Burning Memories/Touch My Heart

Performer: Ray Price
Producer: Don Law; Frank Jones; Jones Shaffran (Compilation); Nick Shaffran (Compilation)
Distributor: E1 Distribution (USA)

Notes: 2 LPs on 1 CD: TOUCH MY HEART (1966)/BURNING MEMORIES (1964). Personnel includes: Ray Price (vocals); Wayne Moss (guitar); BuddySpicher (fiddle); Bill Pursell (piano); Snuffy Miller (drums). Originally released on Columbia Records. Personnel: Jerry Glenn Kennedy, Herman Wade, Grady Martin, Hank Cochran, Art Bishop, Wayne Moss (guitar); Howard Carpenter, Wilda Tinsley, Roby I. Story, Vernal E. Richardson, Martin Kathan, Bach Byron T., Lilian Hunt, George Binkley III, Brenton Banks, Cecil Brower (violin); Grover Lavender, Buddy Spicher (fiddle); Floyd Cramer, William Whitney Pursell, Hargus "Pig" Robbins (piano); Joe Zinkan (acoustic bass); Harold Bradley (electric bass); Douglas Kirkham, Len "Snuffy" Miller, Robert E. Preston, William Paul Ackerman, Jan Kurtis Skugstad, John Bush Shinn III (drums). Liner Note Author: Nick Shaffran. Somewhat perplexingly, these two Ray Price albums aren't presented in chronological order, with 1966's TOUCH MY HEART coming first. On the other hand, this record's more stripped-down sound is probably more accessible to a modern country listener. (Here producer Don Law dials back the orchestral arrangements, preferring to anchor the songs with Tommy Jackson's fiddle and Buddy Emmons's pedal steel.) Ironically, the full-fledged countrypolitan strings on 1964's BURNING MEMORIES, which were intended to draw Price a more mainstream audience, might sound dated and slick to some country purists. The song selection and performances, however, are unimpeachable: "Make the World Go Away" and "Release Me" were, of course, the huge hits. However, Price also scores with excellent versions of Willie Nelson's "Are You Sure" and Buck Owens's "Walk Me to the Door," less orchestrated tunes that showcase Price's growing command of the lovelorn country ballad, the style that he would grow to dominate in the late '60s and early '70s. These two albums mark the key transition of Price's career, from his early honky-tonk days to his later stature as the voice of the Nashville Sound.

Texan country singer Ray Price got the best possible start by having Hank Williams himself for a mentor. After Williams's death, Price began using Hank's Drifting Cowboys as a backup band and performing in a remarkably similar style. After putting together a new band to find his own sound, he essentially invented the 4/4 country shuffle, replacing the traditional country 2/4 beat. This combination of honky-tonk and Western Swing both influenced a whole school of country and helped pave the way for rockabilly. Besides his voluminous body of solo work, Price was also known for his latter-day collaborations with Willie Nelson, whose "Night Life" had been an early-'60s Price hit.

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