The Genius of Ray Charles

Performer: Ray Charles
Engineer: Tom Dowd; Bill Schwartau
Producer: Jerry Wexler; Nesuhi Ertegun
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Personnel: Ray Charles (vocals, keyboards). Liner Note Author: Nat Hentoff. Photographer: Lee Friedlander. Neither pop nor jazz, once again Charles is hard to categorize even though many of the musicians have strong jazz credentials; Paul Gonsalves, Clark Terry, Zoot Sims and Bob Brookmeyer, for example. The album's strength (in addition to Brother Ray) lies in the choice of classic songs matched with lush orchestration. Ray's soulful voice will break hearts on 'Don't Let The Sun Catch You Cryin'', 'Just For A Thrill' and the ultimate song for hopeless romantics, Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen's starry-eyed 'Come Rain Or Come Shine'. The excellent recording, particularly with Ray's up-front vocals, is the work of Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd and Bill Schwartau.

Q (5/00, p.134) - Included in Q Magazine's "Best Soul Albums Of All Time" - "...Finds the great man swinging, emoting, cajoling and laughing his way through a selection of standards that he makes his own....it exudes pure class."

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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