Ray Charles - Genius Loves Company
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Free Music Notes for Genius Loves Company
Free Music Review: You're at home with this one........
Hit: 5 Stars
"Did Ray know he was going to die?" The question was asked of this record's producer on our local Austin-based radio station. No one knows, but this album was Mr. Charles' consuming passion for the last months of his life---and it shows.
Charles' genius is showcased with some of music's greats here, old friends and new, in a combination that should have something for everyone---and some surprises as well.
One of the most poignant pieces in this collection is Ray Charles with old friend Willie Nelson singing "It was a very good year." The part-performance, part-reminiscence brought me to tears the first time I heard it. Forget it, Old Blue Eyes, this pair of Music's Elder Statesmen just stole one of your signature songs.
Another favorite of mine, James Taylor, teams up with Ray on "Sweet Potato Pie" which was previously written and performed by JT on his "Never Die Young" album. This sprightly rendition has the place hopping.
Other old and new friends are: Bonnie Raitt, Diana Krall, Gladys Knight, BB King. Every musical genre from country to old pop standards is covered with intensity and some of the best charted arrangements I have heard in a long time.
If there's a Music Heaven, Ray's up there smiling on this piece.
Free Music Review: Right up there with Sinatra's "Duets"
Hit: 5 Stars
While "Ray" didn't include any of the duets he performed, it was after all nearly three hours long...you can just listen to this album instead.
What range Ray had as a singer and it shows in his choice of musical partners, from Willie Nelson to Norah Jones (lovely to see that our young performers have musical idols and Ray is at the top of the list, personally and professionally). Willie would understand Ray's struggle with drugs, Norah his desire to innovate. And for Johnny Mathis to feel "humbled" being in the same recording studio with Ray is saying something.
The duet with Elton John is marvelous, although it's a fierce contest between them to decide who has the cooler shades!
In the movie, people criticized Ray for channelling Nat King Cole at the expense of its own voice. How interesting that Nat's daughter Natalie characterizes Ray as the flip-side of her father. I love the album liner notes.
Bonnie Raitt is one of the stars in the upcoming "Lightning in a Bottle," the one-night film history of R&B, and she proves why when she croons "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind" with Ray.
Speaking of crossing, Ray proved long ago that, like Sinatra and Elvis, he had crossover appeal.
Free Music Review: Well named
Hit: 5 Stars
I love music, but I'm not a "word guy". Words and voice must be musical in addition to their meaning. Too many singers don't understand this as well as they should. Most of the singers on this album seem to understand that their voice is not just for recitation of the lyrics but is an instrument - and they excel at it. This is truly a wonderful album to listen to and I just never tire of it.
Ray has obviously mastered his craft and it shows in this album. You can clearly hear him mentoring Norah Jones in "Here We Go Again" and hear the pride in his voice when she rises to his standards. And Billy Preston and his Hammond B3 is so important there that it's almost a trio rather than a duet.
You can hear the give and take as he nudges Elton John out of his usual style and the delight when it works. The synergy with BB King is that of two old friends in a tight game of rummy - each with his own style and each knowing the others so well that neither wins or loses and both are happier for it. Bonnie Raitt seems to carry "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind?" with Ray just along for a ride, but it works perfectly.
There is so much music here and so much pride and so much joy. I'd give it 6 stars if I could.
Free Music Review: Ray Charles' Last Triumph
Hit: 5 Stars
"Genius Loves Company" is a masterpiece, the fitting capstone of a fifty year recording career by the master of international pop music. Ray Charles was a true genius, an artist of epic stature who devoted his life to weaving a tapestry of sound from every thread of American music. He was a painter with sound on plastic as Rembrandt was a painter with oil on canvas, and his dozens of albums will long be treasured, as Rembrandt's canvases are, for the depth of their insight into the human soul.
Ray made "Genius Loves Company" racing against the clock of his illness, and every note is imbued with his indomitable courage. Many of the songs, like "You Don't Know Me" and "Heaven Help Us All" date back deep into his career. The soulful presence of many of Ray's singer friends and younger singers adds to the feeling that, in listening to "Genius Loves Company," we are hearing a great patriarch of pop music. This album, a must for any Ray Charls fan, finishes, gloriously, a recording career that began in 1948. Three cheers for Ray Charles!!!
Michael Lydon is the author of "Ray Charles: Man and Music," the definitive biography of the Genius, just republished in an updated edition by Routledge.
Free Music Review: A beautiful way to exit! Nice way to pay your last respects!
Hit: 5 Stars
I cannot believe how disrespectful some of these reviewers are.
Here is a 72 year old icon in his last days recording some poignant songs with help from some of the biggest names in the world and I see a lot of gripeing and petulant whining. Ray Charles (Mr. Charles to you non-believers) was one of the great pop icons of the last century. Here he is with Norah Jones, James Taylor, Van Morrison, Willie Nelson, Natalie Cole, Elton John, B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, Dianna Krall, Johnny Mathis, Gladys Knight and Michael McDonald pouring his soul out over smart lush and jazz-like arrangements with help from his guests all done with good taste and great respect. Yet I see a lot of disrespect even after his life's work. I guess we are just a cynical nation. Charles hasn't had a big hit in years until now, he didn't do rap or heavy metal or alternative rock. If you really believe. do yourself a favor and pay your last respects and pick up this beautiful album. Ray Charles was one of the very few individuals in popular music history that had PERFECT PITCH. So pay no attention to those no-talent naysayers. The only perfect pitch they understand is a high and tight fastball to your head.