Once in a while a musical project comes sailing along that carries a strange odorous odor: the acrid smell of bag filling. Similarly, Here We Go Again: Celebrating The Genius Of Ray Charles. It is still unclear who came up with this incredible project, but it justifies dusting the old pillory and locking the culprit in it and then having him pelted with rotting oats by bystanders. Nothing to the
… detriment of Wille Nelson as a country singer, but to have him sing the repertoire of Ray Charles is just as logical as Dries Roelvink who would pay tribute to James Brown. His creaky voice thrives best in lazy country songs, preferably sung lying down in a haystack. Especially in terms of timing, he lags behind in the soulful rhythm'n'blue repertoire of Ray Charles. Norah Jones also misses the point and is more concerned with articulating neatly than with inspiration. The only real star is trumpet player Wynton Marsalis who has provided Charles's songs with a very pleasant New Orleans touch. (AD)more