31. Ray Charles - Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music (1962)

1. Bye Bye Love
2. You Don't Know Me
3. Half as Much
4. I Love You So Much It Hurts
5. Just a Little Lovin' (Will Go a Long Way)
6. Born to Lose
7. Worried Mind
8. It Makes No Difference Now
9. You Win Again
10. Careless Love
11. I Can't Stop Loving You
12. Hey, Good Lookin'

This album caused quite a stir in its day. Though an ever-growing amount of black performers were reaching the pop charts due to the increasing crossover success of R&B, as well as the growing amount of artists from the new record label called Motown, the divide between black music and white music remained solid as ever. Since rock music had essentially been reclaimed by white people in the early '60s, which was later cemented by the meteoric rise in popularity of British rock, only served to widen this division. This division was merely social, however, constructed by a nation whose racial problem was swiftly spiraling out of control. Although the music was split by racial barriers, it all had a common original in the mix of folk, blues, and country. That point is exactly what Ray Charles was trying to drive home with this album.

If anyone was going to make a successful crossover album, Ray Charles was going to be it. His career was started by his fusion of gospel and blues, making him one of the architects of soul music, so why not country music? After all, country and blues are extremely similar.

So after bludgeoning you with context, how does the album sound? Well, 'Modern Sounds' is definitely taken literally here. This album is laden with all the pop production one needed in 1962, all sorts of cheesy strings and backing vocals that really haven't aged all too well. Ray's voice, however, is timeless, and he makes every track his own. If it weren't for the title, you wouldn't even know that these were originally country songs. 'Bye Bye Love' and 'Hey Good Lookin'' are positively swingin', something that I wasn't aware that any country song could do. His singing is so good that you won't even notice the rather cheesy arrangements on the ballads (well, most of the time).

As far as final judgments go, this album's concept is innovative and fearless, especially for the time period. In execution it's not quite as amazing, but it's still worth a listen nonetheless. 8/10