Thanks for Bringing Love Around Again

Ray Charles still has a marvelous voice, equal parts sweat and moonbeams. Nonetheless, it seems the "Legendary Genius of Soul" didn't apply all his brainpower to this album. It may, in part, be a matter of taste. The sampled horns and strings in tunes like "Can You Love Me Like That" and "How Did You Feel the Morning After" pale next to the terrific arrangements for organic instruments that have long been a cornerstone of his reputation. And too many of these numbers, from the blithe "I Love You More Than I Ever Have" to the ballad "Ensemble," depend so much on female supporting vocalists that Charles sometimes seems like a guest on his own album. Worse, his new songs are often unrealized--mere fragmentary notions of lyrics over grooves. For much of this CD he has adopted the programmed beats and clichéd electronic keyboard lines that are common to the Britney and Backstreet world of contemporary pop. It's one thing for a classic artist to attempt to reinvent himself, another to dilute his art for the charts, which he hardly has a prayer of reaching, given the state of today's music biz and its negative attitude toward the pioneers of virtually any longstanding musical style. That said, not everything here is disappointing. The title ballad uses Charles's relaxed vocal delivery to full advantage, and the funkier "New Orleans" shows off his barroom piano chops. The other winners are the monologue-jam "Mr. Creole," a checklist of New Orleans's human virtues, and "Mother," an ode to maternal love that brings Charles's pure soul singing to the fore. --Ted Drozdowski