Ray Charles landmark album covering country and western music during the civil right moment is incredible .
031 Ray Charles – Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music
Comments
2 responses to “031 Ray Charles – Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music”
-
Surprised how positive you guys came down on this. Old school country should never, ever, under any circumstances be put to a big band arrangement because it’s Fuckin’ Lame. I don’t care how competent the musicianship is, the concept is fatally flawed right out of the gates.
-
As great as Ray Charles is, musically a lot of this album is corny schmaltz. I HATE this style of background vocals and the strings get annoying as well. But I can forgive that because of how much I admire this album as a thing that exists, even if I don’t want to sit and listen to it.
Firstly, I love the sheer chutzpah of Ray Charles recording an album of country songs. Sometimes when one of the greats is at his or her peak, they say “I can do anything and it’s going to be amazing. I can sing the phone book and it will be a hit.” And occasionally, they’re actually right. That is where Ray Charles was in 1962. He could have done anything and it was going to work and he knew it. You have to admire someone who has it and isn’t afraid to act accordingly.
Secondly, I love how very, deeply, American this album is. In the old world, they love their distinctions. The pottery guild makes the pots and the blacksmithing guild makes the frying pans and if anyone colors outside the lines they will go beat them up. And don’t get me wrong, I respect that. It ensures everybody eats and can provide their children with their daily ration of wine and cigarettes. But – for better and very often for worse – America threw that playbook straight in the trash.
Distinctions exist here, but they always bow – like everything else in America does – to the almighty dollar. If you can sell units by tearing down every genre distinction in the world then we will put a crown on your head until your records stop selling. The only distinction Americans care about is cash or card. Everything else is just details. We will listen to your big band country blues jazz in our combination KFC Taco Bells while wearing our Italian clothes and driving our German cars, all of which are made in China. God bless America!
Ray Charles was the best in the world at this time and followed his vision for the art he wanted to make with a boldness that people who don’t have a proper appreciation for that kind of thing might call arrogance, and the world is a better place because of it. The only reason I’m not giving this record full marks is because of how it veers into Lawrence Welk territory at times. But I have enjoyed re-listening to it today and unquestionably think it belongs on this list.
Leave a Reply