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11/06/2004 The great Ray Charles
Music fans seem to thrive on death. No chance is missed in magazines or on the internet to revel in the passing of yet another "legend". Daily Update finds this mawkish obsession distasteful. Recreational grief-lite. We generally avoid mourning. Our obits are infrequent, reserved for only a handful of the most important musicians. Ray Charles is in that company. He's one of about 40 musicians, from Mozart to Miles Davis, Dylan to Duke Ellington, who form the canonical core of musicians for grown-ups. Brother Ray transcended so many sub-genres of popular music that he's virtually impossible to categorise. He was a pioneer, introducing the Devil to gospel music to produce the tumultuous hybrid RnB (in its original sense), best captured on his classic early Atlantic sides like 'Tell Me What I'd Say'. His later crossover ABC albums gave a black twist to the po' white country laments of Hank Williams. He was also a revered jazz pianist. His towering musical invention, mastery of different genres and, above all, his unique, keening singing voice meant that, for the Baby Boomer generation, he was the musician's musician, the reference point and inspiration for hundreds of emerging talents. But it's mystifying how such a genius could have left such a recorded legacy which fails to reflect his pre-eminence. Take away a handful of Atlantic and ABC albums and there's not much else to tell you you're in the presence of greatness. His choice of material from the mid-'60s onwards was disappointing: The Definitive Ray Charles, the 2CD career retrospective released in 2001, is outstanding, but it falls off a cliff in the middle of the second disc, when he started recording weak contemporary material. I only ever saw one Ray Charles show, in an arena in 1996. With a big band seated as if for a Glenn Miller set, the show came across as unengaging, anachronistic show biz schmaltz. It even had the regulation brassy female singer who addressed the crowd as if she were in Vegas: "Hello NOO-castle". And ended up claiming to love me. The show was a double-header with one of Ray Charles's keenest followers; on the next date of the tour, later in the week, I chose to miss the Ray Charles half. I obviously caught Ray Charles much too late: live recordings and TV clips of 1960s gigs reveal an exceptionally talented, once-in-a-generation, performer. That's how he should be remembered. Some of Brother Ray's greatest moments are captured on the highly recommended 2CD, The Definitive Ray Charles, released in the UK in August 2001. A few weeks ago, it was retailing at a heavy discount, as low as £7. Just look at all those great recordings. Every home should have one.
Disc One Disc Two
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