In honor of Brother Ray getting his own “Forever” stamp for the USPS, Concord has put together a pretty nifty cd/dvd that gives a nice overview of the width and depth of this American Icon. Early crooning R&B stuff like “I’m Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town” fits right in with June Carter’s “Ring of Fire”. Anthems such as “Imagine” and “America The Beautiful” are given evergreen treatments, and a previously unreleased take of “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” is backed by some a band arranged by Chris Walden. The dvd has Charles in a variety of settings on the road, Jack, and he gets the joints jumpin’ every time. It’s encouraging to see and hear an artist that refused to be held down by labels. He was, like Ellington, beyond category.
Concord Music