This is one of my Desert Island Discs. It's a thing of beauty.
Although it was released in 1962 I certainly didn't buy it then - I remember getting it in the early 70's so it must have been the re-issue version.
I can live without 'Hit the Road Jack' and 'What'd I Say' and even 'Georgia on My Mind' .. but there are songs on this album that are essential. It does what it says on the tin. It takes C&W and folk standards and let's Ray give them his own style - using his baseline of R&B and jazz to re-interpret some well chosen songs.
There's really no need to use this space to give any sort of history of Ray Charles. What isn't common knowledge or covered by the movie 'Ray' is in his music, and this album tells his story well.
It has emotion flowing out of every pore. Just three tracks could make this a masterpiece for me.
'You Don't Know Me', 'Born to Lose' and 'I Can't Stop Loving You'.
That third song rips me every time. At the end of this verse ..
"(I can't stop loving you)
I said I made up my mind
To live in memory of the lonesome times"
he ad-libs to the Randy Horne Singers ..
"Sing the song, children" and it cuts through my heart like a knife.
Oddly, this song was thought to be one of the weakest on the album but it turned out to be the best selling single.
The album was first released in April 1962 and was so successful that a Vol 2 was quickly put out in October the same year. The pick of the crop for me on the second LP would be 'Don't Tell Me Your Troubles' and 'Take These Chains From My Heart'. Both albums have since been released on a combination CD.
This is a very short entry. There really is only one thing to say about this featured album. If you have nothing else in your collection, make sure you have this. If you want to get both, please do.
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