Ray - Music Album

A small town Georgia kid who goes blind after seeing the unconscionable sight of his brother George drowning in a water bucket and dying a dreadful death, goes on to become the greatest African-American singer of the century.

An incorrigable womansier who sleeps with reckless abundence on his 'roadshow' trips and practically addicted to Heroin. A vulnerable and loving father who from time to time wants his wife to believe that he 'still' loves her despite his infidelites.

A terrible cripple for a large part of his life due to his addiction to weed and thus ends up in a rehab only to emerge successfully and become the greatest living legand of the last century. That's Ray Charls for you, the insufferable musician who makes you want to let go of those inhibitions and jazz away with his melodies!

Ray can undoubtedly be called as one of the best films of the year for its is a superbly authentic and undestorted, unbiased , autobiographical demonstration of a life thats extraordinary in every sense of the term. Its very easy to take a biased, or politically correct view of a life and interprete it the way you want, but lack of authenticity and Undisputed credibility is a stature very few people achieve and the director Taylor Heckford certainly deserves a thumbs up!

The sets are magnificantly pilot. A fabulous depection of the 1950's America with its nightclub culture taking a lead off! The Georgian town is certainly what it should be like. The film also tackles the important issue of racism and discriminatory or abusive behavior towards the Afro-Americans which was a cause that was close to Charl's heart and for which he rebelled with gutso thus being banned from his own home state of Georgia!

Ironically his very song about his heart longing to go back to Georgia was officially declared as the national anthem of the state!

Jamie Fox gives a performance of a life and rightly deserved the acadamy!

The other actors , especially playing the young Ray and Ray's mother and wife are superb in small but significant roles! (Forgive me for forgetting the names)

On the downers I could only say that the film drags and tends to become slightly longish in the latter half, but so what??!!! Don't we have K3G's and Swadeses and most of the other heap of dirt from Bollywood that last for eternity??

Don't miss!

Cheers!

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RAY, is the the album of the music from the movie of the same name. Everyone who preformed lip sinked. There is one exception, the second time you hear Georgia on my mind, Jamie Foxx, plays the piano with Ray.

There are seventeen songs on here, three of which were recorded in 2003 especially for the film. The rest were recorded by Ray in the ‘50s, ‘60s, and one tune from the ‘70s.

Who is Ray? Ray Charles, and I'm sure you have hear of him.

There are seventeen songs on this CD. The score was witten by the composer Craig Armstong.

My Review

The score was written and co-ordinated by Craig Armstrong.

I adore the classic tracts like Georgia On My Mind, I've Got A Woman, Let The Good Times Roll and Hit The Road Jack. I remember dancing to these tunes.

Three of the tracts that are uses, You Don't Know Me, What'd I Say and Hallelujah I Love Her So, were recorded when he appeared at the Shrine Auditorium in L.A.

Other tracts are from other albums that were recorded in a studio. They include, The Genius Sings The Blues, (it has a modern C & W sound), Bye Bye Love, The Right Time, Mary Ann, Drowning In My Tears and Unchain My Heart.

What I Think

This disc shows how he played from 1953 to 2003.

Ray is a musical genius on piano and in voice. He was a man of uniquely American contradictions, a dichotomous blend of big-city savvy and back-country simplicity, of sincerity and guile, of shouts and whispers. He never liked labels or barriers of any kind, so his songs transcended genres, tapping into the whole wide range of American roots music and blurring the separations between Jazz, R&B, Country and Gospel to create something original, exuberant and moving. It was said that he could just as easily make you dance as break your heart, could evoke joy as deeply as desolation, and sometimes he did both in the same song. For Ray Charles, life itself was like that…full of pain, trouble and sorrows as well as exaltation, beauty and salvation.

He could sing the blues, country and western, jazz and the classics. There will never be anyone like him.

The only tract I didn't care for is What d'I say.

The audio quality of all the tracks are excellent. You feel you are in the room with him, watching him play.

I'm sorry he didn't live long enough to know what is happening with the movie. I know during the Oscars he'll be cheering, for Ray!

What I Thougth

Most of the songs have an orcastra in the background. In intertwines the old film clips with the dialog from film.

End Credits, has strings, keyboards, drums and a blues vocal.

He uses bulesy cords and Gospal Singers to to show how his score conntect to the music of Ray Charles.

On Dream Of Ray I & III he has drums, a choir that sing softly in the background.

The Tracts

Mess Around

I Got a Woman

Hallelujah I Love Her So

Drown in My Own Tears

Night Time is the Right Time

Marianne

Hard Times

What'd I Say

Georgia On My Mind, (was recorded in Japan)

Hit the Road Jack

Unchain My Heart

I Can't Stop Loving You

Born to Lose

Bye Bye Love

You Don't Know Me

Let the Good Times Roll

Genius Hits The Road, (was recorded in Japan)

Performing On This Disc

Ray Charles, Craig Armstrong, Simon Chamberlain play the piano. Metro Voices do the vocals.

Other Information

This record was produce by Warner Brothers Music Group.

Released in February 2005

Disc Number CCD22482

It takes almost 50 minutes to hear it.

I paid $20.00 CAD for this disc.

My Conclusion