Artist: Ray Charles
Album: The Genius of Ray Charles
Year: 1959
Ray Charles is an artist I've actively resisted for some reason for a long time. When I think of R&B, my natural association is 90's crap like Toni Braxton and Blackstreet. So sue me for not wanting to listen to the guy just about everyone attributes as one of the most important figures of the genre. And then there was the movie Ray with Jamie Foxx, who is about 10,000 kinds of full of himself, hence I never did get around to seeing that movie. At least he (Foxx) contributed this little gem:
I can never tell if that song is for real, or some kind of SNL-style parody. The fact that I can't tell is funny enough.
So, Ray Charles. You've eluded me, or rather I've eluded you, for a long time. Needless to say, I was not really looking forward to listening to this one.
Darned if this one wasn't fantastic. Great soulful vocals by Charles with some excellent orchestral arrangements. I was stunned at the variety of stuff on this album. "Let the Good Times Roll" is an upbeat rock track, not too far removed from Little Richard--only Ray Charles' voice isn't obnoxious as shit. "It Had to Be You" is a classic which always reminds me of Diane Keaton's mildly faltering nightclub debut in Annie Hall. "Alexander's Ragtime Band" is an Irving Berlin classic redux, an energetic stomper. "Two Years of Torture" has Paul Gonsalves of Ellington at Newport fame with a nice sax solo. I'd say half the songs here (mostly the first half) are upbeat, and the other half are ballads. Both are equally well-performed.
Above all I think my conceptions of "R&B" are a little skewed by what it eventually turned into. This Ray Charles album was just a really nice mix of rockers and ballads. Seems to me most albums these days still follow a similar template. It's a must-listen.
Rating: Indispensable
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