Director Taylor Hackford (RPCV Bolivia) cleverly uses some of the more dramatic points in Charles' personal life and career to illustrate how the late singer-pianist's music evolved from a young man trying to parrot Nat "King" Cole to a player who could command genres from gospel to country to R&B.
'Ray' producers give us plenty of man's genius - his music
Larry Rodgers
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 29, 2004 12:00 AM
Between losing his brother at age 5, his eyesight at 7 and both parents by 15, as well as having a two-decade heroin habit and affairs with countless women, Ray Charles had enough drama in his life to fill a movie without a note of music being played.
But lovers of Charles' pioneering musical talent should be glad that the producers of Ray created plenty of scenes to showcase performances by the man Frank Sinatra called "the only genius in our business."
Director Taylor Hackford cleverly uses some of the more dramatic points in Charles' personal life and career to illustrate how the late singer-pianist's music evolved from a young man trying to parrot Nat "King" Cole to a player who could command genres from gospel to country to R&B.
advertisement
The stage is set for Charles' melding of musical styles early in the film, when Ahmet Ertegun, the legendary chief of Atlantic Records, tells him, "You either sound original or you get nothing."
Charles, masterfully portrayed by Jamie Foxx, responds with a rollicking version of a song awkwardly sung to him by Ertegun (Curtis Armstrong), Mess Around, one of the singer's earliest singles.
A tender encounter with the woman who would become his wife inspires Charles to softly sing the opening lines to 1955's I've Got a Woman, which mixed gospel with R&B to create what later would be called soul music.
Instead of sticking to a formula used in many films about musicians - predictably alternating dramatic scenes and performances - Hackford sets up initial shots of Charles creating songs and then moves to footage of him performing the finished product onstage or in the studio.
In one emotional scene that moves from tears to laughter, a fight with a backup singer-lover results in Charles putting his own stamp on Percy Mayfield's Hit the Road Jack.
Hackford points out how Charles upset his wife, Della Bea (Kerry Washington), and others when he blended gospel with popular sounds.
"You're turning God's music into sex!" a bar patron shouts as Charles performs Hallelujah, I Love Her So.
The singer pauses, smiles and takes an instant poll: "Anyone who wants me to continue, say 'Amen.' "
Charles' move to the more corporate confines of ABC-Paramount Records in 1959 makes for a lighthearted scene in which he informs his new label that he wants to take another musical detour, with his Modern Sounds of Country and Western Music album.
"They've (Nashville singers) got great stories," he tells a shocked ABC executive, who accedes to Charles' plan after the singer points out that his contract gives him full artistic control, a rarity in those times. (The album became one of his biggest sellers.)
Foxx has Charles' infectious smile and animated onstage persona down perfectly. The actor does a decent job of singing a few tunes in the film but spends most of his time lip-syncing to the multi-faceted vocals of the master, which is as it should be.
The film glosses over the latter part of Charles' career, when he moved more into the mainstream and recorded celebrity duets that hardly pushed the envelope. (His recently released final studio album, Genius Loves Company, has been in the top 20 of Billboard's album chart for seven weeks.)
But the core of the 12-time Grammy winner's larger-than-life musical identity was forged during his adventures in the '50s and '60s. And Ray captures that time in a way that will be music to the ears of his fans.
Reach Rodgers at (602) 444-8043.
