| Doing His Thing | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 1969 | |||
| Recorded | RPM Studios, Los Angeles, California | |||
| Genre | Soul | |||
| Length | 32:33 | |||
| Label | ABC/Tangerine | |||
| Producer | Joe Adams | |||
| Ray Charles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Doing His Thing is a 1969 studio album by Ray Charles, released by Tangerine Records. The cover artwork was by Lafayette Chew.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |   [1] |
| The Village Voice | A [2] |
In his January 1970 "Consumer Guide" column, The Village Voice critic Robert Christgau wrote of Charles and the LP: "It's so easy to forget what a genius he still is. No balladeering here, no Beatle-mongering, nothing but hard-bopping Ray Charles soul. Yeah." [2] In The Rolling Stone Album Guide (1992), J. D. Considine said it marked a return to Charles' funkier style of music with "an album that's long on groove but short on songs (although the interplay between Charles and Jimmy Lewis on 'If It Wasn't for Bad Luck' is delightful)". [1]
Rex Reed's review of the album for Stereo Review in December 1969 stated, "Ray Charles is one singer who can be counted on to do his own thing, and if you dig his doing it over and over again, you'll love this record. Mr. Charles has collaborated in writing several of the songs here, and Jimmy Lewis has a credit on every one of them. The result is a sameness of emotional content, musical style, and tempo. Over it all hangs Charles' hearty wail, like a baitrabbit leading a pack of greyhounds. Round and round the track he leads them. If you're an avid Charles fan, you'll still be in the stands for the final band. I left this event early and went to one of my favorite restaurants, where they still have 'Ruby' on the jukebox." [3] Reviewing the cassette, 8-track and reel-to-reel versions two months later, Don Heckman, in the same publication, wrote:
Like most blues performers, Ray Charles is at his best when he works with material that is close to fundamentals. Composer Jimmy Lewis has provided just that—a panorama of contemporary blues—and Charles responds brilliantly. No country-&-western, no pop standards, no rock tunes—just one of the consummate blues performers of the day working with new material and sympathetic backing. A must for Ray Charles freaks; a joy for anyone else. [4]
all songs written by Jimmy Lewis except as noted
| Studio albums | |
|---|---|
| Posthumous studio creations | |
| Live albums | |
| Notable compilations | |
| Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles | |
| Other Billboard Charts #1 singles | |
| Grammy Awarded Works (not included above) | |
| See also | |
 | This 1960s R&B/soul album-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
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