Review: "Genius Loves Company" by Ray Charles and Various Artists

[quadro2000]

I've just finished listening to an advance copy of the Ray Charles disc of duets, the appropriately titled Genius Loves Company. This work is comprised of a number of songs presumably recorded in the year or so before he passed away.

This is a difficult disc to listen to for a number of reasons - not the least because we are listening to a man whose voice we all recognize and find comfort in, and yet he's only left us a few short months ago. And obviously, this knowledge is going to cloud most reviews of this disc. But overall, the joy that Ray Charles gets from the music is very clear.

The chilling thing to me is that by listening to the album, you can figure out how Ray was faring healthwise. For example, the first track on the disc, "Here We Go Again" with Norah Jones, is his strongest vocal. It sounds very similar to the Ray Charles we all know and love. (Norah Jones sounds like...Norah Jones. Meaning she has an unbelievable voice, but she sounds pretty much the same as she does on any of her songs.)

"Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word," with Elton John, provides the starkest contrast. On this track, Ray's voice is extremely frail and weak. Although his vocal works because it's such a mournful song, it's still a bit saddening to hear. It's very clear that Ray was constrained by his physical body. What's fascinating, however, is that all the raw emotion and soul is there, even if the voice isn't. You can tell that Ray was feeling this music deep down inside himself, and he manages to get that out of him, even if his physical counterpart is fighting it. Elton, for his part, sounds great, even if he can't hit the high notes, and the grit that he gives to the track is clearly influenced by Ray's vocal.

Other strong tracks on this CD include the first few tracks - the above-mentioned Norah Jones track, "You Don't Know Me" with Diana Krall, and "Sweet Potato Pie" with James Taylor, which sounds like classic 1970s James Taylor, reminiscent of "Your Smiling Face" - great vocal, horns and guitar. Ray sounds a little weaker here, but the song (and James) carry him well. Bonnie Raitt's soulful work on "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind" matches Ray's, note for note.

Also winners are the songs that really sound like they were recorded together. I imagine that at least a few of these tracks were completed in various studios, with Ray adding his vocal at one studio at one point in time, and the other artists coming in later. The obvious excellent collaboration is "Crazy Love" with Van Morrison, which is taken from a live performance and benefits from Van being in excellent voice and Ray's excellent ad-libs to Van. "Sinner's Prayer" with BB King also has an excellent live feel, enhanced by BB's unbelievable guitar work.

Actually, most of these tracks really work very well. The only ones that I really didn't dig were "Hey Girl" with Michael McDonald (I think it was a poor choice of song and I don't think they give it the soul it deserves, although admittedly, I'm partial to Billy Joel's version), "Heaven Help Us All" with Gladys Knight (which seems forced, and I kinda got the impression maybe Ray didn't get the chance to put his real signature on this track), and "Over The Rainbow" with Johnny Mathis (I'm just wondering why this was necessary).

"It Was A Very Good Year" is an interesting duet with Willie Nelson. The arrangement is orchestral, and doesn't seem to fit a country voice like Willie's. However, Ray sings it to a T, and you can't help but really understand him when he sings "The days grow short, I'm in the autumn of my years." Chills all around.

Despite the mediocre tracks, this CD stands as a really nice reminder that what mattered most to Ray, even as his health was failing, was making the music. Even in the weakest moments of his voice, you can hear the joy. And that's what I think makes it a worthwhile purchase.