Album Reviews: Four by Ray Charles

Among his myriad achievements, Ray Charles was the consummate crossover artist. Across the scope of his lengthy career, he made music in a wide variety of styles: r&b, rock ‘n’ roll, blues, jazz, gospel, and even country and western. His body of work is staggeringly large and confusing, with more than 250 releases to his credit. Attempts to codify his catalog into any sort of accurate list have been met with frustration. Of course it’s all about the music, but attempting to compile anything approaching a complete Ray Charles collection is a fool’s errand. One would end up with a great deal of wonderful music, albeit with inevitable omissions and as many duplications.

Against that backdrop, a new campaign has reissues three of Charles’ albums, and created one “new” one packaged to look and play like a long-lost vintage LP. Here’s a look at all four vinyl releases.

Come Live With Me
Released in 1974, this album features Charles in fine voice, backed by a massive string section. Initially, it’s MOR in the extreme, an exemplar of what was then known as “easy listening.” Sid Feller’s arrangements are quite nice for what they are. But those tracks are a red herring: just when the listener thinks they’ve got the album pegged, things take a very weird turn. “Somebody” is a mess, albeit a glorious one that must be heard to be believed. Loads of crosstalk and shifting meters might make first-time listeners thinking they’ve somehow hit “play” on two different songs at once. More conventional and far better, “Problems, Problems” is funky and soulful. “Louise” is rock solid as well. On one hand, Come Live With Me is a bizarre grab bag that’s unlikely to satisfy the casual audient. On the other, it features enough deep-cut gems to make it a must-hear. This remastered reissue is pressed on vivid tangerine (get it?) vinyl.

Ingredients in a Recipe for Soul
A true classic, 1963’s Ingredients in a Recipe for Soul showcased Charles at the peak of his powers, while pivoting to a style designed to attract the widest possible audience. The hit “Busted” opens the set, and the LP serves as a tasty sampler of just how broad Charles’ sonic palette was. There’s lovely big band music (“Where Can I Go?”), syrupy yet alluring balladry (“Born to be Blue”), gospel-tinged tracks (“That Lucky Old Sun”), show tunes (“Ol’ Man River,” “Over the Rainbow”), Vegas-y blues-jazz (“Worried Life Blues”) and more. Only the last of those features Ray on his trusty Wurlitzer electric piano, but everything here is worthwhile on some level.

Love Country Style
Ray Charles would be a giant in music even if the only record he ever made was 1962’s Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music. But not only did he record and release a second volume in that style, but he crafted several more records exploring his take on c&w. 1970’s Love Country Style is only nominally a country record. “If You Were Mine” is slick countrypolitan pop with more than a dose of soul. His reading of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” is almost unrecognizable; Ray completely reinvents the tune, making it his own while conjuring thoughts of – no, really – Donovan’s “Season of the Witch.” Elsewhere, the orchestrated “Your Love is So Doggone Good” opens with a flourish that suggests Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King.” Weird, that. The choir backing on “Till I Can’t Take it Anymore” and “Good Morning Dear” are a bit over the top, but gems like “I Keep it Hid” more than redeem the record’s excesses.

No One Does it Like… Ray Charles!
This record is billed in promotional materials as a “lost” album. As the story goes, a record called Ray Charles Sings for You was scheduled for release in 1965 but pulled at the last minute in favor of a live set. Like many of Charles’ efforts, the record is stylistically varied, though the easy-listening textures are dialed back in favor of brassy, showy tunes that emphasize his soulful and bouncy side. Those who’ve picked up all four of these new records will discover that “Worried Life Blues” is the same track heard on Ingredients (see above). In fact all of the tracks here have appeared on other releases. But the compilers deserve credit for striking the right note in the packaging of this record, which looks for all the world like a classic LP from Charles’ peak era. And like all the releases in this latest salvo, it’s on tangerine vinyl.