Ray Charles Live In Concert with The Edmonton Symphony
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: D Concert: B-
Taped on January 27th 1981, Ray Charles Live
In Concert with The Edmonton Symphony is a short and somewhat effective Ray
Charles concert taped especially for television, which explains its too-short
48 minutes running time. Charles is
more laidback than usual, with event the most rocking of the following songs
being done in more Pop style than usual:
1)
Riding Thumb
2)
Busted
3)
Georgia On My Mind
4)
Oh, What A Beautiful Morning
5)
Some Enchanted Evening
6)
Hit The Road Jack
7)
I Can’t Stop Loving You
8)
Take These Chains From My Heart
9)
I Can See Clearly Now
10)
What’d I
Say
11)
America The
Beautiful
Of course, this was at the time Ronald Reagan first became
President and Charles was roundly criticized for supporting him, and the
name-calling and accusations got very ugly.
Rock, Blues and R&B fans were roundly criticizing him for selling
his music down the river and the lightweight nature of this concert is an
example of why, but it is still a very musical experience and Charles was
(without being an apologist) tailoring it to the accompanying orchestra, so
some criticisms are not as solid. With
Charles gone, his last album a big hit and the film Ray arriving
theatrically with much buzz, this is a title that will suddenly gain new
interest.
The full frame 1.33 X 1 image was shot on NTSC analog
videotape and it shows its age, but this is about as clean and clear as this is
going to get in the DVD format, with consistent color and some detail. The Dolby Digital 5.1 remix is a bit better
than the 2.0 Stereo, but neither can cover the age of the recording and its
flaws. There are no extras, but Ray
Charles Live In Concert with The Edmonton Symphony is one for the books,
one of many chapters in a legendary life.
- Nicholas Sheffo
