Why review a Ray Charles album?
Although pretty much anybody over the age of five knows that Ray is an American genius and would be close to the top of most critics list of most influencial artists of the 20th century, after the mid 1960's Ray's catalog becomes a confusing maze of hits, near misses and all around bad ideas. He had climbed to the top of the mountain earlier in his career by mixing gospel and country into his own brand of R&B, but as time went by, Ray headed right to the middle of the road. Production picked up strings and big vocal choruses and more and more, the music lacked some of that essential spark that made Ray's music so vital.
Fast forward to 1970. Love Country Style really has very little to do with the genre of country music and is certainly nothing like his wild big band version of country music he served up in the early 60's. Be forwarned, there is plenty of smaltz on this platter. The arrangements are flat out goofy in spots, but underlying all of the music is a surprising amount of funkiness brought on by some solid bass playing (uncredited) as well as some great guitar picking on a few songs (also not credited).
The album kicks off with two great tunes "If You Were Mine" and a sultry version of "Ring of Fire" that turns this Johnny Cash classic on its ear. Unfortunately this platter gets weaker as it goes on. By the middle of the second side, big strings are gobbling up everything in their path until the final track "Show Me the Sunshine" hints at Ray's gospel roots and ends the album with a strong vocal.
While this record will never inhabit the rarefied air of classics like "Hallelujah, I Just Love Her So" or "Let's Go Get Stoned", the Cat Daddy says keep this one around for when the kittens come over. It certainley has the makings of a lost make-out classic.
Although pretty much anybody over the age of five knows that Ray is an American genius and would be close to the top of most critics list of most influencial artists of the 20th century, after the mid 1960's Ray's catalog becomes a confusing maze of hits, near misses and all around bad ideas. He had climbed to the top of the mountain earlier in his career by mixing gospel and country into his own brand of R&B, but as time went by, Ray headed right to the middle of the road. Production picked up strings and big vocal choruses and more and more, the music lacked some of that essential spark that made Ray's music so vital.
Fast forward to 1970. Love Country Style really has very little to do with the genre of country music and is certainly nothing like his wild big band version of country music he served up in the early 60's. Be forwarned, there is plenty of smaltz on this platter. The arrangements are flat out goofy in spots, but underlying all of the music is a surprising amount of funkiness brought on by some solid bass playing (uncredited) as well as some great guitar picking on a few songs (also not credited).
The album kicks off with two great tunes "If You Were Mine" and a sultry version of "Ring of Fire" that turns this Johnny Cash classic on its ear. Unfortunately this platter gets weaker as it goes on. By the middle of the second side, big strings are gobbling up everything in their path until the final track "Show Me the Sunshine" hints at Ray's gospel roots and ends the album with a strong vocal.
While this record will never inhabit the rarefied air of classics like "Hallelujah, I Just Love Her So" or "Let's Go Get Stoned", the Cat Daddy says keep this one around for when the kittens come over. It certainley has the makings of a lost make-out classic.
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