Ray Charles [1957]

by Ray Charles

Overview

One of the first handful of LPs issued by Atlantic, Ray Charles (later retitled Hallelujah I Love Her So) is a bona fide classic of its genre. Weighted about three to one in favor of Charles' own compositions, its raison d'etre was the hits "Hallelujah I Love Her So" and the pounding, soaring "Ain't That Love," which opens the LP. As with other Atlantic albums of the period, its content was determined more by Charles' recent singles than by a real plan for the LP, but even within those limitations it's an amazingly subtle record. Charles does just as well with his interpretations of others' work, most notably the ominous, gospel-focused rendition of "Sinner's Prayer" (which offers a virtuoso piano performance, and comes courtesy of the pen of Charles' former mentor Lowell Fulson) and Henry Glover's wrenching ballad "Drown in My Own Tears," which is topped out on each verse by a gorgeous chorus. "Funny (But I Still Love You)" offers a guitar break played in such an understated fashion that it almost doesn't seem so much a part of R&B as it was usually being offered in 1957 as it does a part of Charles' early career output. The second side of the LP is even better, opening with the title track, a number that is almost too ubiquitous in its various cover versions -- the original has a mix of urgency and playfulness that's absolutely bracing, and the album carries this mood forward with "Mess Around," an Ahmet Ertegun-authored piano- and sax-driven romp with Charles at his most ebullient as a singer. "This Little Girl of Mine" offers him in a surprisingly light, almost acrobatic vocal mode, while "Greenbacks" is a knowing, clever cautionary narrative that is almost a throwback to 1940s-style R&B. "Don't You Know" is as salacious a piece of R&B as one was likely to hear in 1957, and "I Got a Woman" closes the record out on a pounding, driving note. The original album suffered from deficient sound and most reissues left a lot to be desired, but in 2003 WEA International reissued it (as Hallelujah I Love Her So) in a 24-bit remastered version in a gatefold format that is a treat to the ear and runs circles around prior reissues. ~ Bruce Eder

Product Details

Release Date:	10/25/2024
UPC:	0753088750762

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Ray Charles   Primary Artist,Piano,Vocals
Ray Charles & His Orchestra   Primary Artist
Candido Camero   Congas,Double Bass
Cecil Payne   Sax (Baritone)
Frank Mitchell   Trumpet
Lloyd Trotman   Double Bass
Margie Hendrix   Vocals (Background)
Jimmy Bell   Double Bass
O'Neil Gerald   Saxophone,Sax (Alto)
Charles Whitley   Trumpet
Warren Bell   Saxophone
Dave McRae   Sax (Baritone)
Riley Webb   Trumpet
Pinky Williams   Saxophone
Joe Tillman   Sax (Tenor)
Joe Bridgewater   Trumpet
William Peeples   Drums
Joshua Willis   Trumpet
Glenn Brooks   Drums
Roosevelt Sheffield   Double Bass
Wesley Jackson   Guitar
Darlene McCrea   Vocals (Background)
Paul E. West   Double Bass
Priscilla "Pat" Moseley Lyles   Vocals (Background)
Dorothy Jones   Vocals (Background)
Emmott Dennis   Sax (Baritone)
Earl-Jean McCrea   Vocals (Background)
McHouston "Mickey" Baker   Guitar
Kenny Burrell   Guitar
Connie Kay   Drums
John Hunt   Trumpet
Wallace Davenport   Trumpet
Freddie Mitchell   Saxophone
Don Wilkerson   Saxophone,Sax (Tenor),Vocals (Background)
Lloyd Lambert   Double Bass
Percy Heath   Double Bass
Sam "The Man" Taylor   Sax (Tenor)
Jesse Drakes   Trumpet
Jerry Wexler   Tambourine
Renald Richard   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Oscar Moore   Drums
Milt Jackson   Vibraphone
Art Taylor   Drums
David "Fathead" Newman   Saxophone,Sax (Alto),Vocals (Background)
Mary Ann Fisher   Vocals (Background)
David "Panama" Francis   Drums

Technical Credits

Walter Davis   Composer
Tom Dowd   Engineer
Henry Glover   Composer
Chuck Calhoun   Composer
Charles Calhoun   Composer
Ray Charles   Composer
Chester Burnett   Composer
Charles E. Calhoun   Composer
Lloyd Glenn   Composer
Lowell Fulson   Composer
Nesuhi Ertegun   Producer
Jerry Wexler   Producer
Jesse Stone   Arranger,Composer
Renald Richard   Composer
Herb Abramson   Producer
Ahmet Ertegun   Composer,Producer