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    • Ray Charles

    Sweet & Sour Tears

    03/01/1964

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    All Music Guide Review

    One of a series of ultra-loose concept albums Ray Charles cut in the '60s, this one is dedicated entirely to songs with titles or lyrical references to crying and tears. It's an excuse for Charles to choose his usual varied menu of upbeat jumpers, slow countrified weepers, and proudly saccharine pop standards. The production, as one might fear, also tends to the lachrymose side on the slow tunes, with the thick strings and backup vocals straight out of TV variety shows. One is almost tempted to think that Charles was toying with audience expectations by mixing unabashedly sentimental slow tunes with the far more bluesy, satisfying, and upbeat numbers, such as "Don't Cry, Baby" and "Baby, Don't You Cry," as well as his surprisingly brassy, punchy treatment of "Cry Me a River." These outings have always played much better with critics than the gloppy pop tunes, and for good reason -- they are much better. The Rhino CD reissue adds seven bonus tracks from throughout his early career (1956-1971) that also tapped into the "crying" motif. These threaten to steal the show from the Sweet & Sour Tears album it's supposedly embellishing, including the Bacharach/David penned 1964 single "I Wake Up Crying," the smoldering 1966 album track "No Use Crying," and the 1956 R&B chart-topper "Drown in My Own Tears," next to which much of the rest of the program sounds positively hokey. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide

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    Credits

    • Terry Howard
    • Balance Engineer, Original Master Transfers, Re-Calibration


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