The Great Ray Charles [IMPORT]

Ray Charles

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: 1957
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Warner Music France
• ASIN: B000002IKN
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #175,579 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Ray Charles is such a great, expressive singer that his piano prowess is often overlooked, to say nothing of his alto saxophone playing. This disc shows that Ray was not only a better bluesman than most people know, but also a pianist at home in the hard bop context, if bluesier than most jazz pianists of his generation. In addition, saxophonists Hank Crawford and David "Fathead" Newman, whose respective sounds were as much a part of the classic Charles style as was the leader, turn in fine solos throughout. Truly a must for fans of Charles' powerful overall style. --Skip Heller

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best slow sax ..., June 27, 2000

By	Will Flannery (Berkeley, CA) - See all my reviews

The best slow sax tune ever recorded, in my opinion, is residing right on this CD. Unfortunately, at the time of this review, Amazon has not sampled it for your online listening pleasure, but, maybe by the time you read this, they will have. The tune - "Ain't Misbehavin", the sax man - Ray's regular sax man at the time of this recording, David "Fathead" Newman. It's a great tune to begin with, but Fathead doesn't play it straight. He throws down one incredibly perfect phrase after another, taking the tune and twisting it just a little, pulling the listener into his own unique harmonic space, and it is as pleasurable a place as you'll ever find yourself. This is a unique tune, and, of course, Fathead never plays cliches, and the result is incomparable to any other performance I know. It is completely relaxed, but full of fascination and energy. Is it really the best slow sax tune every recorded? Well, that's a subjective call; for me, it is, and in any case it is an extraordinary performance.

Newman must have thought so too, because he reprised it thirty(?) years later on the CD "Head's Up". But he didn't have Ray behind him on piano on that gig, and there is no way he could have improved on the original.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Buy, November 25, 1998

By A Customer

This is a fantastic recording that grows on you over time. It is an instrumental-only album, without Ray's great voice. However, it is so good you will be happy with it, I can promise you. Certainly one of the best albums I've purchased.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars real soul, September 2, 2004

By	paris "paris" (Chicago) - See all my reviews

Half of this album, originally called "The Genius After Hours," was the first LP I ever owned when I was a little boy. When my mom bought it for me from a peddler who came in her beauty shop, I got excited because I had a Ray Charles record. Reading the liner notes, I noticed it didn't mention any vocals, and when I put the record on I felt a little let down because there were no vocals, like "What'D I Say," which was the hit record of the day. Anyway, I listened to it and dug it. This is very moody, swinging jazz, beboppish and slick. I particularly love "Ain't Misbehavin, I Surrender Dear, Joy Ride. Ray, as a vocalist was a master, but it was his piano playing that really held all that music together.