Ray Charles | Rare Genius: The Undiscovered Masters

Ray Charles | Rare Genius: The Undiscovered Masters (Concord)

By Brian Soergel

Imagine being John Burk, the producer who sifted through hundreds of unreleased masters from the legendary Ray Charles in search of a few that would make a cohesive album. Burk’s labor of love is realized with the 10-song Rare Genius: The Undiscovered Masters. It’s no surprise that Burk – EVP for Concord – helmed this release. It’s the third posthumous release of Charles’ music for Concord, following Ray Sings Basie Swing and the Grammy Award-wining Genius Loves Company, the latter Charles’ final studio CD and a certified multi-platinum instant classic that hit No. 1 on Billboard’s pop chart. Burk co-produced that CD with Phil Ramone.

Burk does an admirable job of selecting tracks that work together on Rare Genius: The Undiscovered Masters, whether blues, soul, pop or country-tinged. Some, like “Love’s Gonna Bite You Back,” unfortunately left no information on its session musicians. “Love’s Gonna Bite You Back,” recorded 30 years ago, still feels fresh, even with the musical accents that give away its time period. Charles is timeless, after all. On other tracks, Burk adds heft to the overall sound, adding contemporary studio musicians. It can be subtle – Chuck Berghofer’s bass and Gregg Fields’s drums on “Wheel of Fortune,” a bluesy-romance with strings that anyone who digs “Georgia on My Mind” will absolutely fall in love with. Some threadbare songs like the Tin Pan Alley classic “They’ll Be Some Changes Made” – Burk only had a synth-back demo to work with – come alive courtesy of a larger group of musicians. This particular song features Berghofer as well as guitarist Keb’ Mo’ on a solo, rhythm guitarist George Doering, drummer Ray Brinker and Bobby Sparks on Hammond B3 organ. On the heartfelt ballad “I Don’t Want No One But You,” contemporary R&B star Eric Benet provides background vocals.

The final three songs showcase Charles’ love of country music: Hank Cochrane’s “A Little Bitty Tear,” “She’s Gone” and “Why Me, Lord?” The latter, written by Kris Kristofferson, is a gem of song, with Johnny Cash handling lead vocals and Charles providing piano and background vocals.

It all adds to a must-have for all Ray Charles fans.

Brian Soergel
The Urban Music Scene