Ray Charles - O Genio - Live in Brazil 1963

Starring:Ray Charles
Studio: Rhino / Wea
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
O Genio: Live in Brazil 1963 is a fairly astonishing document, and an invaluable addition to the catalog of one the great artists of the 20th Century. Here's Ray Charles, "O Genio" ("The Genius" in Portuguese), 32 years old and in his absolute prime, a few years after he essentially "invented" soul music with his classic Atlantic Records recordings and just a year after he'd transformed popular music again with Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music. The DVD finds Charles and his orchestra performing two full sets in Sao Paulo; both are in black and white and contain many of the same songs (although for some reason the sound and visual quality of the first set is far superior to that of the second). And what songs they are. When a guy opens his set with one of his biggest hits, "What'd I Say," you know you're in for something special. And Charles doesn't disappoint, drawing on the all aspects of his repertoire, including some C&W (only Ray Charles could turn the hokey "You Are My Sunshine" into a funky, swinging affair), blues ("In the Evening (When the Sun Goes Down)"), and jazz ("Birth of a Band" and Bobby Timmons's classic "Moanin'," both instrumentals, are among the highlights), in addition to "Hit the Road Jack," Hallelujah I Love Her So," and other Charles standards. The band includes saxophonist David "Fathead" Newman and Margie Hendrix, perhaps the greatest Raelette of all, but the star of this show is Ray Charles, and O Genio: Live in Brazil 1963 is a wonderful opportunity to experience the master at work. --Sam Graham
Description
Featuring a very rare 1963 performance of Ray Charles in Sao Paulo, Brazil, recorded one day before his 33rd birthday, the concert material showcased on this disc is a remarkable find. Beyond its historical significance, the video provides enormous pleasure: we get to see and hear Ray, the Genius (O-Genio means "The Genius" in Portuguese), at his absolute best, exactly as it was shown then, complete with Brazilian commercials.

Ray Charles - O Genio - Live in Brazil 1963
Average customer rating:

Fantastic Performance, but....

FINGERS DANCIN' WITH THE JETSONS ORCHESTRA...

A rare gem you should add to your DVD collection!

Margie....

They called him 'Genius' for a reason!

Ray Charles - O Genio - Live in Brazil 1963
Starring: Ray Charles
Manufacturer: Rhino / Wea
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000641A7M
Release Date: 2004-11-16

Amazon.com

O Genio: Live in Brazil 1963 is a fairly astonishing document, and an invaluable addition to the catalog of one the great artists of the 20th Century. Here's Ray Charles, "O Genio" ("The Genius" in Portuguese), 32 years old and in his absolute prime, a few years after he essentially "invented" soul music with his classic Atlantic Records recordings and just a year after he'd transformed popular music again with Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music. The DVD finds Charles and his orchestra performing two full sets in Sao Paulo; both are in black and white and contain many of the same songs (although for some reason the sound and visual quality of the first set is far superior to that of the second). And what songs they are. When a guy opens his set with one of his biggest hits, "What'd I Say," you know you're in for something special. And Charles doesn't disappoint, drawing on the all aspects of his repertoire, including some C&W (only Ray Charles could turn the hokey "You Are My Sunshine" into a funky, swinging affair), blues ("In the Evening (When the Sun Goes Down)"), and jazz ("Birth of a Band" and Bobby Timmons's classic "Moanin'," both instrumentals, are among the highlights), in addition to "Hit the Road Jack," Hallelujah I Love Her So," and other Charles standards. The band includes saxophonist David "Fathead" Newman and Margie Hendrix, perhaps the greatest Raelette of all, but the star of this show is Ray Charles, and O Genio: Live in Brazil 1963 is a wonderful opportunity to experience the master at work. --Sam Graham

Description

Featuring a very rare 1963 performance of Ray Charles in Sao Paulo, Brazil, recorded one day before his 33rd birthday, the concert material showcased on this disc is a remarkable find. Beyond its historical significance, the video provides enormous pleasure: we get to see and hear Ray, the Genius (O-Genio means "The Genius" in Portuguese), at his absolute best, exactly as it was shown then, complete with Brazilian commercials.

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic Performance, but...........2007-07-05

Overall, as the other reviewers have stated, this is an AMAZING performance by Ray Charles in his prime. This is a great dvd to own, but, and it's a big reservation for me, is that the record company chose to use such an abysmally low bitrate on the ac3 audio. 192kbps. I mean come on people! This deserves lpcm audio!! At the VERY LEAST 448Kb's ac3. I know the audio quality of the original masters wasn't as good as what's available today, but they could have at LEAST put a decent bitrate on the audio. Such a performance cries out for good audio. It's such a pity, otherwise I would have given it 5 stars, but the low bitrate audio is a big let down from what would have otherwise been a perfect dvd for me.

FINGERS DANCIN' WITH THE JETSONS ORCHESTRA..........2006-05-23

Snap...snap...snap...snap, with the mod 60's paintings (here is the world as it was when I was born ... man how time flies), stylish professional atmosphere, and the piano lid wide open, these people are ALL about music. This is serious stuff! Ray's fingers are dancing and reaching for every possible strand of melody - a beautiful display of accompaniment vs. solo symmetry. Ray is clearly center stage, as he leads the band through jazz thickets, bluesy swamps and gospel revivals! but he lets all others shine when they have their moments in the spotlight. The gals singing four part back-up/harmony (The Raeletts) are incredible with the sassy full-tilt soul treatment, made to look effortless as conversation. Ray even blows the sax nicely during "untitled jazz instrumental"; for some reason I never realized he had mastered another instrument (although I haven't followed him closely over the years, I really only know a few of his big hits well from the radio). They even threw in a couple of period Brazilian commercials - pretty funny. Feeling these put-together songs going through their cycles with the many intricate pieces is a wonderful experience, and takes me back to this golden age. I should revisit more often. What a nice document and great addition to my collection (the second show video quality falls off, but who cares, it is from 1963!). Thanks Ray, Raeletts & all of the other fine musicians, I will try to enjoy this often.

A rare gem you should add to your DVD collection! .......2005-11-10

Being a lifelong Ray Charles' fan and having the pleasure of seeing him in concert back in the mid-80s, his talent and passion for his music has never diminished. Over the course of the years, footage of his earlier concerts and performances were sparse and rare, however, when I discovered this DVD and that Margie Hendrix & The Raelettes were on this, I immediately purchased it. Thanks again to the great folks at Rhino for again putting a product out to the public that is unique and caters to us hardcore music lovers!

The first concert which is a rehearsal is far better than the second with its sound & picture quality. You know that you're not going to be disappointed when Ray starts out with "What I'd Say" and seeing his Raelettes getting ready to strut their stuff. Margie's powerhouse voice and the Raelettes synchronized moves while singing to a single microphone is visually mesmerizing! You don't see this type of class act anymore in this day and age.

I would say my favorite song was "You Are My Sunshine" with Margie singing a little solo. If you hear close, you can hear O-Genio say in the background "Yeah Margie!" while she squalls. I was blown away!!

A must have for all Ray Charles fans!

Margie...........2005-09-23

I am so glad I found a reference to this video in Oxford Review's article by Roy Blount about Ray Charles. He mentioned the Raylettes and especially Margie. I realized I'd never seen the Raylettes though their voices were always there, creating the ambiance for Ray to do his thing which was wonderful, artistically perfect, uncannily helping us to dream our emotional lives onward. So I got it for Margie, and I was not disappointed. He was right: you can't take your eyes off her. Ray is good to look at, too. And the listening!

They called him 'Genius' for a reason!.......2005-06-03

This DVD captures Ray Charles in his prime. Barely more than 30 years old when these video performances were captures, Ray and his powerhouse band tear through the songs that would become standards throughout his long career. Partly due to his youth, and partly due to these songs being relatively new in 1963, Ray's performances have a vitality and passion here that can't be matched in any of his later concerts released on DVD. He never stopped being a Genius - but his voice here borders on Godly. Ray Charles was able to take almost any song from any genre and perform it with such sincerity and passion that you'd swear he was the original author.

The first concert is a trial run for the real show. Taped before a smaller audience, trial runs like these are common as dress rehearsals before important live performances. The black and white video and mono audio have mellowed nicely, and the stark presentation highlights the power of Ray's performance.

The second concert isn't nearly as well-preserved. In fact, it looks like the poor public-doman style material that Goodtimes Home Video used to release. However, it does contain a slightly different set list than the first concert and its well-worth your time to look past the technical flaws. Ray's voice transcends the decaying video source, and its hard to complain about the video of the second concert when the first one looks so fine.

I was lucky enough to see Ray Charles in concert a few years ago, and this DVD brought back a lot of nice memories. This DVD belongs in the collection of anyone who truly loved Ray.

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