Customer Reviews

Pictures & Paintings

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This set of laid back combo type jazz/blues was Charlie Rich's swan song,and these pieces reveal THE REAL CHARLIE RICH,the soulful jazzman who got stuck in the country rut and never found his way home,until this magnificent set of piano blues. The title song,"Pictures and Paintings" is such a haunting,achingly beautiful piece of music that anyone who has ever lost a love can identify with. I first heard this set in 1994 when it first appeared,it grabbed me then,and it still does." Don't Put No Headstone On My Grave","Mood Indigo","JuiceHeaded Baby" are all stellar,as are the other cuts.Charlie left a real statement as to who he truly was with this offering,and I for one was left wanting more.Give it a spin.Oh yeah,his version of "You Don't Know Me" has got to be THE definitive one,it grabs you way down deep and doesn't let go...

the original "sun records" eclectic sings laid back, late night jazz, blues, standards and r&b. not a country album - charlie rich sings and plays the piano in a small combo setting. his last album a masterpiece and harkens back to his jazz and soul beginnings. if you like a great voice and very nice piano work, try this one.

The Memphis-based Rich embodied the confluence of that city's multiple currents of American music. The result is genre-busting American popular music integrating country, jazz, blues, R&B, and even gospel into a seamless whole. Most of the tracks feature a piano/guitar/bass/drum line-up augmented by horns on half the cuts; the selections range from public domain blues ("Juice Head Baby"), to Rich originals, standards ("Mood Indigo"), and the songs by other accomplished songwriters (the title track by Doc Pomus and Dr. John). The final cut, "Feel Like Going Home," is a fitting epitaph for Rich who died not long after its release. Definitely a desert island disk.

"Pictures And Paintings" C.D. was Charlie Rich's last musical release before his death in 1995. "Pictures And Paintings" finally shows off the "REAL" Mr. Rich. Charlie Rich was not a country singer. He first became a star as a country singer but Charlie could sing it all. In this C.D. Charlie went back to the piano and went back to his soul. Jazz. The song "I Feel Like Going Home" is a heart wrenching story of a man that feels like he has giving his all but it isn't good enough. The man feels tired and weary and he feels like going home. Charlie Rich wrote this song and one has to wonder if this wasn't an autobioghraphy song?? Smile Charlie you deserve to.

Much like Roy Orbison, Charlie Rich had spent about ten years in the wilderness before he was afforded the opportunity to show that he could live up the legend that had grown around his name. Unfortunately, like Orbison, he died shortly after his greatest artistic statement. I wish I could say that record executives heeded the lesson from these swan songs and resolved to give older, established artists more time and breathing space when it came to recording, but it has not yet happened, if it ever will.

"Pictures and Paintings" is just that; a series of pictures and paintings giving us a glimpse of the palette of influences that made Charlie Rich one of the most eclectic artists to come out of the Sun Studio stable, which is saying something considering that Sun produced not only Presley, Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and a group of singing prisoners. Sam Phillips often said that Rich was the most talented musician he ever had at Sun. Presley, Perkins, Cash and Lewis made it bigger, sooner, but Rich kept true to his soul and made records that were so challenging and varied that consistent success eluded him for years.

You may not hear anything on this disc as lush as "Behind Closed Doors" but songs like "Anywhere You Are" and "You Don't Know Me" come close in their simple, understated style. Gutsy, Delta blues like "Don't Put No Headstone On My Grave" and "Juice Head Baby" reveal a gritty sound that comes mainly from life/survival. Overall the disc has good sound and feel (coincidentally recorded, in part, at Sam Phillips' studio) that makes for perfect late night listening, alone or otherwise.

Could Elvis have made an album like this say in 1987 or 1997, had he lived and cleaned up? The world will never know, but we get a glimpse of what might have been with "Pictures and Paintings", a great final musical statement from a fellow Delta musician.

This was Charlie Rich's last record. It was the record he always wanted to make. It is primarily jazz with some r&b, blues and gospel. Listening to it is like sitting in a dark bar and having Charlie Rich play his music to you. If you think he was just another country star, please listen to this record. He was a marvelous musician who loved music. It is a shame this wonderful record is out of print.

EVERYTHING CHARLIE HAD EVER DONE IS EXCITING. BUT THIS ALBUM "PICTURES AND PAINTINGS" IS THE ULTIMATE CHARLIE. IF YOU LIKE CHARLIE RICH YOU WILL LOVE THIS.

wonderful singer and piano player, wish there could have been more from this great artist