Ray Charles Live [Atlantic]

Performer: Ray Charles
Artist: David "Fathead" Newman; Hank Crawford
Producer: Nesuhi Ertegun; Zenas Sears
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Personnel: Ray Charles (vocals, alto saxophone, piano, electric piano); Marjorie Hendricks (vocals); David Newman (tenor saxophone); Hank Crawford (baritone saxophone); Lee Harper, Marcus Belgrave, John Hunt (trumpet); Edgar Willis (bass); Richie Goldberg, Teagle Fleming (drums); The Raylettes (background vocals). Engineers: Harold Chapman, Tom Dowd, Ivan Miles. Recorded live at The Newport Jazz Festival, Newport, Rhode Island on July 5, 1958 and Herndon Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia on May 28, 1959. Includes liner notes by Gary Giddins. Previously released as a 2 LP set. There are plenty of live Ray Charles recordings available, all supporting the theory that the man never gave a bad performance, but this one is something special. Recorded in 1958 and '59 (prime time in the Charles timeline), this album fully captures the fire and fury of Charles' Gospel/blues/jazz/R&B amalgam in all its churning, gut-punching glory. Things kick off with a couple of tunes that show Charles and band's instrumental might, the horns punctuating and sparring with Charles' soulful piano runs. Hits such as "I Got a Woman" and What'd I Say" are presented in near-definitive versions, complete with Brother Ray's lascivious call-and-response with his indefatigable Raylettes. Elsewhere, Charles gives a glimpse of his vision's breadth via "In a Little Spanish Town" and "Swanee River Rock." A key moment occurs in "Drown in My Own Tears," when Charles, testifying like an ecstatic preacher over the Raylettes' backing, finds the exact meeting place of emotional turmoil and very visceral catharsis. In short, this is the live Ray Charles album to get.

Q (10/93, p.118) - 3 Stars - Good - "...a single listen to either 'A Fool For You' or 'Drown In My Own Tears' is enough to heal the sick, raise the dead and make the little women fall outta their beds..."

There are few musicians in modern pop music who can truly be called "genius," but in the case of Ray Charles, the term applies. His innovative singing, drawing on both gospel and pop, has inspired legions of great singers. With a long, prolific recording career that began in 1949, Charles became perhaps the finest interpreter of pop music in the postwar years. A gifted pianist, songwriter, and vocalist, he was a master of every style he attempted, be it R&B, country, blues, or soul. The man who wrote such indelible R&B classics as "I Got a Woman" and "What'd I Say" passed away in 2004, a legend several times over. The same year, a remarkable performance by Jamie Foxx in the biopic RAY served as a fitting cinematic eulogy.

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