Customer Reviews

At Newport

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If one is interested in the early Ray Charles jazz years this is a wonderful example. The album abounds with demonstrations of his virtuosity on piano, and that of other musicians in his large band. Check out Blues Waltz!! A good listen! We won't see his like again.

This blew my mind in '58 and it does so again now--and maybe more. This disc contains great jazz instrumentals such as Blues Waltz and In a Little Spanish Town, yet its greatest cuts (and all are great) demonstrate Ray's soul. Check out A Fool For You, for instance. The Right Time's "La Do Day" background singing is cool. My favorite since '58 has been "Talking Bout You." Play it over and over and try to sit still. It brings tears to my eyes. In my view, this is Ray's best record.

I was 12 or so when I first heard this "album". It was my introduction to Ray Charles. I had never heard anyone Wail like he did, and the version of In a little Spanish Town and his incomparable "I got a woman", along with a number of other top flight covers and other original stuff just knocked me out. I lost the album so several years ago I looked for it online and to my chagrin it was out of distribution. I was delighted when Atlantic decided to re-release it as part of their 50th anniversary.My liking of the album has not dimmed at age 61.

I absolutely love jazz, and the only non-jazz music I listen to (often) is Ray Charles. I may only have a best of, this, "The Genius of Ray Charles", and "The Great Ray Charles", but this is probably my favourite one of them all. This cd has a lot jazz tracks, and even features Ray Charles playing alto on a couple of tracks! I love this cd for the jazz tracks but most of all for his signature vocals on Right Time, I Got a Woman, Talkin' 'Bout You, and last but not least Fool For You. The tracks are well organized so you get a mix of both, neither jazz nor vocal tracks are concentrated in one area, which means it's a great listen all the way through. In short, I really enjoy this cd, and recommend it to jazz fans and Ray Charles fans alike.

I was disappointed with this album. Ray is great, as usual, but the backup musicians on this recording sound stiff, wooden, and mechanical, which is surprising, because this is a live album. None of the songs covered here are as good as their original versions