Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music Volume Two

Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music Volume Two is a 1962 album by Ray Charles. It is the second volume of country and western recordings by Charles following his landmark debut on ABC Records. Following the surprising success of Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, an album of country music covers, which sold over a million copies, Charles and producer Sid Feller decided to do a follow-up. Unlike the previous album, where slow and fast tracks more or less alternated, this one features one side performed by the Ray Charles Big Band with the Raelettes, while the other side features a string section and the Jack Halloran Singers.

Modern Sounds, Vol. 2
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 1962
RecordedSeptember 5, 1962 in New York City, NY and September 7, 1962 in Hollywood, CA
Length34:15
LabelABC-Paramount
ProducerSid Feller
Ray Charles chronology
Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music
(1962)
Modern Sounds, Vol. 2
(1962)
Ingredients in a Recipe for Soul
(1963)

The album has been reissued on CD, coupled with Volume 1, and is also featured on The Complete Country & Western Recordings: 1959-1986 Box Set which also features the first C & W volume and many of Charles' later country recordings.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[2]
MusicHound R&B5/5[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[4]

In The Rolling Stone Album Guide (1992), J. D. Considine regarded the second Modern Sounds album as superior to the first, "because its balladry is smoother (as with his version of Williams's 'Your Cheatin' Heart') and because the blues tunes rock harder (check his smouldering rendition of Gibson's 'Don't Tell Me Your Troubles')."[4] AllMusic's Richard S. Ginell said it "defied the curse of the sequel and was just as much of an artistic triumph as its predecessor, if not as immediately startling".[1] Robert Christgau, on the other hand, preferred the first volume, writing in Rolling Stone that the second was a "half a step down".[5]

Track listing

Side one (big band tracks arranged and conducted by Gerald Wilson)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."You Are My Sunshine"Jimmie Davis, Charles Mitchell3:01
2."No Letter Today"Ted Daffan3:01
3."Someday (You'll Want Me to Want You)"James Hodges2:41
4."Don't Tell Me Your Troubles"Don Gibson2:07
5."Midnight"Boudleaux Bryant, Chet Atkins3:17
6."Oh Lonesome Me"Don Gibson2:10
Side two (strings/choir tracks arranged and conducted by Marty Paich)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Take These Chains from My Heart"Fred Rose, Hy Heath2:57
2."Your Cheating Heart"Hank Williams3:35
3."I'll Never Stand in Your Way"Fred Rose, Hy Heath2:20
4."Making Believe"Jimmy Work2:52
5."Teardrops in My Heart"Vaughn Horton3:04
6."Hang Your Head in Shame"Fred Rose, Edward Nelson, Steve Nelson3:16

Singles

Chart Information
Catalog No.SongR&BPop
ABC 10375“You Are My Sunshine”#1#7
ABC 10435“No Letter Today”#105
ABC 10435“Take These Chains from My Heart”#7#8
ABC 10375“Your Cheating Heart”#23#29
ABC 10481“Making Believe”#102

References

  1. Ginell, Richard S. (n.d.). "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, Vol. 2 - Ray Charles". AllMusic. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  2. Anon. (n.d.). "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music Vol. 2". Acclaimed Music. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  3. Graff, Gary; du Lac, Josh Freedom; McFarlin, Jim, eds. (1998). "Ray Charles". MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. ISBN 1578590264.
  4. Considine, J. D. (1992). "Ray Charles". In DeCurtis, Anthony; Henke, James; George-Warren, Holly (eds.). The Rolling Stone Album Guide (3rd ed.). Random House. p. 126. ISBN 0679737294.
  5. Christgau, Robert (July 8, 2004). "The Genius at Work". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
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