Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music Volume Two

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Modern Sounds, Vol. 2
Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music Volume Two.jpg
Studio album by
Ray Charles
ReleasedOctober 1962
RecordedSeptember 5 & 7, 1962
Studio
Length34:15
Label ABC-Paramount
Producer Sid Feller
Ray Charles chronology
Ray Charles Greatest Hits (ABC)
(1962)		Modern Sounds, Vol. 2
(1962)		 Ingredients in a Recipe for Soul
(1963)

Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music Volume Two is a 1962 album by Ray Charles. It is the second volume of country and western recordings by Charles following his landmark debut on ABC Records. Following the surprising success of Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music , an album of country music covers, which sold over a million copies, Charles and producer Sid Feller decided to do a follow-up. Unlike the previous album, where slow and fast tracks more or less alternated, this one features one side performed by the Ray Charles Big Band with the Raelettes, while the other side features a string section and the Jack Halloran Singers.

Contents

The album has been reissued on CD, coupled with Volume 1, and is also featured on The Complete Country & Western Recordings: 1959-1986 Box Set which also features the first C & W volume and many of Charles' later country recordings.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
MusicHound R&B Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [4]

In The Rolling Stone Album Guide (1992), J. D. Considine regarded the second Modern Sounds album as superior to the first, "because its balladry is smoother (as with his version of Williams's 'Your Cheatin' Heart') and because the blues tunes rock harder (check his smouldering rendition of Gibson's 'Don't Tell Me Your Troubles')." [4] AllMusic's Richard S. Ginell said it "defied the curse of the sequel and was just as much of an artistic triumph as its predecessor, if not as immediately startling". [1] Robert Christgau, on the other hand, preferred the first volume, writing in Rolling Stone that the second was a "half a step down". [5]

Track listing

Side one (big band tracks arranged and conducted by Gerald Wilson)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."You Are My Sunshine" Jimmie Davis, Charles Mitchell 3:01
2."No Letter Today" Ted Daffan 3:01
3."Someday (You'll Want Me to Want You)"James Hodges2:41
4."Don't Tell Me Your Troubles" Don Gibson 2:07
5."Midnight" Boudleaux Bryant, Chet Atkins 3:17
6."Oh Lonesome Me" Don Gibson 2:10
Side two (strings/choir tracks arranged and conducted by Marty Paich)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Take These Chains from My Heart" Fred Rose, Hy Heath 2:57
2."Your Cheating Heart" Hank Williams 3:35
3."I'll Never Stand in Your Way" Fred Rose, Hy Heath 2:20
4."Making Believe" Jimmy Work 2:52
5."Teardrops in My Heart"Vaughn Horton3:04
6."Hang Your Head in Shame" Fred Rose, Edward Nelson, Steve Nelson3:16

Charts

Album

ChartPeak
position
US Billboard Top LP's (150 Best-Selling Monoraul LP's) [6] 2

Singles

SongUS R&BUS Pop
"You Are My Sunshine"17
"No Letter Today"—105
"Take These Chains from My Heart"78
"Your Cheating Heart"2329
"Making Believe"—102

References

  1. 1 2 Ginell, Richard S. (n.d.). "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, Vol. 2 - Ray Charles". AllMusic . Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  2. ↑ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2007). "Charles, Ray". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). London: Omnibus Press. p. 299. ISBN   9781846098567.
  3. ↑ Graff, Gary; du Lac, Josh Freedom; McFarlin, Jim, eds. (1998). "Ray Charles". MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide . Visible Ink Press. ISBN   1578590264.
  4. 1 2 Considine, J. D. (1992). "Ray Charles". In DeCurtis, Anthony; Henke, James; George-Warren, Holly (eds.). The Rolling Stone Album Guide (3rd ed.). Random House. p. 126. ISBN   0679737294.
  5. ↑ Christgau, Robert (July 8, 2004). "The Genius at Work". Rolling Stone . Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  6. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1973). Top LPs, 1955–1972. Record Research. p. 30. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
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