{"product_id":"ray-charles-a-message-from-the-people","title":"Ray Charles - A Message From The People","description":"\u003cp\u003eA Message From The People is Ray Charles at his most outspoken, a 1972 album of hope, protest and patriotism pressed here on 140-gram vinyl.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eProduced by Quincy Jones, with arrangements by Jones, Sid Feller and Mike Post, the record arrived at a moment of deep division in America, and Ray used it to talk plainly about poverty, injustice and brotherhood. It's a protest album of sorts, but one built on gospel warmth rather than anger, with Ray's voice carrying the weight of everything he'd seen and survived.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Lift Every Voice and Sing\" opens the album with stately grandeur, honouring the song often called the Black national anthem. \"Hey Mister\" takes aim at government neglect of the poor so directly that a recording was played at a congressional hearing in 1972. Melanie's \"What Have They Done to My Song, Ma\" becomes a pointed lament about artists being ripped off, and then there's \"America the Beautiful,\" which Ray opens with the hymn's third verse before sweeping into a gospel-soaked arrangement many consider the definitive version.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSoulful and still painfully relevant, this is one of the most meaningful records in Ray's catalogue. It's a record to sit with, and one to play loud on a Sunday morning.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Alliance Entertainment","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67768835735842,"sku":"708857212217","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1020\/2080\/8994\/files\/Ray_Charles-A_Message_From_The_People.jpg?v=1794377219","url":"https:\/\/soulfulvinyl.com\/products\/ray-charles-a-message-from-the-people","provider":"Soulful Vinyl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}