If Mt.Rushmore had the faces of country singers instead of presidents, Ray Price would certainly be one that I would choose for the honor. As the main purveyor of country shuffle, Ray helped blend the rhythm of western swing with honky tonk to create a unique sound that would dominate the late 50's and early 60's country charts.
The 1956 hit "Crazy Arms" was only the shot across the bow, teaming up with great song writers such as Bill Anderson, Roger Miller and Willie Nelson among others, Ray raised the bar for how sophisticated country music could be with giving up its roots, something Ray would do later in the 60's in search of wider cross over appeal.
By 1963, Ray had honed his style into a lush but traditional form that resulted in the epic "concept album" prototype Night Life. The album starts with a somewhat clunky spoken work intro describing the concept; Ray and his band play in bars, they see a lot of situations unique to bars and the people that frequent them. What follows after the intro is nothing short of spectacular. The song "Night Life" alone could warrant an entire essay on its own merits, but the albums hangs together because the sound of the band is so remarkable. Most notably, the pedal steel of Buddy Emmons helps create an atmosphere around the songs that gives each a place of its own on the record.
Then there are the songs...and what a batch of songs they are. Blending classic country hits (The Wild Side of Life) with songs from then "undiscovered" writers like Charlie Rich and Willie Nelson while finishing the whole batch off with some established writers like Danny Dill and Hank Cochran, the record becomes what most country albums never were...cohesive (Nelson has two cuts on the record but the story is told that he sold the song Night Life for $150 dollars! Read the story HERE.). This was not just a couple hits and a bunch of filler, this was high brow country swirling around your head like the smoke from those barroom cigarettes.
The Cat Daddy says...this is one of the top five most essential country records ever made. No jokes, no bullshit. If you have a passing interest in classic country music, you MUST own this record. This is as good as it gets.
The 1956 hit "Crazy Arms" was only the shot across the bow, teaming up with great song writers such as Bill Anderson, Roger Miller and Willie Nelson among others, Ray raised the bar for how sophisticated country music could be with giving up its roots, something Ray would do later in the 60's in search of wider cross over appeal.
By 1963, Ray had honed his style into a lush but traditional form that resulted in the epic "concept album" prototype Night Life. The album starts with a somewhat clunky spoken work intro describing the concept; Ray and his band play in bars, they see a lot of situations unique to bars and the people that frequent them. What follows after the intro is nothing short of spectacular. The song "Night Life" alone could warrant an entire essay on its own merits, but the albums hangs together because the sound of the band is so remarkable. Most notably, the pedal steel of Buddy Emmons helps create an atmosphere around the songs that gives each a place of its own on the record.
Then there are the songs...and what a batch of songs they are. Blending classic country hits (The Wild Side of Life) with songs from then "undiscovered" writers like Charlie Rich and Willie Nelson while finishing the whole batch off with some established writers like Danny Dill and Hank Cochran, the record becomes what most country albums never were...cohesive (Nelson has two cuts on the record but the story is told that he sold the song Night Life for $150 dollars! Read the story HERE.). This was not just a couple hits and a bunch of filler, this was high brow country swirling around your head like the smoke from those barroom cigarettes.
The Cat Daddy says...this is one of the top five most essential country records ever made. No jokes, no bullshit. If you have a passing interest in classic country music, you MUST own this record. This is as good as it gets.
