tough unfortunately. However i REALLY liked the song dont tell me your troubles so I'll give a star just for that. Also saved i love you so much it hurts

5/10

9/10

Old styled, good voice. Not my thing

I enjoyed this quite a bit though not sure it sounds too country.

I like this one! Just got a little long for me

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

Banger

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.

Ironic that a set of discs called "Modern Sounds" should have such an archaic feel to it. I kind of WANT to like this music more than I do. But I just can't get into that 50s crooning style with the schmaltzy chorus in the background of every song.

Ray truly elevates everything he touches. Not a favorite of mine, though.

I think the fact I listened to this entire thing means it gets a 4 because it reminded me of Christmas Vacation.

Ray Charles is such a badass for this album. i liked this a lot more than i thought

Mannnnnnnnnn this album must’ve felt so good to listen to for my grandparents when it first came out. This was timeless, beautifully executed and a joy to listen to in any setting or situation. Literally the perfect album, shoutout to the legend Ray Charles!

Went into this not knowing what to expect and ending up liking it much more than I expected!

also impressive aber zur hälfte iwie sehr weihnachten

Very old school with the background vocals and strings. If I could do half stars, I would give it 3.5, but I will bounce it up to 4 stars.

The production values aren’t doing the album many favors anymore. Those background singers! But Charles’s vocals are iconic. And so many of these songs are essential. 4.5?

I was digging this this morning. The talent of those instrumentalists is something else.

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.

Amazing vocals good swing to it not really my go to but pleasent neither the less

Ray Charles is great but this is a bit soporific.

Good but didn’t grab me like I thought it would.

Like the sound of the big band jazzy ones, but too slow and sappy at times. Liked the horns on Just a Little Lovin and the vibes of Good Lookin.

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.

NO tota jooooo. Moderneja saundeja tosiaan. No ei sovi moittiakaan.

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

This was a funa experiment. I chose the extended version so I got disc 1 one morning and disc 2 the morning after and bothbtimes we had great fun . Ray Charles' songs are so immersive and everything about him is quite amazing: from the backing vocals to his vocal delivery to the great instrumentals that set the tome to the message of the lyrics. It was really easy to get moved and to enjoy his great music. Bye Bye Love is a classic but it was I Can't Stop Loving You that stroke a massive nostagia chord, as it is my dad favourite song! Long live Ray Charles 5/5

tem um instrumental riquíssimo, chique mesmo. me lembrou algo que tocaria na série ‘coisa mais linda’, meio bossa. não é nada parecido com o que eu costumo ouvir, mas gostei demais. me imaginei dançando as mais românticas com minha namorada na nossa futura casa e espero realizar isso algum dia.

Ray Charles is incredible and the beautiful voice shines through. I'm not taken with this as an overall album though, maybe I've just done too many of these albums now and am getting spoilt, but the songs don't tie together so much for me. More importantly, too many of the songs are ballads, back-to-back ballads doesn't work for me. Having said that the female vocalist (Margie Hendrix) thoroughly smashes it out of the park though.

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.

yesss

Está bueno, pero es un poco cansado que sea tan largo si es todo bastante igual. Es para tener de fondo. Profundo y romántico, me gustan las que son más lentas. Me gustó más que el anterior pero se me hizo más largo.

never listened to ray before, well not actually listened I guess. amazing album with great tracks all round

timeless album that makes me feel like i'm in a tv show.

King Ray! Big band, soulful, rhythm and blues. Marvellous.

This cultural appropriation is not modern, country, or western.

Hardly sounds like Country and Western! I would say it mostly sounded like R&B, Jazz and Pop. Loved most of the album although the last 4 songs were a bit meh. And after the other Ray Charles album (The Genius of Ray Charles) I had yesterday I'm now a fan!

A great album, and one that must be listened to. 5 stars

This is a beautiful sounding record. The vocals are so beautiful, the instrumentation is perfect. How they record something so perfect in 1962 is wild! The songs got a bit repetitive as we went along, so I took a star off. But this is top notch

Good, reminds me of jazzy bands that play in bars. I liked the overall vibe but not my type of music.

Yeah i mean it's good.

It’s beautiful. Like, it just rocks. I’m not sure what to say about it, so I’ll keep to the broad strokes. The band and background vocalists sound great, Ray Charles is a fantastic singer and musician, and the track curation makes for a coherent and dynamic record. Not a Christmas record, but it would sound great on a snowy day. This is resting and thinking by the fireside music. If you’ll indulge my dramatics, this was so lovely and immaculate and heartfelt that it made me a little weepy at times. “I Can’t Stop Loving You” is an all-timer to me (one of the best recordings in American music, full stop), so I’m glad the album it’s from is this good.

Ray Charles adds a really refreshing spin to these country songs. Perfect listen for an afternoon.

Incredible stuff. A blend of nearly every major musical style of the time, perfect harmonies, perfect structures, perfect sound. An absolute all time classic.

While this is a dated musical style, and not an album I would choose to revisit, the arrangements and the performances are clearly of high quality.

Obviously this is a super classic sound but unfortunately it don’t inspire me to delve any deeper asking heard this. Out kind of felt like Ray was going to break into a Christmas song any minute…

Favourite Track(s): You Don’t Know Me Born To Lose It Makes No Difference Now

I was kinda dreading as soul, especially 60s soul, isn't really my thing, but it ended up being quite nice actually. Pleasant surprise

Interesting, I know there was less opportunity back then, but it is wild to think of a current mainstream artist doing an entire album of cover songs representing a completely different genre. Glad I got to hear it, had no idea it existed.

3/5

wooooo big band

6/10 I think it's important to put this album in context of its time. In 1962, the US was right in the middle of the civil rights movement, and it was still completly legal to discriminate based on race within the country. It was a year before Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, and four years before the voting reforms that allowed black people to exercise their right to vote. The main way that white America was consuming music of black origin was through the lens of white artists like Elvis, who was controversial enough, but at least he wasn't... you know... black. For a black man to take a selection of country songs, a genre so entangled with the areas of the US in which racial discrimination was most prominent, spin those songs into a jazz and r&b style and then manage to make that record not only one of the biggest selling records by a black artist, but also one of the biggest selling country albums, is a remarkable achievement. So on the historical significance side of things, this record ticks all of the boxes. Unfortunately, for me, I think the stylistic choices made for this record actually take away some of the magic that I'm looking for from a Ray Charles album. It kicks off in great style, with pace, groove and swagger, but all too soon, things mellow out almost to the point of inertia. The arrangements are flowery and overdone, particularly when strings and backing choirs get involved, and I often found things to be leaning way too far towards a musical theatre side of orchestral pop jazz, which just doesn't work for me. Ray's vocals, when they are given prominence and freedom to be a bit more expressive, are excellent, but he really shines on the more stripped back or punchy numbers, while the more mellow stuff just kind of sounds fairly bland by comparison. The same can be said of his piano playing, which is all too often obscured by the dense arrangements, and rarely gets the centre stage role that I was hoping for. The occasional flourish was brilliant, but those moments were fairly fleeting. With that being said, I never had a bad time with this record, and even the songs that I was less keen on were pleasant enough listening experiences, but it was only when things kicked into gear that I really felt myself fully absorbed by the music. Perhaps these were the kind of decisions Ray had to make in order to achieve the crossover success that he did, which is understandable if it is the case, but this album feels like it lacks the edge and potency of his best work. It's entirely competent, well performed, and does nothing to make it an unpleasant listen, but musically, it never really does enough to light a fire in me as a listener either. Bye Bye, Love - A cracking start. It's got great pace, groove and feel to it. Ray's vocal is excellent, as one would expect, and we get a few nice moments when he's playing against the backing vocals with great swagger. The rhythm swings too. Incredibly solid stuff. You Don't Know Me - This drops the tempo and, while it's very nice, it leans a bit too much towards a saccharin, croony music hall feel for me. The vocal is very well delivered, but the strings and backing vocals make it a bit too sickly sweet. It's a very good example of this type of music, but it almost feels dated for 1962, let alone now. The vocal quality is undeniable, but I just don't really dig the song or arrangement. Half As Much - This moves fairly smoothly on from the last track, but injects a good deal more swing and swagger to proceedings. The arrangement supports Ray's charismatic delivery, rather than clouding it. It's still a touch slow paced, but it's good a good groove to it and the instrumental solo work is smooth. Not bad. I Love You So Much It Hurts - This has the same issues as You Don't Know Me. It's slow, the string and backing vocal arrangements are very dated and overwritten, and the pace doesn't leave much room for Ray to shine. His vocal is good, but he's much less suited to this type of thing to my ear, and while there's stuff in here that I can appreciate, I just don't really rate the actual song or arrangement. Just A Little Lovin' - He's much better with a bit of swing and groove to work with, isn't he? The swagger and charisma of his vocal work shines in this kind of context and it feels like he has more room to express himself. There's some fun instrumental work in here too and everyone is playing exactly on point, with rhythm, punch and panache. It's a much better song and the horn arrangements are really good too. Let's keep working in this direction shall we? Please? Born To Lose - Ah. Those opening strings say otherwise. I think he loses something from his vocal at slower pace and with concert hall reverb like this. There's a bit more to this than some of the other slower numbers, because it's at least got a more present rhythmic focus, but the overly flowery string arrangements and Christmas caroller backing vocals just don't do it for me. Worried Mind - The string arrangement here is much more subtle and allows Ray's charm to be a bit more front and centre. His piano work is beautiful, with great sense of melody and timing. It's more restrained and deft, allowing for so much more emotion and feeling to come forth from.the performances, and I'd definitely have been more on board with the other slower numbers if they were dealt with in this style. The final flourish of choral vocals isn't great though! It Makes No Difference Now - Ah, some great piano work to kick things back into gear. The pace is still fairly slow, but the groove is oh so solid. The orchestration is restrained, and works really well against the more free-flowing vocal. The rhythm is a touch one paced, but it's still a pretty infectiously swung piece of work. The late addition of the punctuating horns adds a cool bit of range. I could possibly have done with a little more prominent piano work, but otherwise, this was fun. You Win Again - The backing vocals are a little better here and the slow, swinging bass line that underpins things gives things a touch of rhythmic quality that helps things along. Again, it's a bit overly flowery and not really the kind of thing I particularly like, but it's not bad. Careless Love - This is better again, and there's more personality in the vocal. The deft brass arrangements give this a level of cool that helps it stand out from the other slow numbers. It's jazzy, bluesy and well put together without any of the arrangement feeling overdone. The slow, shuffling groove is pretty infectious and the swelling nature of the brass in certain spots is really very well delivered. Lovely stuff. I Can't Stop Loving You - I feel like Ray plays a bit more nicely off the backing vocals here, rather than getting swamped by them. His vocal work really is excellent and has more of that nuance and deftness of touch that he shows at his best. I don't love the song, but the arrangement is much more complimentary to his voice and we even get a few nice bits of piano work poking out from the mix. Hey, Good Lookin' - Wahey, let's close this out in style. It's, jumpin', Swingin' stuff that lets us hear Ray tinkle the ivories with his characteristic panache and sense of melody. He gets to be much more free and expressive with his vocal too. The rhythm and groove is brilliant, and the orchestration does exactly what it should do, which is to support and punctuate the central hooks and performances. A brilliant ending to a slightly varied collection.

It's fine. Definitely didn't need two volumes.

5 stars for calling this “country and western” and forever immortalizing this as a monument to what country music actually is. A characteristically iconic vocal performance.

Really good. Beautiful, easy listening. Dope concept too, bringing soul to classic westerns. Ray is the man. One of the greatest to ever do it. We’ve talked about this. My only complaint, which I believe was the same as the first time he came up on this list is that it’s a little monochromatic. Each song feels the same, just slightly different. Doesnt take away from the album or the talent or the listen, a little mix up in arrangement or rhythm or style would be refreshing.

Did not age well. Obviously important just kind of boring

Brilliant. Didn't expect that. Don't like C&W. And it's before my time. Ok sometimes the strings and angelic choirs are way OTT. The few bits of RC on piano are beautiful.

Modern as hell

“The Genius” takes a set of country standards and completely filters them through his own style: big-band arrangements, sweeping strings, gospel feeling, and that unmistakable Ray Charles voice. On paper, the combination sounds unusual; in practice, it feels remarkably natural. That is both the album’s strength and its limitation for me. Ray Charles is so distinctive that the country material quickly becomes secondary, and after a while I mostly hear a very polished Ray Charles record rather than a radical meeting of two musical worlds. It is well made and easy to respect, but ultimately it sounds exactly like what I would expect from “The Genius.”

Ну на данный момент это уде классика, а не современное звучание). В целом звучит довольно классно, я даже не понял где тут всё-таки кантри.

Очень хотелось поставить 5 этому альбому, но в момент выбора двух лучших песен особенно остро почувствовал, что это, по сути, очень хорошая, но одна песня растянутая на час с лишним. Очень хорошая. Топ-1 - You Don't Know Me Топ-2 - Your Cheating Heart (хотя выбрать можно абсолютно любую, не промахнешься)

Not my favourite ray Charles, but Ray Charles! There are some very cool arrangements here. All of it benefits from his awesome delivery style. There are also a couple of songs I'm really not crazy for, so I find it a frustratingly inconsistent listen at times

I had high expectations: I liked the idea of a black/white music barrier breaking project. Plus, Ray Charles undoubtedly had a great voice and, being not a fan of country music, I can only appreciate when country songs do not sound like country at all. The problem is that these over-sugary arrangements don't make them sound like rhythm & blues either (certainly not "rhythm"...). As someone already pointed out, there is no way this sounded "modern" even in 1962. Perhaps it would have done in 1932...

Fun to hear these songs reimagined, but I'm not coming back to this one

Meeh... No me gustó

It's a good album honestly. The croosover between the modern, upbeat melodies and the instrumentalistic element of country makes it a great base to pave the way into modern music.

I wasn’t sure about this album, but then I really appreciated the high production quality and I feel like our desire for lo-fi and authentic sound mixes with the ease electronic production has taken away this kind of work.

I don't think this is the best Ray Charles but I really enjoyed his take on Country and Western. I was less keen on the backing vocals and the strings especially as it went on - it felt quite dated. But I think it still deserves the higher score even if I wouldn't listen again.

As you would expect with Ray Charles , a wonderful voice and incredibly catchy music.

Ray does R&B like nobody else. His choice to cover country songs is an interesting one, but it surprisingly works. It's quite beautiful with the backing vocals and orchestra in Ray's classic stylings.

87

This album is mistitled. There’s not a lick of what I would even remotely consider country on this. I’d put it somewhere around big band or even blues before country, and we’re the richer for it. The orchestrations are lush, the vocals compelling, and the songwriting is decent. But it feels a little removed from relevance at this point. One side query…I wonder if there were technical limitations due to Mr Charles’ blindness when it came to him playing piano with the orchestra. I think of him sat behind a piano most commonly and it is noticeably missing from the songs with the most orchestral involvement so I posit that maybe it wasn’t possible because he couldn’t see the conductor.

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

This album goes to prove that if you throw a little soul in it, country music doesn't suck. I guess the problem is just that 99% of the time there is no soul. Not sure I'd go back to this over, say, some better Ray Charles music but this is pretty good. 4/5

2.5. Smooth background music

I liked having this on in the house in the background

dece but won't be rushing back

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.

Some of the string arrangements and vocals are dated, I will give you that. But get out of Ray's way and let him do his thing and, baby, it cooks. Now this is a classic album but if someone out there wants to do a version of Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music Naked (á la Let It Be Naked) then count me in. White people turned the blues into country, so it makes perfect sense that Ray Charles can bring it home.

4-/5

Classic for a reason. The band, the piano, the swinging vocals. But it feels dated 60 years later - not something I would seek out but happy to have it show up once in a while for nostalgia.

Amazing how albums could be so simple yet effective. Although by disc 2 it seemed like every other songs kinda sounded the same. Fav song "it makes no difference now"

Has any ray Charles album been bad? He knows what he's doing in every song. Not a note wasted. Not a run, rhythm, or harmony left to chance, yet at the same time natural and organic.

His voice is iconic, and i can imagine how this might have hit when it came out. But the big band-like arrangements leave me cold.

Good. Very Good.

This is a fascinating crossroads record. Stylistically, it's definitely not country and western. Ray Charles took in the country canon and treated it like a jazz head - reimagining standards in the "modern style". To contemporary ears it sounds, ironically, more dated than actual country. We are in full easy listening territory: syrupy backing vocals; gorgeous strings; and Ray Charles in full crooner mode - it could be Bing Crosby or Nat King Cole. Not that that's a bad thing, but it does feel like a long double album, and is lacks variety. I could've done with a few more of the bangers that defined most of his 60s work. The racial dimension feels radical - a black r&b star taking white-coded songs and transforming them, partly as proto-soul and partly 50s balladry, in a style that was neither black nor white. Overall, I don't love the songs (I'm not really up on my country standards), but the arrangements are so classy and the piano playing is sublime.

Very good but the orchestration was a bit too commercial for me - felt like I was watching some late 50s Hollywood feel-good film. I prefer his earlier work even if it’s big band it has a more musical frame

Like Ray Charles’ music a lot

Ray is great but he doesn't do a lot special with these songs

Really good all the songs were very enjoyable. Really different version of oh lonesome me to the Neil young version.

Highlights: Half As Much, Born To Lose. In a nutshell: new country. So that you know, the title and the genres listed in Wikipedia are a little misleading. Ray is singing "country and western" music (plus some folk), BUT not in the typical country or western style. He is singing countrypolitan. Countrypolitan is essentially country music rejigged for a pop audience. It usually has an orchestra (mainly strings) and backing vocals. By definition, an offshoot of Nashville Sound (think Patsy Cline, Chet Atkins, Jim Reeves). This album took my surprise as I was expecting Ray to try singing in a different style, like Hank Williams or Marty Robbins. I guess that's my fault for not reading the "modern sounds" part of the title. Ray sticks to his R&B roots, but goes gently. Adapting to the sweeping backing vocals and Sinatra style backing orchestra. I wouldn't call the Everly Brothers' Bye Bye Love a country song. It's more rockabilly/traditional rock and roll song. This is a covers album I can get behind. Overall: 6/10

Interesting notes on the influence of this during the Civil Rights Movement - easy listening

I suspect a lot of the discourse about this album has gotten hung up on the use of the terms "country" and "western" - ironically, the very thing Charles was trying to avoid with this genre-crossing collection. What he's really looking for is something like a pan-Americana that can take in Tin Pan Alley, traditional country, soul, jazz, and gospel without being too precious about which parts are coming from where. And that's exactly what we have here: great American songs, beautifully arranged (Marty Paich's strings are a particular treat) and movingly performed. Charles undoubtedly had bluesier takes in him for most of these (and I might have preferred those) but what he puts forth is a success on its own terms. (Incidentally, it wasn't totally clear to me whether the list is intended to just include Volume 1 or the 2-album collection of Volumes 1 and 2 available on streaming - and, honestly, I enjoyed Volume 1 enough that I didn't mind another half hour of more of the same. I think the material on Volume 2 is slightly better but I preferred the more varied track order on Volume 1.)

A: Yay riktig musik. Jättevackert. Old Disney movies magic type shit. Fick int höra Hit the road Jack though :( Men annars riktigt bra. Kändes typ dock som om de aldrig skulle ta slut... Ändå nog 4.5/5 (SA-tier?) D: Whimsy Disneycore, speciellt musiken. Gillade också sången. Jättemagisk och chill atmosfär, gillade den mycket. Låtarnas teman varierade dock mellan "jag älskar dig otroligt mycket" och "jag såg dig med din nya partner". Like han kunde inte riktigt bestämma sig? Tog lite ner på viben ibland, han va sådär smått coping. Men nog ett underbart album. Var var countryn dock? 5/5

Second and apparently last Ray Charles album for me on this list. I enjoyed the first one but overall didn’t wow me. Not sure if this list is intending to include the combined version with volumes 1 and 2 but will see how I feel after listening to the original album if I think vol 2 should be included in my rating. Some really good ballads here. His voice is certainly a classic sound. You Don’t Know Me is really good. So interesting that these are all country covers. It all has that jazzy r&b sound with a hint of blues. But they’re mostly ballads so you can hear that country influence, if you know you’re looking for it. After a while, this feels a bit repetitive but they’re a good collection of these classic sounding songs. There’s definitely a theme of heartbreak throughout a lot of them that seems to all fit together. You Win Again is one of the best on the album. Careless Love is another I really enjoyed. Listening to Vol 2 and you hear a little difference in sound right away with You Are My Sunshine. Love this version of this song it’s amazing. There are still some ballads on vol 2, but there are a few more jazzy tunes. Overall it’s all part of the same style and sound. This is all fine and easy to listen to. Just overall nothing more than a 3 to me. I’ll say I understand why it’s on this list.

I mean, obviously, on a technical level, Ray Charles has an incredible voice, and many of these songs are standards for a reason. But the tone of both the instrumentation (especially the big band) and the vocal performance (especially the choir) seem entirely indifferent to the nuances of meaning conveyed by the lyrics. Which, fine, I guess, but it feels like a dereliction of duty to strip out that essential element of country (and western). So, sure, the concept is an admirable one and I wouldn't go lower than a three, but these versions seem to me to lack - of all things - the soul of their originals, replacing it with a slick, syrupy sameness.

10/10. No notes

Nice classics. Loved it especially under the shower and in the car

Really enjoyable album. Fun to hear Ray's spin on some older pop/country standards. The whole thing is just very easy to listen to, and I'm never disappointed to hear Ray Charles sing.

Hell yeah brother you’re not going anywhere you don’t have any friends to talk about it and you know that I don’t care about you and I don’t care about anybody else but you know that you don’t care about me

🕶️🎹🎼🎤✨

Man, this music was old fashioned when it was released; this album sounded more like the 1940s than any of the other older albums I've listened to. It's Ray Charles playing piano quite well with an accompanying big band; it's fine. This is also yet another album full of covers, which I don't think belongs on this list. Low 3/5

Far out, this was all a bit mopey & depressing wasn’t it? Surely a better Ray Charles album could have been picked in lieu of this.

Didn’t love this album at first but it grew on me as I listened

That was a beautiful album that I really enjoyed. Not something that I'd reach for all the time, but very lovely to listen to.

pretty good, love his vocals. does drag on a bit but i still enjoyed it

They were kind of samey but good

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

Schöne Stimme, viel Streicher und Hintergrund-Chor im Background

I enjoyed seeing a 60 year old instance of something calling itself "Modern". There's such a specific type of strings sound in so many of these tracks that absolutely reeks of the era, which is nice to be able to point out. I wasn't a huge fan of any of the track in particular, but I didn't dislike a single one. I've never given Ray Charles the time of day, so this is a fun album to jump in with. I don't think he had the best opportunity to play around vocally in these tracks, but that might be a cost of retooling country songs into a new genre. Preferred the horns over the strings and some songs had a real Count Basie combo of the double bass and trumpet which put a smile on my face. A pleasant record!

Review - great R&B album despite the title. There's a smidge of country flair but it's otherwise undeniably a Ray Charles R&B album. It's like the '60s equivalent of Old Town Road or that Beyonce album. I wonder if country fans back in the day hated this or loved it. I already knew of the album because of the classic piece of cinema "White Men Can't Jump" which prominently features two of the songs - led me to the album and it's a classic. His voice is incredible, the production's so lush. Love it. Score - 8.5/10 Need to listen? YES

I mean what can I say? It's Ray Charles. Silky smooth and always fun to listen to. Will likely revisit. Favourite Tracks: - Careless Love - Midnight - Hey Good Lookin' No Letter Today

So this was a series of interesting takes on some classic country and western songs by Charles. That alone made this a very interesting album, and Charles‘s voice is so interesting to listen to. I wasn’t a neighbored with a giant amount of this, but it was an interesting listen. Oh, Lonesome Me it’s probably my favorite track across the whole set. Not great, not bad, but definitely worthy of inclusion, especially considering the time in which this was made. Three stars.

So bizarre when this doesn't sound country, western, or modern. At least I understand the Sturgill Simpson album name now.

Nope. This sounds like background music in a Rankin Bass xmas animation. But goopier. I get that this was groundbreaking in its day for genre-bending. But I do not enjoy any of the genres involved here.

nisam se udubio isk

fun and hippy, i guess. he had talent. although that one song where he said "let me be your slave" is wild Would I listen again: not really Deserves to be on this list: probably 3.2

einfach tolle musik.

Ein Klassiker

Ray Charles certainly had the voice of a generation. Charles' singing is amazing, as expected, and the music is fantastically done. It is easily a great record and maybe because it's not really in my wheelhouse, but I'm not wholly convinced that it's one of the greatest albums of all time.

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????

Most of the songs sound the same yet I think most of these songs are done pretty well. 6/10

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.

Didn't finish but would come back

rare moment i wish i was born in a different era. imagine this album drops and you’re listening to it for the first time on your record player in your living room in the house you bought for $200 oh my god

Ray Charles shows off his stellar voice over R&B and rock-n-roll tunes with jazzy accompaniment.

Beautiful. I just wish there was less of the Ray Conniff-style background singing. Midnight was my favorite track

Ei kyllä tällainen jazz oo mun juttu ei sit ollenkaan. Pakko antaa silti 3/5 koska on kuitenkin kuunneltavaa musiikkia.

I couldn't see this being great and neither could Ray. It was ok. A good singer badly covering good songs

Other than the title itself, you really wouldn't know these songs were originally country and western standards, with Ray Charles absolutely making them his own by adding his signature sound. This is an album that sounds further ahead in time compared to others of its ilk, and the fact that Charles had full creative control as a Black artist during the height of the Civil Rights movement is something to be recognised. Each song explores yearning, love, loss, depression, and happiness alike, creating a smorgasbord of emotion that really takes the listener on a journey. So why the lower rating? Well, quite frankly, it's a very long album, consisting of a whopping 24 tracks and lasting almost an hour and a half, meaning that it becomes a bit of a chore to listen to after a while. Some tracks fail to distinguish themselves from the rest, so unfortunately there are a portion where I probably couldn't you what makes them unique in any way. Other than that however, it's a pretty good collection of tunes that kept me entertained for the most part.

hermoso

40/100

Wasn't in the mood

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.

Фолаут по ньому плаче

Ray Charles and his spin on many a good song that only Ray Charles can do. Some of which I know that was done by the original song writer or performer.

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

This was alright. I like Ray Charles, but honestly the album felt very long and repetitive, like there were basically 3 or 4 songs tha were remixed and/or rewritten into like 20 for the album. I listened to it a second time to see if it was any better on relisten, but it was kinda just the same. I did enjoy the covers though, so I give it three stars.

FUN but b-side was so repetitive?

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.

Wonderful bittersweet breakup album. Whiskey music. Ray's voice is clear and confident in tone as it is weary and sorrowful in texture. Brassy standards are accented with furtive chorus and string. Lyrical content is fairly consistent through the runtime, melancholy, dismal. Variety comes in performance and composition. Drifts between end of night ballad and start of night party. For traditional pop and classic R&B the question is posed if it's ever more refined than what's accomplished here. Soul's a soft spot of mine so it's no wonder I loved this as much as I did. It says something about Ray's power as an artist that the song he's credited with writing is very, very easily the best here. Sing the song, children. Volume 2's fine.

The accompanying vocals have not aged well but Mr Charles’s voice and style still make this a classic.

It's perfect, from start to finish. All the songs are great and masterfully played. 5/5

So good

Not for me. 1/5

Wonderful. I haven't really enjoyed 2-volume albums on list so far but I loved this.

vibe

Howdy, partner

I like the upbeat songs, but there were too many slow songs.

Not a fan of big band I think

A bit boring after a while.

Disc 1 > Disc 2

Listened to the deluxe version. Highly acclaimed and an essential pioneer album for the early 60s. I enjoyed his version of some of these tunes.

Excellent arrangements of classic songs. What's not to love? Ray has not just a wonderful voice, but an incredible skill interpreting songs. Any song, apparently, from what he offers here. This isn't my usual bag of tea, but I dig it. FOUR STARS

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

*Variety of blues and rock for its time *Distinctive voice and great backing band

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

his voice is so good holy shit

This is pretty good, it’s cool how it fuses two very different genres of music. It’s not quite my style, the songs are slow and a little boring after a while (although that might be because I listened to volume 1 and 2 in one sitting)

I liked this a tonne. The big band instrumentation, extra voices, song choices. Ray transformed these tracks and made them his own. 4/5

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

You Don't Know Me is one of my favorite Ray Charles songs (Seven Spanish Angels with Willie?). This is fine but it's like the soundtrack to a Nora Ephron or Rob Reiner movie. It's the alternate soundtrack to When Harry Met Sally. I think most 50s music is just ok for me. It is growing on me. I Can't Stop Loving You stops that trend in its tracks...maybe my least favorite Ray Charles song. Hey, Good Lookin' is not a great Hank Williams song and is worse in this cover.

A very nice and relaxing album to listen to. In the right mood, it is a fantastic album to listen to, but I don't think it's an album I would listen to most days

calming and heartfelt

Super Dope

Yeah, sure

I had a big mental block when it came to this album. I just rated album 222 before looping back to this one (#209) but I figured it was time to force myself to listen. What I thought was going to be Ray Charles covering Patsy Cline with a fake twang, turned out to be a beautiful album of standards. I guess "country" meant something different in 1962. Ray Charles has a gorgeous voice, and I'm so glad i listened to this album!

The thing with Ray for me has always been his voice, I dont care for it. That being said I have always appreciated his arrangements and the musicians and production quality of his work. Everything that should sound intimate and clean is and everything that is supposed to sound scuttled and messy like youre in a creaky floored dance hall sounds like it. This is a nice take on some standards from genres you wouldnt (at the time) think someone like Ray would be covering. The success of how well this is done is that today this blend doesnt sound jarring, its a part of the musical lexicon that seems natural. While this wouldnt be in my own personal 1001 I can one hundred percent see why it would be in someone elses.

Great album!!

old nice music

Wow. This one is hard for me. I love Ray Charles. I sorta grew up with him. My stepfather REALLY loved him. Told stories about him and all his exploits, which were numerous and very story- worthy. He’s a MASTER. The man who could make his own way in an industry of vipers, and showed the way for later artists like Prince before the boy Prince Rogers Nelson had entered the age of reason. But… I just don’t want to listen to this many songs of broken love. It’s bad enough with the Blues, but much of the blues, as a genre, focuses on being down and out, having nothing and losing the little you had. Love’s just a part of the equation. And honestly, much of country IS ACTUALLY the SAME. That’s the thing. The idea that American Country and American Blues don’t come from the same places is… laughable. But here’s the caveat. When country isn’t “tramp music” or “hobo music” and becomes the music of “proper white people,”some time during WWII, suddenly its focus seems to get squarely on romance. And here’s Ray Charles showing the way for the future of pop and RnB. So as a document, this album is pure GOLD. As an actual listen - yeah, I don’t want to. Please, don’t make me do it again… 4 - Because it’s Ray Boolean: True, it’s good for you - expand your sonic sense of history

Another fine album. I totally buy that this would be an important album for everyone to listen to. Doesn't really light my socks on fire though.

Ive heard some of these songs, but never would have guessed for most of these, (without the album title) that they were originally considered country/western songs. Except “Hey Good Lookin’” I’ve heard Hank Williams’ voice coming from Fallout more times than I can count. That is to say, Ray Charles transformed these songs from country/western standards into jazz standards and gave them some staying power they wouldn’t have had. I’d put on this album during a family party or dinner, which I can’t say about Hank Williams.

7,50/10 Muy bueno, me tiro vibras de peli de los 60'. Muy tranquilo, buenos ritmo, divertido

Quite a departure a soul and R& B artist playing country. Ray Charles has a great voice. With the Raelettes and an orchestra. Country definitely not my type of music. Up tempo songs are the good ones: Bye Bye Love, Hey good looking. The rest of the songs are too country. Some of the songs are too too slow. An average album. Three star. Country fans would probably like it.

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

A charming little album that I enjoyed listening to, but probably won't be one that I will again. Nothing against it at all, just enjoyable without any need to return to. If you follow me.

1/5. Not my cup of tea at all.

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...

Can’t hear this kind of crooner stuff without thinking of the Family Guy “sounds of the ratpack” sketch. I’m sure “hey there fruity” made the first cut of this album. I know it was “of a time” but the whole thing was just very cringey. Awful awful lyrics generally about loving little girls from what I can gather, I think thankfully that term meant something different in the early 60s.

solidno i zabavno. je li me tobožnjom inovativnošću i navodnom žanrovskom ambivalentnošću oborilo s nogu kao što je oborilo osobe čiji su osvrti ovdje najlajkaniji? pa baš i nije... premda mogu itekako cijeniti, neću baš ponovo tražiti da bih slušao

An iconic album that helped give rise to the "Nashville" sound and influenced many of the country music icons that would come about, and overall a rather lovely listen. Admittedly it's less 'country' than I expected, but I guess it makes sense given the year it came out. Ray's songwriting style combined with the crooning of the backing singers makes it feel oh so 1950s (but that's not a bad thing).

Charming from start to end. How Ray Charles is able to make genuine country songs sound like genuine soul numbers is a remarkable skill. A truly enjoyable listen.

Iblove everything about dis album <333

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.

Very soothing listen I liked it

Olvidable

It's Ray Charles. He's timeless for a reason. Even if the album title doesn't tend to be my favorite genre.

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

Loved this. Big Band/swing dotted with the most heart wrenching western ballads you’ve ever heard.

Kerstplaat

I really don't like superatives in music, because there are so many factors that make a great album and so much nuance to preference that subjectivity heavily biases. But I cannot go any further in this exercising my right to declare that this might in fact be the ultimate #1 album in the entire list. These are near century old Americana and Country Western Songs propagated and interpolated already before Ray, but by the time Ray got em they were tired and boring. Ray electrofied, injected it with youthful energy and timeless gospel, r&b and soul elements and took this collection of music to the moon. Rock n'roll was surely already invented by this point but Ray seemingly took all the pieces of it and created something completely unique and timeless, and that is "MODERN SOUNDS" in country music. I'm sure due to racial issues this was depressed and flamed for being black "counter culture" music and in no way shape or form can "a black man play my grand pappys tunes". But this fucking album absolutely rules. I said timeless, but crystal clear and well recorded with top of the line analog equipment for 1962. I can already see it in my minds eye, low hanging cigarette smoke in the booth. Ray's eyes behind sunglasses bobbing his head to the piano melody on "I Can't Stop Loving you" while the choir is in the next room belting it out. Instant and timeless 5 stars. Bump this album til your grandkids get sick of it.

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

reminds me of good old times

Loved how Ray made these songs his own and that you can barely tell that they were originally country songs. I also adore how strong his voice is throughout, although I wish there were more fast-paced songs so that the album doesn't just slip into very pleasant background music like it does in the middle of the album.

This is great. If I was more familiar with the sources I think it would be better but as it stands it's a cool project.

Someone in another review described this album as being like a reverse Elvis and I think that's spot on. Ray Charles took "white" music and gave it his own spin mixing it with traditional "black" american music. It really works. You know that fundamentally a lot of these songs are country, or old style country at least, but they don't sound like it at all. They're all turned in to jazz or r&b style with his impeccable piano playing and the backing bands. The singing is also really excellent; he's got a wonderful voice and a ton of sustain and range. Overall really well performed and recorded. Good stuff.

I'm starting to dread all the album picks that are "influential country records by bands or artists that were not originally country musicians." It's not a bad record by any means but it certainly drags quite a bit and Ray Charles' great singing isn't always great at selling the emotion of the songs he's covering (I think his version of Bye Bye Love is pretty inferior to the Everly Brothers' version, for instance)

This is so fucking good jesus christ this is incredibly killer. Can't not give it a 5 for the enjoyment this shit just gave me

An interesting take on Country stardards from an R&B and Jazz view. It was tolerable but I doubt I'll ever revisit it.

so dreamy and gorgeous. love that it's called modern sounds in country and western - he definitely flipped many of those songs on their heads.

Très sympa niveau musical mais un peu long

Very cool and can see how important this would have been at the time. Not rlly my style but it would be impossible toy not see how great his music is

Funny that the title starts with "Modern", since the style is retro even for 1962. My daughter accurately described it as, "old romantic movie music," and it evokes the 1940s. Completely genre-busting, and it sounds great, but I doubt I'll listen to it again.

I mean it was good, but it's just not really my thing, especially for a longer album like this.

aye this shit pretty good

Goed gemaakt maar niet mijn stijl

This is a great album. I nearly gave it a 5. Sinatra gets great plaudits (and deserves it) but others like Ray Charles not so much

Jolly lyrics, slow dancing, and pitchy strings. Almost makes you shed a tear.

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

It's never a bad time with Ray Charles

It sounded nice, I liked can’t stop loving you and midnight. Got a little sick of it by the end Favorite and highlight: Can’t stop loving you

ray charles can sing the soundtrack to my life. also love how the song titles are the opposite of cryptic.

Beautiful arrangements and a voice unlike any other

Wat een moderne muziek, waarschijnlijk in die tijd nog wel… Opzich wel van genoten, vooral lekker in de avond. Ik weet niet goed wat ik er nu van vind… dus maar een middenmode

Country en western klassiekers naar soul big band. Voor die tijd revolutionair nu klinkt het gewoontjes. Ray Charels moet hier de credits voor krijgen. Je hebt waarschijnlijk een tijdmachine nodig om de impact hiervan te begrijpen. Om vandaag de dag te luisteren klinkt het niet zo bijzonder. Het is allemaal net iets te zoet en gladjes voor mij. Wel een terechte 1001 qua geschiedenis.

Ben toch altijd meer fan van de meer gestripte muziek van artiesten, al moet ik zeggen dat Ray Charles de allerbeste big band verdiend vanwege zijn status. Ook maakt de setting ook uit bij deze plaat, tis meer woonkamer/diner muziek op de achtergrond dan treinreis muziek. Verder muziektechnisch veel mooie harmonieën gehoord. 3 sters

i’d have it on in the background

Didn't get the chance to listen to the entire thing. Was a nice classic soul type of feel. Ray Charles is undoubtedly a top influential figure in music history. In fact, my friends cited a few songs they know to be classics when listening with me. Full of good vibes and fun.

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.

An old sounding album it came out in 1962 I like rays voice and the music although can sound a little dated is really good and once you get used to the sound and dig deeper it's a nice collection of songs and I enjoyed it

Relaxt, soms wat traag. Gevoel van kerstmis.

put me to sleep

Vibes: 5 Instruments: 5 Production: 3 Emotional Value: 4 Storytelling: 4 Album Cover: +0 Stand Outs: I Love You So Much it Hurts, Bye Bye Love Overall Rating: 4.2

Very joyeus album. Ray Charles always cooks and this one is no different. I don’t actually know if it’s a live album, but it certainly has the energy of one. I really like how he manages to transform these good but old sounding songs into something fresh and novel for the time. This is really the bridge begween the crooner era of the 50’s and the more Motown-Soul side of the 60’s. Important album, but besides that also just a good album.

I imagine understanding the context in which this record was released, and the ensuing reception, probably bumps it up a number of stars. But separate it from historical significance and I’m left with a repetitive, sigh-inducing experience. It could never be described as bad, and it’d not mind having it on for background filler, but as a main attraction I find it incredibly lacklustre.

Enjoyable. It’s a fun sound for a singer with a good voice. Officially petitioning for an Alex Turner soul-infused country and western album, or is it a country-and-western-infused soul album.

Beautiful, simply beautiful. What can you even say about Ray Charles, this is album with a great impact to popular music and everything else that followed it. But despite me enjoying this very much, I am not sure if I will go to full 5 stars, definitely at least 4 but not sure why I am hesitant on top marks here despite loving Ray.

sd

Not a single skip. Such a great album

Very good album with a lot of quick pace and slow paced songs. Both the lyrics and instrumentals are very good. I would definitely listen again but just short of being a favorite album of mine.

Gib es noch eine Chance, aber erstes mal durchhören hatte mich nicht ganz gefangen

I think this is one of those albums where you have to take be in a specific mood. I can imagine some late night, feeling a bit depressed, or contemplative, this could hit the spot. That’s not really my vibe today so much of this felt draggy. The production was too much. Just give me Ray and a piano, no need for background singers and strings. But still, he’s so smooth, it certainly isn’t all bad.

It's alright. Nothing too special to me, but alright.

Couldn’t stand the arrangements, but Ray often rescues the songs anyhow.

Ray Charles was actually a huge country fan, and these are great versions of some true classics. Great album!

liked it, probably come back to it at another time, very vibey for driving or something

Excellent concept, although very much of it’s time.

just banger after banger after banger

day 1 a pleasant listen, despite my initial hesitance. charles' vocals are incredibly soothing and, listening to this album at night, i feel i could fall asleep to him. (though i suppose some songs, like "just a little lovin' (will go a long way)", are admittedly better suited for waking up.) ♡: "you don't know me"

Reminded me of Christmas music

Sublime loved everything about this album

Accidentally only listened to volume 1! Amazing album, will listen to volume 2 later today.

One of the greatest albums of all time. Happy for an excuse to listen again

See oli kindlasti natukene huvitavam kuulamine. Kõik laulud olid küll veidi sarnased nii kõlalt kui ka sisult. Ma soovin, et ta oleks andnud rohkem detaile selle läbikukkunud suhte kohta millest ta pidevalt laulis, sest mul tekkis uudishimu. Tema perspektiivist paistis, et küsimus oli lihtsas armastamises või mitte armastamises, aga ma tahaksin ka naise perspektiivi kuulda, sest ta ei andnud mingeid detaile ja ma ei usu, et see naine lihtsalt üks päev järsku otsustas, et tegelikult ei armasta. Muusika ei olnud selline, mida ma oma vabast ajast kuulaksin, aga tegu oli huvitava kuulamisega niiet 3.

Ray Charles is one of my favourites musicians - but I have a lot of favourites. The album is great, Ray's singing is wonderful, the sound is marvellous. Can't add anything more to that.

This grew on me, though it will never be a go-to for me. Not as modern as it needs to be for my ears.

Not bad for its time. The lyrics were really cheesy but otherwise the album seemed pretty solid.

This album started out fine, then it got boring. Good singing, good instruments.

Like, I can see why he's good, it's just not my taste. Still solid

Top shelf pop music that is country songs played in the style of swinging rhythm & blues.

#370 I couldn’t quite get my head around this. Initially I was putting my review in for the previous day via the history page and saw this was next in the queue; noting the album title I figured it was exactly what it said it was, and I didn’t even initially twig who it was until I saw the album cover. He’s got a great voice and he makes many of these songs his own, sometimes they aren’t left with a shred of country and western in them, and often they sounded more big band than the soul/rnb I expected. It was all pretty good but realistically not something I would return to. Heard before? ❌ Would I revisit? ❌ Listen before you die? Probably Fave track(s): *You Are My Sunshine* Rating: 6/10 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I havent really listent to this genre that much, I think this album was a really great start.

pure midcentury americana. the perfect synthesis of rhythm and blues, country crooning, and vocal jazz. Ray Charles made an album that not just stands as an important musical moment, but epitomizes the culture that gave rise to it. show this to aliens when you need to cover this time period in the “history of western popular music” class. helps that Ray Charles can make a hellova ballad. deserves to be one of the 1001? i think so

Jamais écouté avant. Quand une voix et un musicien exceptionnel s'empare des standards de la country pour les réinterpréter à son goût, à grand renfort de big band, d'orchestre de cordes ou de chœurs féminins, le résultat ressemble à tout sauf à de la country. Le geste artistique est admirable, l'âme que Ray Charles met dans chaque note de ses arrangements est impressionnante et l'impact sociétal de cette rencontre entre deux univers musicaux qui s'ignoraient le rend encore plus remarquable. Par contre, pas sûr que ça ait très bien vieilli, ça dégouline de kitsch et de miel bien collant, et c'est long, très long (en particulier en intégrant les deux albums), en plus d'être pas mal monocorde. Plus un problème d'âge que de talent, donc. Top : You Are My Sunshine Flop : I Love You So Much It Hurts

#2 Enjoyed this one quite a bit. Growing up in the south I'm already very familiar with Ray Charles and enjoy his music a lot. I'm a little confused as to why this album is considered country though. Definitely heavy soul, blues, and jazz vibes kinda? Makes for some very easy listening!

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

Kind of great

This being a Country and Western album is debatable. The awesomeness of Ray's voice over these swingin' orchestrations is not. How can this iconic (and culturally historic) album be anything but 5 stars?!

Pretty good, not a huge ray charles fan, but it's some good music

Loved it

A great album. I’ve giving it a 4 instead of 5 because the songs eventually blended together a bit for my uncultured ear but it’s still super pleasant to listen to

Really wish this was not a double album. I enjoyed this for about 30 minutes and then it all blends together into a sad soupy slog. Really pleasant but nothing stands out.

miły

Nice pleasant album from the legend himself. Lots of soothing melodies and great vocals. A little bit long but nothing wrong with the album

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

Some excellent songs, but a little slow moving for my tastes.

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

Apparently the definitive way to enjoy Country and Western classics. So glad this exists.

I liked it, but it was a lot!

definitely not my taste, stopped at three songs

Ashamed to admit that I was scared by the album title, before realizing what a terrible blind spot I have for some really essential music and realizing this is a collection of deeply ingrained stone cold classics. I designate this album Mst Likely to Make Me Actually Feel Patriotic.

3/5, quite long and though nice to the ears sounds mostly the same to me throughout

Day 312 A voice from the heavens, found myself getting a little distracted as it sagged a little in the second half but plenty here to enjoy. Highlights Bye bye love Don’t tell me your troubles.

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

3.75

Classics from one of the all time greats, you can't go wrong

Classic, probably wouldn’t go out of my way to listen but would not be mad if it came on. Fun and upbeat!

Tiene un buen concepto el album, es de este tipo de albumes que te pueden hacer sentir deferentes emciones a medida que cambias de canción, no todos los artistas pueden hacer eso.

Bye Bye Love - 4/5. Good. I'd listen to this. I love the big band and choir sounds. It helps that I already like the song. It's pretty different from the Everly Brothers, and that helps. You Don't Know Me - 3/5. I like this one. Ray sings very well on it. It sounded a little too showtune-y for it to be a great song, but still. I do like the theme of this song though. Half As Much - 4/5. A Hank Williams cover that was not country, but it sounded great. I Love You So Much It Hurts - 3/5. This one is okay. Pretty slow, but that can be okay. Just a Little Lovin' (Will Go A Long Way) - 5/5. This is more upbeat, so more like the songs I like. I really like this one. Ray does great, and the backing music is excellent. Born to Lose - 4/5. I like this one too. It's slow, but more jazzy. Worried Mind - 4/5. I like this one a lot. Ray's soothing voice really sounds great. It Makes No Difference Now - 5/5. This one's pretty good. The soul sounds very good, I would definetely listen to this kind of music. You Win Again - 4/5. This one is good, soulful. The backing vocals are very good. Kind of sounds like an old Disney song, but in a good way. Careless Love - 5/5. I love this one. It's smooth and sounds so familliar. I Can't Stop Loving You - 4/5. I really like Ray's part, but the choir section isn't really doing it for me. Hey, Good Lookin' - 5/5. Ray sounds great, it's well paced, and the piano is so good. You Are My Sunshine - 2/5. I like the original a lot better unfortunately. No Letter Today - 4/5. It just sounds so good. Someday (You'll Want Me To Want You) - 3/5. It just didn't really speak to me. Pretty unmemorable. Don't Tell Me Your Troubles - 4/5. I like it a lot, but it is kind of hard to keep up with. Midnight - 4/5. I like this one a lot too. Sounds so nice. Oh, Lonesome Me - 4/5. Short and sweet. Take These Chains From My Heart - 4/5. I am really starting to like these slower, more ballad-y songs. Your Cheatin' Heart - 5/5. very good. I love this one. I'll Never Stand In Your Way - 4/5. This sounds like music that would be playing in fallout, with crinkles. I love it. Making Believe - 4/5. This wasn't originally a soulful song like this? It sounds so good like this. Teardrops In My Heart - 4/5. These songs are all so good. Hang Your Head in Shame - 4/5. Good closing song for a great album. It is a cover album. I need to keep that into consideration. But still, it is very good. It makes me want to listen to more Ray. I wish there was more of his piano playing, but other than that, it was very good. I think that it gets a solid 4/5.

Nice

Bye Bye; tight arrangement, backup singers are locked in; Sid Feller key in song choices I have to get used to hearing Charles in a different light. You don't know me much like his Georgia recording. 2 tracks in and this is Country and Western? Someone tell Bob's Country Bunker. Half as Much swings like a pig by the tail! A lot of these ballads sound like something Nat King Cole would sing. There are a lot of ballads on this album. So many ballads! Maybe the title could have been Ballads and Blues? More suited. Distinct lack of my dog died my woman done left me my pickup truck broke down. Still, it's Ray so a 3.

I was a bit skeptical that Charles could pull off messing with country classics, but shame on me! My wife loved it, I loved that, so all is good... Including this album.

Historic album at the time, and I enjoyed the fusion of blues and old country. Would listen again Rating: 7.5/10 Favorite Song: Bye Bye Love, Midnight