Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music

This poor man seems to have had his heart broken more times than Taylor Swift.

I was really looking forward to blues and soul with Ray Charles. Unfortunately, my expectations were not fulfilled. The album title actually says it all: country and western music. I can't usually get into these genres. But hey, it's Ray Charles. so give it a try. And there were also 2 or 3 very nice tracks on the album. However, the music mainly reminded me of somewhat corny film music from classic western films in black and white. After just under an hour, I'd had enough. I probably won't listen to this album in its entirety.
3/5

This is an odd album!!

Its like a cross between a Disney soundtrack and a Chrismtas album an album I want to not like but it is then saved with some great tunes on it.

I loved Dont tell me your troubles, you win again and Born to Lose but around those tracks there was a lot of filler.

Favourite song: Dont tell me your troubles
Least favourite: Midnight
Album artwork: Cool cover

Normally, I wouldn't like music like this because it's quite boring and repetitive, like all the music from those times. But with Ray Charles it's something different. He just captivates me somehow. I liked this a lot!

I think this proves that country is mainly in the delivery rather than the songwriting. I liked the big band songs more than the strings/chorus ones, but in all cases, Charles' delivery is impeccable.

En 1962, au sommet de sa gloire Ray Charles - Le mec qui a inventé la soul en forniquant avec le gospel et le rhythm and blues - a décide de s'attaquer à un autre pilier de la culture américaine, un truc encore plus blanc que la neige du Montana en plein hiver : la Country and Western music.

Sur le papier, c'est une idée de génie absolu. Un putain de geste politique et artistique. Imaginez le tableau : on est en 1962. L'Amérique est encore un champ de bataille pour les droits civiques. Et voilà qu'un artiste noir, non seulement chante de la country, mais le fait avec des arrangements grandioses, des big bands, des cordes, et s'approprie ce répertoire avec une aisance déconcertante. C'est plus qu'un album, c'est une déclaration. C'est Ray Charles qui plante son drapeau au milieu de Nashville et qui dit : "Cette musique, elle est à moi aussi". Rien que pour ça, le disque mérite sa place dans le livre des "1001 Albums". C'est un marqueur historique, un point de bascule.

Voilà. J'ai fait mon devoir de mémoire. J'ai rendu hommage à l'audace, au contexte, à l'importance capitale de la chose.

Maintenant, parlons musique. Parlons de ce que mes pauvres oreilles ont dû endurer.

Parce que, merde, qu'est-ce que c'est chiant.

Je suis désolé, il n'y a pas d'autre mot. C'est un des albums les plus incroyablement chiants que ce projet m'ait forcé à écouter jusqu'ici. Je m'attendais à de la poussière, à de la sueur, à la tristesse poisseuse des honky-tonks, à l'âme d'un Ray Charles écorché vif qui viendrait transcender la country. Et qu'est-ce que j'ai eu ? De la musique d'ascenseur. De la putain de musique de salle d'attente de dentiste de luxe.

Le problème, ce n'est pas Ray. Jamais. Sa voix est là, impériale, chaude, pleine de cette fêlure qui vous brise le coeur. On sent le "Genius" qui essaie de percer à travers le mur de son. Le problème, c'est tout le reste. C'est cette production d'une propreté maladive, ces arrangements dégoulinants de bons sentiments. Chaque morceau, ou presque, est noyé sous des hectolitres de violons sirupeux et des choeurs de chérubins sous Tranxène.

"I Can't Stop Loving You", le méga-tube de l'album... C'est l'archétype du problème. La mélodie est immortelle, la performance vocale de Ray est touchante, mais l'orchestration est d'une lourdeur... On se croirait à un dîner de gala chez tes grands-parents, avec les bougies et les napperons. Ça manque de couilles, tout simplement. Ça manque de terre. La country, c'est censé sentir la bière renversée et les coeurs brisés. Le rhythm and blues, c'est la sueur et le sexe. Ici, on a l'impression d'écouter la bande originale d'une pub pour du café soluble.

J'ai eu l'impression d'assister à un combat perdu d'avance : la voix phénoménale de Ray Charles contre une armée de violonistes bien peignés et de choristes proprets. Et même si Ray gagne quelques rounds par KO technique, à la fin, c'est l'ennui qui l'emporte. L'album est lisse. Trop lisse. Il a poli les angles de la country jusqu'à en faire une boule de bowling. Il a emballé l'âme de Ray Charles dans du papier cadeau tellement épais qu'on peine à la sentir vibrer.

C'est un disque conceptuel, oui, mais le concept a bouffé la musique. L'idée de réconciliation musicale est magnifique, mais le résultat est une sorte de soupe tiède où ni la country ni la soul ne sortent vraiment gagnantes. On est dans un entre-deux confortable et soporifique.

Alors voilà, mon verdict est sans appel. D'un point de vue historique et politique, c'est un 5/5 sans hésiter. Un disque essentiel pour comprendre l'évolution de la musique populaire américaine et les barrières qu'elle a dû faire tomber. Mais quand je doit juger l'expérience d'écoute, ici et maintenant, en 2025... c'est un monument qui prend la poussière. Un disque que l'on respecte infiniment pour ce qu'il représente, mais qu'on n'a absolument aucune envie de réécouter.

C'est peut-être ça, le piège du projet "1001 Albums". Tous ne sont pas là pour être aimés, mais pour être entendus. Celui-ci, je l'ai entendu. Une fois. Ça suffira.

Allez, au suivant. En espérant un peu moins de violons et un peu plus de crasse.

This doesn’t really do much for me though I get why it’s important.

Ray was a bit before my time, but I am lucky to have several kids who play orchestra. One is a trumpet player and one is piano. So I have come to appreciate jazz and R&B. My first impression looking at the cover was that I had missed something historically where Ray Charles invented country music. But digging in I can compare it to Postmodern Jukebox where popular hits are performed in a distinctive period style. If done well and with exceptional performers this concept works. Ray and his orchestra certainly fill the bill. After many decades that is where this album lands. As a period piece. A novelty. No matter how much raw energy and swing a genius like Ray Charles can muster to mix oil and water it will ultimately separate. Unlike Elvis who created something transformative that has stood the test of time this attempt to cast country in a an R&B mold produced a beautiful but ultimately dated result. An artifact. A curiosity. I enjoyed it though.

Pretty standard late-era swing crooning, but dang are the performances top-notch.

Very exciting start but is followed by much the same thing over, and over…

I don't usually listen to the 60s much but this album has surprised me by how calm and cozy it is.

As the album is two albums in one, it is a lot of songs.

I will give this a low 4/5 as the album does start to feel a bit long near the end.

Ray Charles assuredly deserves his notoriety within the American lexicon, and his seamless bridging of R&B, soul, pop, folk and country music into one solid sound is certainly to be praised. However, over sixty years later, the album gives off an unintended side effect of being too homogenized to sound like anything remotely worth talking about. It has its hits, it has his voice, and it has a swinging production not unlike Sinatra's best, but something just feels bland. Music's ability to vary and shift is one of its best features, and to mold it into one blob does wonders for bringing people and taste together, but only damages the songs inside. It is an album with tons of passion, but nothing to truly call remarkable, and I can only imagine this issue worsens with each passing decade. Good music of the past, but still definitively music of the past, and I can't help but think this rang true only a couple of years after this release.

Enjoyed this album! Love his voice and the vibes. A classic

4 ⭐️

I'm 150 albums in and I'm way over thinking this. I went into listening to these albums purposely avoiding Wikipedia until after I listened and rated them. However..

I don't really know how to rate this. It's not an album i'd ever listen to because it just doesn't really do anything for me. But it feels "important"

At the same time I don't even know the cultural significance of this album to quantity why it's important. I think these are covers. Would it be more important to put the albums of the original artists on this list to add context, or does ray Charles significantly altrs the music enough to warrent the album to exist being on this list even with the album being context free? Then does any album on this list follow that? I'm sure there are plenty of albums I like on this list because of the context it exists and I like the album BECAUSE of the cultural significance that I do understand. What even makes a great album. Maybe I need to get a copy of this stupid book.

Anyway I have it a 3

I don't know

Ok Ray can belt out a tune but this jut isn’t the type of music I would choose to listen to and couldn’t really get into it. Definitely some skipping involved with his one.

2.83

Ray Charles doing country is a crazy thing, The mad man did a reverse Elvis and appropriated the white man's music. While his soulful piano and iconic vocals on tracks like "I Can't Stop Loving You" are masterful, the album is frequently weighed down by dated, overly schmaltzy string arrangements and syrupy backing vocals that struggle to age gracefully.

Not sure I'd really call this 'country and western' music but that's a bonus for me really. I mean it's Ray Charles, you know exactly what you're going to get. Fantastic voice on that man. I'm pretty sure he could sing the assembly instructions for an Ikea bookshelf and it would be great. That said, I don't think I can give this more than 3/5 and it's definitely not his best work. It's a good album but this kind of music just doesn't blow me away.

Hard to beat Ray's sound, especially from this era. I genuinely enjoyed this all the way through.

An incredible selection of songs modernized by an incredible talent. The arrangements are beautiful and though it may not seem as revolutionary today, you can still easily get lost in the voice of Ray Charles.