Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Ray Charles: Rare Genius: The Undiscovered Masters

Ray Charles: Rare Genius: The Undiscovered Masters

By C. Michael Bailey
March 31, 2011
View read count

Track review of "Love's Gonna Bite You Back"

Ray Charles: Rare Genius: The Undiscovered Masters

Concord records began celebrating Ray Charles' 80th birthday with the release of Rare Genius: The Undiscovered Masters, a collection of masters recorded during the '70s, '80s, and '90s, when the singer/pianist was largely silent, having forever changed American music in the '60s. These selections, housed in the vault of Charles' RPM International Studios in Los Angeles, were left as skeletons, filled out in preparation for this release by the likes of

Keb' Mo'

guitar
b.1951

" data-original-title="" title="">Keb' Mo',

Bobby Ray Sparks

keyboards

" data-original-title="" title="">Bobby Ray Sparks, and

Chuck Berghofer

bass, acoustic
b.1937

" data-original-title="" title="">Chuck Berghofer.

What these songs amply demonstrate is that youth is wasted on the young, and that Charles could have held his own in the kingdom of

Stevie Wonder

vocals
b.1950

" data-original-title="" title="">Stevie Wonder. The disc's opener, the original "Love's Gonna Bite You Back," is a brilliant combination of Wonder's best Motown material, strained through Memphis, Tennessee into a glass of Alabama moonshine. Charles sings like a man who has seen and done all. Confident, ebullient and absolutely certain, Charles demonstrates that he was a showman with no peer. The tasteful accompaniment brings the temperature into summertime and the engineering provides a clear dry day. Let's hope there is much, much more of this.

Learn more about our star rating system

Personnel

Ray Charles: vocals, keyboards; Keb' Mo,' George Doering: guitar; Bobby Sparks: organ; Gray Grant: trumpet, Alan Kaplan:trombone; Trey Henry, Chuck Berghofer: bass, Gregg Field, Ray Brinker: drums; Eric Benet: background vocals; other musicians unidentified.

Album information

Title: Rare Genius: The Undiscovered Masters | Year Released: 2011 | Record Label: Concord Music Group

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Cote D' Azur
< Previous

Captain Black Big Band
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.