Thanks for Bringing Love Around Again

Ray Charles

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 7, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Vanguard Records
• ASIN: B0000645JJ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #105,213 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Ray Charles still has a marvelous voice, equal parts sweat and moonbeams. Nonetheless, it seems the "Legendary Genius of Soul" didn't apply all his brainpower to this album. It may, in part, be a matter of taste. The sampled horns and strings in tunes like "Can You Love Me Like That" and "How Did You Feel the Morning After" pale next to the terrific arrangements for organic instruments that have long been a cornerstone of his reputation. And too many of these numbers, from the blithe "I Love You More Than I Ever Have" to the ballad "Ensemble," depend so much on female supporting vocalists that Charles sometimes seems like a guest on his own album. Worse, his new songs are often unrealized--mere fragmentary notions of lyrics over grooves. For much of this CD he has adopted the programmed beats and clichéd electronic keyboard lines that are common to the Britney and Backstreet world of contemporary pop. It's one thing for a classic artist to attempt to reinvent himself, another to dilute his art for the charts, which he hardly has a prayer of reaching, given the state of today's music biz and its negative attitude toward the pioneers of virtually any longstanding musical style. That said, not everything here is disappointing. The title ballad uses Charles's relaxed vocal delivery to full advantage, and the funkier "New Orleans" shows off his barroom piano chops. The other winners are the monologue-jam "Mr. Creole," a checklist of New Orleans's human virtues, and "Mother," an ode to maternal love that brings Charles's pure soul singing to the fore. --Ted Drozdowski

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars This is the same Ray Charles..., May 10, 2002

By	Dana C. Steinman (BinghamtonNY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

whose 'Modern Sounds In Country & Western Music' is one of the most important recordings all time. This is the same Ray Charles whose "What I'd Say" (which is sorely covered here) is one of the all-time greatest--not to mention most recognizable--hooks in history. So why does this latest album sound like it was recorded with one of the first Casios on the market instead of the horn section it needs? And whoever can answer that must also know the reason why those amemic keyboards are supported with such paper-thin mechanical percussion. I was truly looking forward to new material from Ray Charles, but was almost immediately let down simply by the mere sound of this production. The songs are not bad at all--melodies and lyrics are up to the standard of someone who's set so many standards himself. Charles is in superb voice throughout, as well. I did consider rating this three stars on those merits alone, but Mr. Charles should have known better; something should not have sounded right during playback. An old cat should stick to what he does typically better than the best, and that's earthy, honest R&B--or whatever else Ray Charles might be in the mood for. Applying the whiney, wheezing, and ultimately whimpy technology to this otherwise winning collection of songs has taken any muscle comepletely away from them. If you're new to the music of Ray Charles, the aforementioned title and his Rhino best-of collections are the logical places to begin exploring his genius. This latest is perhaps a curiosity for established fans or newer ones who have done their homework first.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Two Steps Forward, One Step Back, May 25, 2002

By	David J. Rosen (Birmingham, AL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"Thanks For Bringing Love Around Again" is Ray Charles' best album since 1988. Even in his early 70s, the intricacies that make his voice so soulful and endearing continue to evolve and his singing is wisely placed as the centerpiece of the album. Billy Osborne gave Ray a selection of songs that puts him back in his old gospel-influenced element that allowed him to shine so brightly on his Atlantic and early ABC sides. It is apparent that Osborne very purposefully constructed these songs based on the chord patterns of those classic tunes. The listener can sense how comfortable Ray is with these structures, especially when Ray shouts improvisational lines on top many of the chorus, just as he used to do on many of his tunes during his golden years. With the exception of "Mother," the lyrics aren't as touching or insightful as those of Ray's past choices for ballads, such as "Brightest Smile in Town," "Drown in My Own Tears," or "You Don't Know Me", and are nowhere near as clever as the Percy Mayfield tunes such as "Hide Nor Hair" or "Unchain My Heart." However, the words are mindless and fun enough to transport you back to many of the Ray originals of the 1950s, thus they work on the level that Osborne probably intends them. Osborne cements these suspicions when he borrows a theme from Ray's "Hallulajuh I Love Her So" on the funky gospel, mid-tempo jam, "How Did You Feel the Morning After": "After the night is gone and the sun comes up / You bring me coffee, girl, in my favorite cup".

While Osborne is mostly successful in his writing, he and Ray unfortunately failed in giving the songs the production that they deserve. This album could have easily been considered a Ray Charles "comeback" album. All that would have been needed is a real drummer and a horn section. The keyboard horns Ray uses in place of an authentic horn section fall flat despite the well-constructed arrangements. It is frustrating to listen to the synth-horn lines and imagine how well they would have worked with a tight horn section. To ask for a return to an authentic band is far from the same as asking Ray to stop trying to move forward. These songs could have still captured the contemporary sound Charles has been after for the past 12 years without the drum machines and cheesy synthisizers, and probably much more successfully than they do as they are now. It's a shame that Ray and Osborne failed to realize this. The trick to falling in love with this album despite all its faults, as this reviewer has, is being able to look past these ill-conceived choices and hearing the songs for what they are at their core: a long overdue return to the gospel-blues that will always be Ray's true element.

Every single Ray Charles album has always had at least one special gem that makes the entire set worthwhile, even if one has difficulties looking past all the weaknesses that have plagued them since the 1970s. On "Thanks for Bringing Love Around Again," that track is "Mother." "Mother" is more influenced by modern gospel choirs than it is by the classic gospel-blues sound that dominates most of the other songs. It's a beautifully soft and haunting melody, and for the only time on the album Osborne lyric's reach straight into Ray's life and soul: "And I surely still do miss my Mother / Doesn't matter how old that I grow / Mother's love will stay with me all through life no matter where I go." Ray has been known to shed tears when singing an especially touching lyric, and his emotion and cries can be heard and felt stronger than ever on this track. His vocal performance on "Mother" is his best in years, and once again his improvisation asides sung over the choruses bring everything back home for Ray and his audience.

"Thanks For Bringing Love Around Again" might be best viewed as an album that takes two steps forward and one step back. Ray is still more than capable of an album that is strong on every level. Unfortunately, the world will not be blessed with another until Ray develops the patience for recording in a real band setting again, no matter how good the songs may be.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Lost contact?, January 8, 2003

By	Dirk De Haes (Leuven, Flanders, Europe) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've always been a Ray Charles fan and will ever be, but his latest album is very disappointing. His fans are always willing to listen, but will Ray for one time be ready to listen to his fans? Nobody likes those electronic sounds 'out of a box': why doesn't Ray surround himself with say five or six good studio musicians and record an 'unplugged' album? But as we all know, Ray is a stubborn man and 'nobody has to tell him'...