Ray Charles - The Genius After Hours - SACD Mono

Product no.: UDSACD2073

In stock

Ray Charles - The Genius After Hours - SACD Mono
£29.99
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Mobile Fidelity - UDSACD 2073 - SACD Hybrid Mono 

Numbered Limited  Edition - Plays On All CD Players - Mono 

Mastered on the Mobile Fidelity GAIN 2 Mastering Technology  Ultradisc UHR Hybrid SACD   

Long Out-of-Print Album Restored and Renewed
 
Mastered from the Original Mono Master Tapes: Mobile Fidelity Corrects Longstanding Sonic Problems That Until Now, Disturbed Warmth and Dynamics
 
Let the good times roll, indeed. Taking the message of the first song on this thoroughly legendary 12-song set to heart, Ray Charles lives up to the album’s title and more, in the process completing one of the most focused, cohesive, and expertly played classic R&B albums ever recorded. It’s not for nothing that Rolling Stone ranked it #263 on the magazine’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Having languished with passable albeit insufficient sonics for too long, Mobile Fidelity has given it the treatment it’s always deserved.
 
Mastered from the original mono master tapes and presented in mini-LP-style gatefold packaging, the audiophile label’s hybrid SACD version of this American gem breathes with palpable airiness, tremendous warmth, sonorous details, snappy dynamics, and studio echoes. Charles’ recognizable voice nearly jumps out of the songs, and the large string orchestra’s instruments possess discernible body, identifiable imaging, and natural decay. Rest assured that this collectible edition outshines every previous edition as well as the collections featuring remastered songs taken from this 1959 album. What a difference the original mono mixes make.
 
Divided into two sides, The Genius of Ray Charles finds the pianist/singer paired with tenor saxophonist and longtime foil David “Fathead” Newman, Charles’ band, and a few members from Count Basie and Duke Ellington’s ensembles. Arranger Quincy Jones does the chart honors, revving up the big bands and seizing their energetic prowess while Charles outshines everyone in the all-star cast. Exuberant, joyous, stylish, and, in a word, the epitome of soulful, the brassy music is belted out with unfettered emotion and honesty, crossing boundaries and rolling the blues, gospel, and jazz into a pure-voiced hybrid.
 
On the record’s second half, ballads take over. Charles teams up with arranger Ralph Burns and a sizeable string orchestra, delivering standards such as “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Cryin’” and “Am I Blue” with an equal balance of intensity, feeling, and sympathetic originality. Yet the record’s single-greatest performance--and, quite possibly, the definitive performance of Charles’ career--belongs to “Come Rain or Come Shine.” It’s here that Charles, free of the piano and big band, comes into his own as a singer, becomes the singular artist that, in just a few years, would turn country music on its head. The brilliance goes beyond words.
 
Alas, The Genius of Ray Charles has never been celebrated for its sound. Instances of overmodulation clouded crescendos and the music never popped with requisite life. A 2005 Atlantic remaster from Europe didn’t solve the problems, and also sucked the warmth and dynamics out of many of the songs. Mobile Fidelity is honored to have finally resolved the deficiencies and, on this head-turning hybrid SACD, present Charles, Newman, and an iconic batch of arrangers, producers, and musicians in scintillating mono sound.
 
Baritone Saxophone – Emmot Dennis
Bass – Oscar Pettiford
Drums – Joe Harris , William Peeples
Supervised By – Jerry Wexler, Nesuhi Ertegun
Tenor Saxophone – David "Fathead" Newman )
Trumpet – Joseph Bridgewater , John Hunt
Vocals , Written-By – Ray Charles
 
Ray Charles The Genius Of Ray Charles Track Listing:
 
1. Let The Good Times Roll
2. It Had To Be You
3. Alexander's Ragtime Band
4. Two Years Of Torture
5. When Your Lover Has Gone
6. Deed I Do
7. Just For A Thrill
8. You Won't Let Me Go
9. Tell Me You'll Wait For Me
10. Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying
11. Am I Blue
12. Come Rain or Come Shine
 
Ray Charles - The Genius After Hours - SACD Mono
 
Image result for mofi mobile fidelity sound lab
Mobile Fidelity believes that mastering systems should be neutral and transparent. The essential idea is to unveil all the detailed musical information on the original master recording without adding deterioration, coloration or other sonic artifacts. 

It is worth noting that Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab stands out as one of few record labels that independently invests in research and development of audio technology. With proprietary innovations such as GAIN 2™, general music enthusiasts and audiophiles alike have reaped the benefit of a higher consumer audio standard without investing in costly new hardware. Mobile Fidelity is pleased to work with a variety of engineering legends and companies including Tim de Paravicini, Ed Meitner, Pass Labs, Theta Digital and Sony Electronics. 

Our joint efforts to seek out the ultimate audio experience, has resulted in significant advances for the technology of music reproduction. 

GAIN 2™ Mastering Technology for Ultradisc UHR™ Hybrid SACD and Ultradisc II™ 24kt Gold CDs 

For over twenty years, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab has continually searched for the ultimate audio experience. During this search MFSL engineers and associates created The GAIN™ System, a proprietary mastering technology which brought warmth and ambience to the compact disc format. A few years ago - with higher resolution formats on the horizon - the vision of GAIN 2™ began. As it stands today, GAIN 2™ is one of the greatest technical advancements in analogue and digital technology in the last ten years. It consists of a series of critical modifications and new components to Mobile Fidelity's proprietary mastering chain. 

We feel that GAIN 2™ has come extremely close to meeting this goal. The key accomplishments of GAIN 2™ System are 1) the ability to extract all the musical information as possible through the Ultra High bandwidth analogue tape playback system with proprietary custom tape playback heads, reproducer electronics and 2) transparently capturing and storing that information with the Direct Stream Digital recording system. 
 

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