Modern Sounds In Country & Western Music – RAY CHARLES*****

Bye Bye Love/You Don’t Know Me/Half As Much/I Love You So Much It Hurts/Just A Little Lovin’/Born To Lose/ Worried Mind/It Makes No Difference/You Win Again/Careless Love/I Can’t Stop Loving You/Hey Good Looking

Modern Sounds In Country & Western was an incredibly successful crossover album showcasing blues, jazz and soul singer Ray Charles’ interpretations of country standards. It topped the US album chart for fourteen weeks and includes the US and UK chart topping single I Can’t Stop Loving You plus the top ten hit You Don’t Know Me. (US:1 UK:6)

“Its a classic. There is no denying Modern Sounds In Country & Western is easily Ray Charles' most popular and all time best album. He recorded hundreds of songs but no single album in his career came close to this.”

“All the arrangements are beautiful and uniquely Ray Charles' own. His voice is so soulful and moving at times that its hard to believe he didn’t write everything here. No weak moments really.”

“Although considered a daring move at the time for a black artist to take on country and western standards, Ray had already shown an interest in country music and being from the south was used to hearing these songs on the radio. It was only a controversial move in terms of the social context rather than what Ray was doing musically.”

“This is probably his most famous album, and my favourite from what I've heard, a clever batch of country tunes done R & B style. And it's hard to argue with the results. The backing vocals are bathetic and distracting, but this is real soulful stuff anyway, and I'm not even a country fan.”

“Modern Sounds In Country & Western, was a revelation, both for fans of country music and for fans of Ray Charles. The former had never heard their favourites orchestrated with the depth of soul brought to the table by Ray Charles, and fans of the genius singer had never before heard him indulging his love of country music so deeply. Nashville had adapted to brass and strings in an attempt to create crossover hits, but their players never swung with the sort of big band finesse and bravado of these arrangements. These country and western songs shine bright when Ray Charles performs them with so much genuine emotion.”