Ray Charles – Best of Country & Western (Tangerine Records)

These seminal recordings have never sounded better

It was a bold move in 1962: Ray Charles, at the time known as an R&B singer, issued Modern Sounds in Country & Western Music, his interpretations of a dozen compositions with Nashville origins.  The risk paid off, with the album rising to the top of the Billboard charts, staying there for 14 weeks.  More impressively, many of the singles from that album were played on country stations, breaking down long-standing racial barriers.  After that, he recorded a second volume, and would go back to the country genre from time to time throughout his career.  The resurrected Tangerine Records has just issued Best of Country & Western, touching on the highlights of Charles’ unique gift of crossing boundaries.

The set leads off with “Here We Go Again,” a tear jerker featuring excellent harmony vocals from the Raelettes, then “Together Again,” with a Floyd Cramer-inspired piano; it’s probably the closest Charles ever got to actual country in those early days.  Charles’ true genius was taking these hillbilly songs and making them his own.  Take, for example, his reworking of the shop-worn, “You Are My Sunshine” – he starts with a shuffle beat before shifting into a standard rhythm with blaring horns.  The end result is almost unrecognizable from the original.

“You Don’t Know Me” is simply spellbinding: lush strings and background vocals wash over you, and then Charles turns in one of his most tender vocals.  Both Eddy Arnold and Jerry Vale did it before, but Charles’ version is the definitive one.  Same goes for “Crying Time,” a Buck Owens classic.  Here, Charles swaps the pedal steel for strings, slows down the tempo even more, and just kills it.  I love the way he stretches the word “cry” on “Your Cheating Heart,” another vast reinterpretation, this time a Hank Williams’ song.

A note about the fidelity here.  These tracks were remastered by ace engineer Michael Graves – I just can’t express how good these recordings sound.  The strings are gorgeous, like on “Born to Lose,” while the bass is full and warm, as on “That Lucky Old Sun.” 

The last few tracks on side 2 are from the 80’s.  While the accompaniment is more modern, the approach is less-groundbreaking.  That doesn’t diminish how good “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind” is, it’s just the fiddle and pedal steel is more formulaic.  “Ring of Fire” is better, trading the horns for a funky groove and a hushed Charles vocal.  “Seven Spanish Angels” was a #1 smash duet with Willie Nelson.

Ray Charles’ foray into country & western music may have been hugely influential.  But, as Best of Country & Western proves, it’s also still a fantastic listen all these years later.  —Tony Peters