Ray Charles - 50 Years In Music (2005)

Most any music production with Ray is going to be great, but there are a few problems with this show. The audio mix is a bit dull, with very little presence on the singers and players. Trying Pro Logic II on the stereo track and turning up the center channel just made it worse. Though there is plenty of .1 signal for the subwoofer. The image quality is very soft focus, especially noticeable on the long shots of the stage. It looked much like some DVDs of TV series which suffer from low resolution. The wings and paraphernalia on Ray’s piano/synthesizer are too much; it appears to be a “piano by Picasso.”
Ray is of course terrific, especially in his solo numbers at the keyboards – What’d I Say, Just for a Thrill, and Can’t Keep a Good Man Down. His duets with Willie Nelson and Stevie Wonder are fun too, and he accompanies Gladys Knight, but it goes downhill from there. Michael Bolton is as pretentious as the flying piano with his high-pitched delivery. Who knows how The Brand New Heavies got on the program – completely inappropriate. That goes too for the young Quincy Jones protege trying to imitate Michael Jackson. And in the middle of the musical proceedings is a totally unexpected (and unwanted) standup comic. Various celebrities speak about how great Ray is (as if we needed convincing), including Bill Cosby, Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder, and Willie Nelson. But they’re not on for long. It’s a nice tribute, but I’d prefer a Whole-Ray DVD. This would be a DVD for which the programming abilities of most players (skipping over tracks automatically) would be most welcome.
Tunes: What’d I Say, Hallelujah I Love Her So, Livin’ for the City, Busted, Never Stop, Georgia on my Mind, Your Cheatin’ Heart, I Can’t Stop Loving You, I Got a Woman, Just Ask Me To, Just for a Thrill, I Wish I’d Never Loved You at All, Can’t Keep a Good Man Down, America the Beautiful.

Tracklist:
01. What'd I Say - Ray Charles [6:42]
02. Hallelujah, I Love Her So - Stevie Wonder [4:27]
03. Livin' for the City - Ray Charles & Stevie Wonder [9:45]
04. Busted - Ray Charles & Willie Nelson [2:33]
05. Never Stop - The Brand New Heavies [4:53]
06. Georgia on My Mind - Ray Charles & Michael Bolton [15:16]
07. Your Cheatin' Heart - Randy Travis [2:51]
08. I Can't Stop Loving You - James Ingram [2:31]
09. I Got a Woman - Michael McDonald [5:52]
10. Just Ask Me To - Tevin Campbell [4:50]
11. Just for a Thrill - Ray Charles [6:06]
12. I Wish I'd Never Loved You At All - Gladys Knight [3:58]
13. Can't Keep a Good Man Down - Ray Charles [11:06]
14. America the Beautiful - Ray Charles & Friends [7:57]
15. End Credits (I Can't Stop Loving You) [1:33]


Features:
- Direct Scene Access
- Interactive Menu