(Swing, Soul) Ray Charles - A Start of a Genius - 2004, FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Ray Charles Robinson was born on 23 September 1930 in Albany, Georgia. His family then moved to Greenville, Florida, which was more like a village than a town. "I was only six months old, so I grew up in Florida, spending a lot of time at Florida's State School for the Deaf and Blind", for he gradually lost his sight from glaucoma between the age of 5 and 7. His father was not around but his mother, with the scanty means at her disposal, brought him up strictly, teaching him strong moral principles. However, she died when he was 15 and he turned to music to make a living. In the 30s, people in the South were very religious, almost the entire black population of Greenville were Baptist and went to chapel on Sunday. It was here that he heard and absorbed Gospel music. A neighbour, Wylie Pittman, was a pianist and ran a small shop. He taught the young Ray piano, encouraging him to play Gospel, blues and even boogie, for he recognised that he was not only extremely gifted but was also fired by an innate love of music. Ray admitted, "Music was my life!" On the jukebox in Pittman's shop Ray listened avidly not only to numerous bluesmen but also to big band jazz from the likes of Count Basie, Jimmie Lunceford and Erskine Hawkins, also classical and country music but, as he said himself, "I was always around church music!" He left for Jacksonville in search of work, playing here and there in various small bands. This was the time when he admired pianists/vocalists Nat King Cole and Charles Brown whose influence is evident on his first recordings. Louis Jordan was another of his favourites but church music and the blues were always there and began to play an increasing role in his vocals. After moving to Seattle, he then settled in California where he was lucky enough to hear, and even play with, two blues giants whom he admired tremendously: the one and only T-Bone Walker and the great Big Joe Turner! He formed a trio, singing and playing piano and occasionally blowing the odd note on alto sax. Contacted by Jack Lauderdale, the owner of the Swingtime label, he recorded his first sides in 1949, including in his repertoire numerous blues by musicians he admired most. This influence is obvious in his original style of playing, a blend of Gospel and blues with echoes of King Cole. His fascinating voice, so profoundly black, places him alongside Louis Armstrong in the ranks of the most outstanding black singers ever. The term "genius" is often overused but. in the case of Ray Charles, it is amply justified for he imbues the slightest theme he plays with intense emotion. The lyrics become a mere pretext for his voice, which in itself is enough to convey a variety of feeling and emotion.
The earlier part of Charles' recording career, apart from the King Cole influenced tracks, was based principally on blues and Gospel tunes which he interpreted brilliantly. However, as always happens in the States, those with an interest in show business were not prepared to let such a promising performer slip between their fingers. They grabbed him in the late 50s, persuading him to turn out hackneyed melodies that would appeal to respectable middle class white American women. His earlier records, cut in California and then for Atlantic, were popular with black listeners but he now needed to reach a wider white audience so he was forced to water down his repertoire. However, don't worry! Our aim here is to present the best of the records he made between 1950 and 1953, those on which he is true to himself and his love of blues and Gospel.
In 1950, with a group of musicians, including Teddy Buckner, Marshall Royal, Jack McVea and Louis Speiginer, Ray Charles recorded some magnificent blues such as Late In The Evening Blues and Blues Is My Middle Name (aka Someday). Alongside Oscar Moore and Johnny Miller, who played with Nat King Cole, he recorded one of his favourite tunes Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand on which he plays celesta as well as piano. Lonely Boy, another of his hits at the time, features a brilliant piano solo. A dozen or so musicians back him on the magnificent Hey Now, with his typical wryly amusing lyrics. Two other titles with the same band, The Snow Is Falling and Misery In My Heart, prove that he had finally found his way to a clearly defined musical personality. These 1950 sides reveal the real Ray Charles; his versatile powerful voice, wide-ranging and slightly gravelly, his long drawn out notes and, above all, his irresistible vocal explosions! Only he could add such feeling to a single syllable by drawing it out and emphasising it, his singing perfectly backed by his subtle, very precise piano accompaniment. We have no details of the personnel on the haunting I'm Wondering And Wondering, neither the recording date of the session which, however, is thought to have taken place in Miami. Unfortunately, when the studios issued blues and R&B records aimed principally at the black population they often didn't bother to note the names of the musicians involved or to give precise information about dates, places, matrix numbers etc.
In September 1952, Ray Charles signed up with the big New York label, Atlantic, with whom he cut several outstanding titles. His career had now really taken off and he had become one of the greatest black American musicians of all time! Alone with his piano, he treats us to a beautifully contemplative version of Sleepy John Estes' classic blues, Someday Baby, a favourite of all bluesmen. Accompanied by some excellent musicians Ray Charles was now turning out hit after hit in sessions that took place either in New York or New Orleans. Guitarist Mickey Baker accompanies Charles throughout the long and dramatic Losing Hand, one of the highlights of this CD, and on Sinner's Prayer on which Charles builds up the tension with every chorus! The dance tune Mess Around is in a completely different vein with the band pushing along an energetic piano solo from Ray, followed by a solid tenor sax soio from Sam "The Man" Taylor. Nat King Cole's influence is always there whenever Ray Charles interprets less dramatic, less intense themes than the blues e.g. Funny But I Still Love You, the type of ballad that King Cole often played. Feelin' Sad features a moving vocal and an excellent contribution from New Orleans guitarist Edgar Blanchard. After I Wonder Who, this compilation closes with the complete session from 4 December 1953, in New Orleans this time and with a different line-up including Wallace Davenport on trumpet. However, whatever the line-up, his stage presence was so memorable it always seems as if the same musicians are playing alongside Ray Charles for he had the gift of communicating his own feeling to whoever he was playing with. Incidentally, it should be noted that the moving Ray's Blues and Mr. Charles' Blues are two separate titles with different lyrics, although they have the same matrix number
Welcome to the musical world of Ray Charles, one which we are sure will move and fascinate the listener!
Adapted from the French text by Joyce Waterhouse
This CD had already been planned as part of our forthcoming programme. Sadly, we could not foresee that Ray Charles would die in June 2004. Thus we offer this record in homage to the memory of one of the greatest performers that black America has ever produced.

REM DATE 2004
REM DISCID 290F6F16
REM COMMENT "ExactAudioCopy v0.99pb4"
PERFORMER "Ray Charles"
TITLE "A Start of a Genius"
FILE "01 - I'VE HAD MY FUN (GOING DOWN SLOW).wav" WAVE
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    TITLE "I'VE HAD MY FUN (GOING DOWN SLOW) "
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  TRACK 02 AUDIO
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    INDEX 00 02:48:13
FILE "02 - LATE IN THE EVENING BLUES.wav" WAVE
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  TRACK 03 AUDIO
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    PERFORMER "Ray Charles"
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    INDEX 00 03:09:02
FILE "03 - BLUES IS MY MIDDLE NAME (SOMEDAY).wav" WAVE
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
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FILE "04 - LONELY BOY.wav" WAVE
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FILE "05 - BABY LET ME HOLD YOUR HAND.wav" WAVE
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  TRACK 06 AUDIO
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FILE "06 - HEY NOW.wav" WAVE
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
  TRACK 07 AUDIO
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FILE "07 - THE SNOW IS FALLING.wav" WAVE
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FILE "08 - MISERY IN MY HEART.wav" WAVE
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
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FILE "09 - I'M WONDERING AND WONDERING.wav" WAVE
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FILE "11 - THE MIDNIGHT HOUR.wav" WAVE
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  TRACK 12 AUDIO
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FILE "12 - SOMEDAY BABY.wav" WAVE
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  TRACK 13 AUDIO
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FILE "13 - LOSING HAND.wav" WAVE
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
  TRACK 14 AUDIO
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FILE "14 - SINNER'S PRAYER.wav" WAVE
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  TRACK 15 AUDIO
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FILE "15 - MESS AROUND.wav" WAVE
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
  TRACK 16 AUDIO
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    INDEX 00 02:43:10
FILE "16 - FUNNY BUT I STILL LOVE YOU.wav" WAVE
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
  TRACK 17 AUDIO
    TITLE "FEELIN' SAD"
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FILE "17 - FEELIN' SAD.wav" WAVE
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
  TRACK 18 AUDIO
    TITLE "I WONDER WHO"
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FILE "18 - I WONDER WHO.wav" WAVE
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
  TRACK 19 AUDIO
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FILE "19 - DON'T YOU KNOW BABY.wav" WAVE
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
  TRACK 20 AUDIO
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    INDEX 00 02:59:38
FILE "20 - NOBODY CARES.wav" WAVE
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
  TRACK 21 AUDIO
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FILE "21 - RAY'S BLUES.wav" WAVE
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
  TRACK 22 AUDIO
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FILE "22 - Mr. CHARLES BLUES.wav" WAVE
    INDEX 01 00:00:00

Exact Audio Copy V0.99 prebeta 4 from 23. January 2008
EAC extraction logfile from 18. June 2010, 22:04
Ray Charles / A Start of a Genius
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Additional command line options : -V -8 -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s
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        3  |  6:01.15 |  3:14.54 |     27090    |    41693
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        8  | 20:31.32 |  3:07.57 |     92357    |   106438
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       10  | 26:59.60 |  2:42.20 |    121485    |   133654
       11  | 29:42.05 |  3:05.00 |    133655    |   147529
       12  | 32:47.05 |  3:02.60 |    147530    |   161239
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