Post Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music

On this day (and following the success of Volume One), Ray Charles begins the recording of “Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music Volume Two.” As Marc Myers @ JazzWax puts it “the two volumes became landmark releases that shrewdly bridged the racial cultural divide, proving that music is about talent and passion, not the color of an artist’s skin”

During the rest of his life, Ray will stay close to the genre with two more albums “Country And Western Meets Rhythm And Blues” (1965) and “Love Country Style” (1970) and numerous television appearances.

WATCH

Track Listing : 1.Take These Chains From My Heart (Hank Williams) – 03:06 . 2.Seven Spanish Angels (Troy Seals, Eddie Setser) – 04:25 . 3.Ring Of Fire (Une Carter Cash, Merle Kilgore) – 04:24 . 4.Bye Bye Love (Felice Bryant, Boudleaux Bryant) – 02:52 . 5.Cma 25Th Anniversary – 09:04 . 6.I Can’T Stop Loving You (Don Gibson) – 04:47 . 7.Crying Time (Buck Owens) – 03:07 . 8.Your Cheatin’S Heart (Hank Williams) – 03:30

Musicians : Willie Nelson – Vocals On (2) . Johnny Cash – Vocals On (3) . Glen Campbell – Vocals On (4) . Ronnie Milsap – Vocals On (5) . The Raelettes – Vocals On (6) . Buck Owens – Vocals On (7)

JazzWax
But in some ways, Modern Sounds isn’t really an interpretive album either. When put in perspective with the racially charged times in 1961 and 1962, Modern Sounds becomes a civil rights statement—a calming message from one Southerner to all Southerners. […]

popMATTERS
Plus, strings or not, his interpretations of these songs are amazing and he never shies away from injecting a little jazz, a little swing, wherever possible. And a little swing is always possible. […]

Robert Christgau
Soon Charles’s downhome diction, cotton-field grit, cornpone humor, and overstated shows of emotion were standard operating procedure in American music black and white. […]

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