Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival [Live]

Ray Charles | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 29, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Label: Geneon [Pioneer]
• ASIN: B000068PZO
• Also Available in: VHS Tape  |  DVD  |  Amazon Instant Video
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #453,605 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Ray Charles Opener

2. I'll Be Home

3. Busted

4. Georgia on My Mind

5. Mississippi Mud

6. Just for a Thrill

7. You Make Me Love You

8. Angelina

9. Scotia Blues (Blues for Big Scotia)

10. Song for You

11. Do It to Me Slow (Rayettes Intro)

12. Watch Them Dogs

13. Shadows of My Mind

14. Smack Dab in the Middle

15. I Can't Stop Loving You

16. People Will Say We're in Love

17. What'd I Say

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Genius at his best!, January 9, 2005

By 

Arle Frost "the media man" (L.A. Calif USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ray Charles - Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival (DVD)

I was a fan of Ray's since childhood when my grandmother used to play his music all of the time. I didn't realize the genius of the man until I got older. The man played many instruments,including the sax, trumpet, and of course the piano that we associate with him, just to name a few. The Genius besides being an accomplished musician was also an accomplished music writer, arranger and producer. Watching this DVD concert left me wanting more and made me appreciate the genius of the man so much more. The concert was about 75 minutes long, but as the adage goes, "time flies when you're having fun", definitely applies here. He played alot of his standards and some classic pop standards from other artists with his special touches which make you think, "why didn't they do it that way"? My only complaint was I wished the concert could of been longer. There were some standards he didn't play that I was hoping to hear, but I guess when you're watching a concert of a musical genius who have a repetoir of over 600+ songs, you have to end it somewhere. Ray's performance in this concert will impress and his mastery of the keyboard synthesizer in this concert will bring tears to the eyes. The added treat to this DVD is the interview feature where he critiques his music, where he drew his inspiration, and why he did each song that way in the concert, and his views on music in general. One other additional feature I liked in this DVD/CD set is the timeline of the man and his many, many, accomplishments which was chronicled from his childhood, to when he became blind, the ooodles and ooodles of awards and accolades he accomplished throughout his career, just stopping short of his death. If you're a fan of the Genius, this DVD/CD set is a must have.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Overall a good concert!, December 28, 2006

By 

Capt. Billy Thimbleberry (On the shores of Lake Superior) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ray Charles - Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival (DVD)

I enjoyed this concert. The audio was fairly good although several horn solos were poorly recorded so they were barely audible. The camera angles must have been quite restricted because throughout the DVD the right side of the same 'bone player's face kept being shown. The Raylette's were fun to watch. The DVD featured a good number of tunes. I recommend it!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is Ray with a BIG Jazz Band!, January 23, 2008

By 

Steven I. Ramm "Steve Ramm "Anything Phon... (Phila, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ray Charles - Live At Montreux 1997 (DVD)

If you know Ray Charles from his R&B concerts you're in for a surprise with this 58- minute concert taped at the Montreux Jazz Fest in Switzerland in 1997. Ray sits at a small keyboard, not a piano, and is backed by a large 15-piece "big band"! For the first number - "Mr. Ray Charles" - the band overpowers his vocals and drowns him out. But things get MUCH better after that. His hits are all here with big band arrangements but there's also songs like "Mississippi Mud" which you wouldn't hear at a typical RC concert.

"Just For a Thrill" is done in a long extended version with wonderful instrumental solos by Charles on keyboard and David Hoffman on flugelhorn. "Scotia Blues" is another "big band" number. The only thing that slows down the momentum of the show is "Watch Them Dogs", which is a vocal solo by the lead singer for the Raelettes.

The camera work is excellent with lots of great angles and close-ups. And the image is sharp. And there's a nice set of program notes included in the DVD case as well.

This is the "jazz" side of Ray Charles - even on his country hit "I Can't Stop Loving You".

Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"