Ray Charles - Country And Western Meets Rhythm And Blues

Three years after rewriting the rules with Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, Ray Charles went back to the country songbook with Country And Western Meets Rhythm And Blues.

Released in 1965, the album makes its argument right there in the title: these two great American traditions were never as far apart as the radio formats pretended. Ray had already shown that country songs could carry gospel fire and big-band polish, and here he pushes the idea further, mixing heartbreak ballads with jazzy, playful arrangements that only he could have dreamed up, delivered by a band that swings hard.

"Together Again," Buck Owens' tender reunion song, becomes a slow-burning soul confession, with Ray's voice doing that unmistakable catch-and-release. "I've Got a Tiger by the Tail" and Bill Monroe's bluegrass anthem "Blue Moon of Kentucky" both get the swingova treatment, a sly cross between swing and bossa nova that sounds as fun as it reads. "Please Forgive and Forget," from Ballad in Blue, the film in which Ray starred, adds a touch of big-screen drama.

It's a warm and witty record from an artist who refused to be fenced in by genre. Country lovers and soul fans can meet in the middle here, and nobody leaves disappointed.