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Music : Ray Sings, Basie SwingsIn association with Amazon.com Amazon.com's Price: $18.98 Prices subject to change.Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Binding: Audio CDEAN: 0888072300262 Label: Concord Records Manufacturer: Concord Records Number Of Discs: 1 Publisher: Concord Records Release Date: October 03, 2006 Studio: Concord Records Sales Rank: 50190 MPN: 30026 Disc 1:
Editorial Review: Album Description: The producers of this CD discovered archival reels of Ray Charles and the Count Basie Orchestra performing live together in 1973. Although the vocals were superior, the remaining elements were or extremely poor quality. They decided to bring the current Count Basie Orchestra into the studio and, using the latest technology, they carefully and painstakingly laid down a new musical backdrop for Charles' towering vocals. More from Ray Charles and the Count Basie Orchestra
Amazon.com: To fake or not to fake: That is the question consumers must answer for themselves in assessing this feat of aural Photoshopping: an "imaginary concert" created by combining recently discovered soundboard tapes of Ray Charles's vocals from a mid-'70s European show and newly recorded backing by the Count Basie Orchestra--the "ghost band," still on the road 22 years after Count's passing. Charles is in exceptional voice, singing the heck out of standards like "How Long Has This Been Going On?," Genius classics like "Busted," and pop covers like Melanie's "Look What They've Done to My Song." His performance is a thrilling corrective to forgettable posthumous albums like Genius Loves Company, designed to cash in on the new audience created for him by the movie Ray. But as competently as the Basie band fill in the blanks under the direction of Bill Hughes, with Joey DeFrancesco guesting on organ, most of the new arrangements are rather pallid, and the ensemble lacks the personality of both the Basie orchestra and Charles's best groups. And as attractive as Ray Sings, Basie Swings may be for the casual listener, the gimmickry will appall serious fans, particularly since neither Charles nor Basie--who never collaborated in life--was around to lend his approval. Is The Doors Sing, Woody Herman Swings next? --Lloyd Sachs From Amazon.ca: Ray Sings, Basie Swings proves not only that there's a market for Brother Ray's every last recorded utterance (and a breathless one at that), but that musical grafting can reap some seriously satisfying rewards. After Concord Records A&R chief John Burk mined his label's vaults in 2005 and came across tapes labeled "Ray/Basie," he made a move to re-record the songs, originally performed in the 1970s; the result is these 12 tracks, in which Charles's whiskey-weathered, old-soul vocals are laid over arrangements by the current Count Basie Orchestra. Charles fans couldn't ask for a classier pairing or more seamless studio wizardry: The classics, from "I Can't Stop Loving You" to "Busted" to "Georgia on My Mind," play as though orchestrated by the Genius himself--tight, nuanced, and intimate-sounding. Less familiar tracks, like the down-home deep-South number "Every Saturday Night" and a couple of covers ("Look What They've Done to My Song, Ma" and "The Long and Winding Road") offer so much in the way of novelty it's tempting to forget that what's playing is mostly the result of modern experimentation. Deep as the disc runs--and no one who who hears the broken-hearted "Cryin' Time" will deny it runs deep--the most essential track on Ray Sings, Basie Swings may be its most lighthearted one: There is no hearing Ray Charles sing "Oh What a Beautiful Morning"--even if it's four in the afternoon, even if it's raining torrentially--without agreeing. --Tammy La Gorce Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Phenomenal!This record sounds fantastic! Hats off to everybody involved with the project. Close your eyes, sit back, and enjoy the ride. Quincy Jones is right on the mark, as usual, with his remark that this record is one for the ages! Yes indeed it is!!! Rating: - Best Ray Charles CD hands downI can't understand why anyone would give this CD anything other than 5 stars. It is currently my favorite CD in my collection. I put it on whenever I want to feel really good. Ray is all over it. And as added bonus, this disc is filled with great B-3 alla Joey DeFrancesco and great Wurlitzer. I love Ray and I have many his albums. This is my favorite, even though he didn't really make it. The arrangements are fantastic. It is knit together seamlessly--you would never know that the vocals and the ... Read More Rating:  - Ignore the hype on this CDDespite what the producers of this album want you to believe...the vocal tracks on these tracks are not "superior". It sounds like Ray Charles is singing in the shower, and the shower is on the other side of the house....meanwhile, the basie orchestra and the backing vocal singers are blasting away on the couch right next to you. This is a great technology achievement???? This is horrible, on many levels, and not because they merged two sets of tracks cut 30 years apart. On ... Read More Rating: - A 32 YEAR DELAYWHEN ONE LISTENS TO THIS ALBUM IT IS HARD TO BELIEVE THAT THE RAY CHARLES VOCALS AND THE ACCOMPANYING BASIE BAND BACKING WERE DONE 32 YEARS APART. CHARLES VOCALS ARE WONDERFUL. THE POST BASIE BIG BAND HAS NEVER SOUNDED BETTER. THE MIXING OF THE TWO RECORDINGS IS SEAMLESS! THIS IS AN AMAZING CD! Rating: - )ne of Ray's bestThis is a happy album;with a tight ,swinging band and Charles sounding as if enjoys every minute of it. There is also some great solo work by individual sidemen. Browse for similar items by category:
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