[SACD-R][OF](Jazz/ Vocal)Ray Charles and Count Basie Orchestra – Ray Sings Basie Swings - 2007

 

By Dennis Brandt:
I admit I’m not a great Ray Charles fan, but the closer he gets to jazz, the better I like him. Crying Time and I Can’t Stop Loving You can go the way of the dodo. But Oh! What a Beautiful Morning is a gass, and Let the Good Times Roll gets cooking. I’m not sure the pop/country oriented fans will like this album as much as jazz aficionados. And somewhere the Count is smiling at how his namesake band can still flat-out swing.
This recording is a miracle of modern technology. The vast difference in time between the two recordings just isn’t audible. The vintage Charles’ analog recording was copied to digital using 96 Khz, 24 bit technology, and the Count’s band was recorded that way. Telarc then assumed the task of making a surround SACD version of it. Unfortunately, engineer Michael Bishop chose to place Charles’ voice in all 5 (or 7) speakers. Why? Keep the voice up front where it belongs. Second, Bishop also put instruments in every speaker. Likewise, wrong. Surrounds generally are best served by carrying ambience, which would have been real easy to simulate. Frankly, if there were a two-channel version available in HDCD, that would be a better sonic choice than this SACD, or just play the two-channel version. Not that the sound is bad. Heavens no! Telarc isn’t capable of making bad-sounding recordings. It’s their philosophy to which I object in this particular instance, although Concord may have called the technical shots.
By Karl W. Nehring:
The immortality of Ray Charles refuses to die, and ghost bands still have rent to pay. But as disturbingly ghoulish and potentially exploitative as this post-mortal collaboration between the voice of Ray Charles and the legacy of Count Basie may be, the signing and swinging are both quite lively. The producers of this recording have combined the vocal track from an old Ray Charles concert performance with arrangements for the Basie band, blending them together to create a swinging session of Charles standards that is truly delightful.
By hansenmann:
Greatly recommended. Full blown big band sound. Swings, dances, rocks and space-surfs. Nothing greasy or phony throughout the whole CD. Still easily digestible for occasional Jazz listeners. Perfectly fitting vocal arrangements. All one piece. No “seams” or “glues” audible regarding the combined recordings. Very inspired and soulful singing from Ray Charles.

By JW:
I must admit initially not paying a lot of attention to this. Mistake! This is a very exciting disc in many ways.
First of all Ray Charles and the Count Basie Orchestra and the ‘Raelettes’ featured here never actually met. Ray’s voice was lifted from live concerts in the UK in the mid seventies. He played with his big band at that time. The sound on the tapes of the big band as well as the background singers proved unrecoverable. In contrast Ray’s voice recording was excellent. In comes the modern Basie band and Patti Austin was asked to create the background voices. These three elements were put together to create an event that never happened. The 23 page booklet described this in great detail. It’s a fascinating read.
Ray always experimented with new technology. He would have absolutely approved of this say the creators, one of whom was Gregg Field, the former drummer of both Count Basie and Ray Charles!
Before you dismiss it as an artificial marketing initiative let me tell you that this works at all levels it’s uncanny. It is, in my view, far better than for instance the Nat/Natalie Cole album.
Ray’s voice is recorded upfront and sounds amazing. All the power, soul and funk is there. The inflections, the small effects. Wonderful to listen to. The Basie band is sharp and swings hard. There is brass energy on this disc and when turned-up loud it bites like it should. In some some systems it could potentially sound a little hard. I must say that I need to hear it on more systems to better form an opinion on whether this is evidence of the socalled evil ‘PCM character’ :-). The background vocals are sweet. Maybe just that tiny bit too forward in the mix. Maybe not. The entire thing sounds absolutely seemlessly integrated.
There it is. Ray Charles at his best, in glorious sound. Big band swing. Wonderful packaging, great story. Glorious stuff. You really need to hear it for yourself.
Jw
Being a 2CH guy, I have not heard the surround mix.
By Kikke:
This is an incredible recording mixing Rays voice, recorded some 30 or so years ago, with new recorded music from the Count Basie big band. Outstanding sonics and a very well mixed surround sound. Although this entire recording has been created in a studio it sounds as if it was intended this way. The source recording is 96Mhz 24 bit PCM but the result is as dynamic and smooth sounding as one might ask for. If you like Rays Charles you’ll love this SACD.

1.Образ iso нужно записать на DVD диск программой ImgBurn, получив в итоге SACD-R.
Какие стационарные SACD плееры играют и не играют рипнутые SACD диски (SACD-R)? (обсуждение).
2.Для проигрывания на компьютере: foobar2000 + sacd-плагин к нему (открывать образ прямо в foobar2000).
Воспроизведение и конверсия SACD на компьютере (обсуждение).