- See You Then
- What Am I Living For
- Feel So Bad
- The Long And Winding Road
- The Three Bells
- All I Ever Need Is You
- Wichita Lineman
- Something
- I May Be Wrong (But I Think You're Wonderful)
- Down In The Valley
Recorded at RPM International in Los Angeles.
Finer session details are unknown, except for Feel So Bad (#3), arranged by Roger Neumann, recorded on January 18, 1971. Joël Dufour's interviews with some of the involved session musicians have led to the following line-up reconstruction: William King, Blue Mitchell, Don Rader, Bob Senescu - trumpets; Lou Blackburn, Henry Coker, Fred Murrell, Maurice Spears - trombones; Buddy Emmons - steel guitar; Don Peake?, Jerry Reed, Glen Campbell - guitars and (on #6) mandolin; Carol Kaye - bass; Edward "Sharkey" Hall - drums.
Ray may have played alto on #6 (All I Never Need Is You), Buddy Emmons also played pedal steel guitar on #7 (and on most other tunes), Carol Kaye also played bass on #3, Glen Campbell and Jerry Reed contributed to #6 and possibly to some of the other tunes. Sid Feller's penned the arrangements.
Emmons wrote (in 2002) that: "Recording with Ray Charles was an awesome experience as anyone might expect, but beyond that, I found our chemistry worked extremely well in the studio. We started with a blues tune with Ray at the piano, running the tune down with just the two of us. After selecting the spots to fill and spending a few minutes on the song, Ray would respond to fills with comments like, 'Yeah man, I think you've got it.' or 'Um hum, you know what the old man likes.' It was a gratifying moment, but I knew what he liked long before I got there, and what I was giving him was what he had given me through many hours of listening to his music. One of my greatest musical experiences was being on stage with Ray and his band in Nashville and his acknowledging my presence during the show. It doesn't get any better than that for a musician."
Another quote by Emmons (see comments, below):
"The call for Volcanic Action came from Glen Campbell. One morning he called and asked, 'Would you like to do some Ray Charles tunes tonight?' I had previously recorded with Glen so I figured he would be recording some old Ray Charles hits. When I got to the studio, Glen was there but said nothing about the session. About twenty minutes later, three silhouettes in a hallway came slowly toward the room until I recognized the person in the middle as Ray Charles. My first thought was that he was there to support Glen but shortly after that, I learned that it was Ray's session. After that, it took me an hour to settle down. The first thing after we were introduced was for him to take me to the piano and run a blues tune and explain where he wanted me to fill. I used the C6 tuning for that particular cut. It was Ray's studio, so everything was recorded live with him at the console, singing and working the sliders. The string and brass section was also present. Evidently, he likes the steel guitar as he called me for another project after I moved back to Nashville in 1974. I had the pleasure of working a live show with Ray and his band at the Opryland location after I moved back and I must say it was an indescribable feeling and one I will always treasure."
And another:
"I was living in Downey, California when I received a phone call from Glen Campbell asking would I like to record some Ray Charles stuff that night. I had recorded with Glen before so I thought he was putting some Ray Charles songs together for a new album. I told him I'd love to and he gave me the address to the studio.
That night, I was in the studio green room surrounded by thirty or so musicians talking about whatever LA musicians talk about. The buzzing faded away and I saw everyone shift their attention to three figures walking toward us in a dimly lit hallway. When they entered the room, the man in the middle turned out to be Ray Charles. If I remember correctly we all applauded. I stood there stunned because of the mindset I had for a Glen Campbell album. I gathered my wits and headed for the studio.
Our chemistry worked extremely well from the start. The first thing Ray did was to sit at the piano and ask me to play behind him as he sang a blues tune. After a couple of passes, he would smile and respond with comments like, 'Yeah man, I think you've got it,' or 'Um hum; you know what the old man likes.' I did know what he liked and it came from the many hours Jimmy Day and I spent listening to his music.
One of my greatest experiences ever was being on stage with Ray and his orchestra in Nashville. You can hear your name pronounced a million times but you'll never forget the sound of Ray Charles introducing you to an audience. It's an incredible feeling to get the chance to meet and shake the hand of someone you've thought so much of for years, but to be on stage and work with that person is beyond words. May he rest in peace."Feel So Bad and All I Never Need Is You (with Ray's solo on alto saxophone) would stay on Ray's live repertoire until the end.
The album cover carried the Julian Bond poem The Bishop Of Atlanta (see right bottom corner of this page).
ABC/Tangerine 726, April 1971.
Full album:
this might be my favorite album by Ray and by anyone. really a shame it was never officially brought into the digital age. definitely Ray playing the alto sax solo on All I Ever Need Is You and Buddy Emmons plays on basically the entire album, I May Be Wrong is the only song where I can't detect his pedal steel. here's another quote from Buddy about recording Volcanic Action with Ray:
ReplyDelete"The call for Volcanic Action came from Glen Campbell. One morning he called and asked, 'Would you like to do some Ray Charles tunes tonight?' I had previously recorded with Glen so I figured he would be recording some old Ray Charles hits. When I got to the studio, Glen was there but said nothing about the session. About twenty minutes later, three silhouettes in a hallway came slowly toward the room until I recognized the person in the middle as Ray Charles. My first thought was that he was there to support Glen but shortly after that, I learned that it was Ray's session. After that, it took me an hour to settle down. The first thing after we were introduced was for him to take me to the piano and run a blues tune and explain where he wanted me to fill. I used the C6 tuning for that particular cut. It was Ray's studio, so everything was recorded live with him at the console, singing and working the sliders. The string and brass section was also present. Evidently, he likes the steel guitar as he called me for another project after I moved back to Nashville in 1974. I had the pleasure of working a live show with Ray and his band at the Opryland location after I moved back and I must say it was an indescribable feeling and one I will always treasure."
and another:
"I was living in Downey, California when I received a phone call from Glen Campbell asking would I like to record some Ray Charles stuff that night. I had recorded with Glen before so I thought he was putting some Ray Charles songs together for a new album. I told him I'd love to and he gave me the address to the studio.
That night, I was in the studio green room surrounded by thirty or so musicians talking about whatever LA musicians talk about. The buzzing faded away and I saw everyone shift their attention to three figures walking toward us in a dimly lit hallway. When they entered the room, the man in the middle turned out to be Ray Charles. If I remember correctly we all applauded. I stood there stunned because of the mindset I had for a Glen Campbell album. I gathered my wits and headed for the studio.
Our chemistry worked extremely well from the start. The first thing Ray did was to sit at the piano and ask me to play behind him as he sang a blues tune. After a couple of passes, he would smile and respond with comments like, 'Yeah man, I think you've got it,' or 'Um hum; you know what the old man likes.' I did know what he liked and it came from the many hours Jimmy Day and I spent listening to his music.
One of my greatest experiences ever was being on stage with Ray and his orchestra in Nashville. You can hear your name pronounced a million times but you'll never forget the sound of Ray Charles introducing you to an audience. It's an incredible feeling to get the chance to meet and shake the hand of someone you've thought so much of for years, but to be on stage and work with that person is beyond words. May he rest in peace."
Great comments - I've included them in the article. Where did you find these quotes?
ReplyDelete