Ray!: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [Soundtrack]

Ray Charles | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 19, 2004)
• Original Release Date: October 29, 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Atlantic
• ASIN: B0002LE9HC
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,267 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Mess Around (Studio)

2. I Got A Woman

3. Hallelujah I Love Her So (Live)

4. Drown In My Own Tears

5. Night Time Is The Right Time (Studio)

6. Marianne (Studio)

7. Hard Times (Studio)

8. What'd I Say(Live)

9. Georgia On My Mind (Studio)

10. Hit The Road Jack (Studio)

11. Unchain My Heart (Studio)

12. I Can't Stop Loving You

13. Born To Lose (Studio)

14. Bye Bye Love (Studio)

15. You Don't Know Me (Live)

16. Let The Good Times Roll (Live)

17. Georgia On My Mind (Live)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Soul and R&B legend Ray Charles may not have lived to see the success of Hollywood's ultimate tribute to him, but director Taylor Hackford's biopic (featuring a landmark performance by Jamie Foxx as the musical legend) will further burnish his legacy as one of the cornerstones of contemporary American music. Though it stretches from 1953's ecstatic, proto-soul "Mess Around" to a sublime, bluesy live take of "Georgia on My Mind" recorded in Japan in the mid-'70s, this 17-track song-score can only be an inviting appetizer to the singer's epochal body of work. Charles's artistry may have virtually defined soul music, yet it also triumphed in genres as far afield as blues ("Nightime Is the Right Time") and country ("I Can't Stop Loving You," "Bye Bye Love") during the '60s, the impossibly rich era from which the bulk of this soundtrack is culled. Crucially, fully a third of the cuts here are live recordings--including electrifying 1965 performances of "What'd I Say," "You Don't Know Me," and "Hallelujah I Love Her So" hand-picked for the film by Charles himself--the forum in which the singer consistently operated on a whole other artistic plateau from mere mortals. -- Jerry McCulley

Product Description

This fall Universal Pictures and Walden Media will release the feature-length biopic Ray!, the never-before-told musical biographical drama of the late American legend Ray Charles. Featuring a remarkable performance from Jamie Foxx in the central role, Ray! follows the inspiring story of a one-of-a-kind genius. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Taylor Hackford (La Bamba, An Officer And A Gentleman), the film features Foxx’s uncanny lip-syncing to classic Ray Charles tracks (utilizing the artist's original master recordings). Ray! is an inspirational story about an amazing artist and human being, with Ray Charles music at the film's very core.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

103 of 106 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An essential CD to go with this film tribute to Brother Ray!, November 12, 2004

By 

Matthew G. Sherwin (last seen screaming at Amazon customer service) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Ray!: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Audio CD)

Man, how Ray Charles could belt out a tune! He made it seem so easy; and the proof of that is on this CD. "Georgia On My Mind" is one of my favorite Ray Charles songs; this studio cut of Ray singing this is magnificent and very moving. No wonder it's Georgia's state song!

This CD starts out with the mischievous "Mess Around;" this song is so much fun you may replay it a few times before you even get to the rest of the CD! Hehehe! "I've Got A Woman" continues in this same way. There are some terrific live recordings here, too! Ray sings "Hallelujah I Love Her So," "What'd I Say," "You Don't Know Me," "Let The Good Times Roll," and "Georgia On My Mind" all live! I only wish I had been at one of these concerts; the electricity that so clearly is there in his performance would have blown my mind!

I especially liked the somewhat different arrangements on "You Don't Know Me" and "Let The Good Times Roll!" Very well done! The live recording of "Georgia On My Mind" is indeed very bluesy; a nice twist to a great song that is also here from a studio recording session Ray did.

Ray had a hand in the production of this film before he died; therefore this CD is also an excellent introduction or perhaps a single CD miniature compilation of some of his most famous songs. This is also a wonderful way for us all to remember the great Mr. Charles; since his performances here are dynamic, exciting, fresh and straight from the heart.

The CD comes with liner notes by Taylor Hackford. Hackford both directed and co-wrote the film "Ray."

In short, GET THIS CD! and help celebrate the life and art of the great Mr. Ray Charles! You won't regret this CD purchase! And while you're at it, why not see the movie, too? GRIN

77 of 79 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid compilation, November 1, 2004

By 

Blues Bro "bluesbro" (Lakewood, Colorado USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Ray!: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Audio CD)

If you saw the movie, you know by now that Ray recorded for two record companies: Atlantic and ABC Paramaount. Usually, when you buy any 'greatest hits' compilation of Ray, is either from the Atlantic sides or the ABC sides, never both. But for this CD, you get great sides from both companies. Everything here is classic. maybe too many live tracks, but as a one CD compilation to get to know Ray Charles, you can hardly find a better one. If you saw the movie, you'll remember the scenes were these tracks were played. Highly recommended if you dont have any of the Ray Charles classic recordings of the 50's & 60's.

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Bait and switch... maybe, February 23, 2006

By 

Michael Way "critic-at-large" (Shady Side, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ray!: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Audio CD)

The Ray Soundtrack was a disappointment in that the sound is not even close to the quality of the music on the DVD. Now to be sure, it is the same music. Allow me to explain; in the movie, each song has a dramatic "jump" to it that is absent in the soundtrack. It's like the editors pulled the original records, re-mastered them and laid the tracks down on this CD in the exact order as they appeared in the film. So what you get is Ray, but it is does not have the soul of the same music as in the movie. I'm not sure I can explain it correctly but it's as if the movie and Jamie Foxx stylized the same songs to have that "oomph" that's missing from this re-mastered collection of original tunes. To test my theory, I made a dub of "What'd I Say" from the DVD and played it back-to-back with this CD's version of the same song. The difference is unbelievable.
My conclusion; I love Ray Charles and his music but after hearing his music from the DVD in full Dolby 5.1, this CD is very disappointing. Put simply, it's like me taking my collection of Ray Charles Hi-Fidelity recordings and doing a straight transfer to CD. The music would be there but it would in no way sound like a modern day state of the art produced CD. And that's my problem; if the producers could make the film sound so good, they should have used the same music for the Soundtrack and used this collection of recordings labeled "The Originally Recorded Music" that inspired the movie Ray. That's my take for what it's worth.

Mike Way