December 25, 2009

Ray Stevens: Seriously Speaking...

Merry Christmas to all the Ray Stevens fans out there and to Ray as well. I've written about this holiday CD before and I assumed that this holiday season Ray would promote some of the songs from it but a certain song by the name of "We The People" came along and it's been the talk of the Ray Stevens world for the month of December...and the video on You Tube continues to get plays as it's in the mid 400,000 range in total views as of this writing. Something tells me, though, that Ray doesn't mind the attention being focused on "We The People" instead of the holiday CD. There's always Christmas 2010 to push this holiday CD's availability. There hasn't been much publicity or promotion around it...it's perhaps by design since the songs are all traditional and serious...not a drop of comedy is to be heard. Ray's arrangements on these songs are more along the classic R&B and jazz sounds. I'm not saying it's authentic jazz...so don't anyone reading this who happens to be a jazz fan think they need to straighten me out on authentic and progressive music styles, etc etc. If something sounds jazzy or R&B/bluesy to me, then that's how I'll describe it.

I wanted to write some more about this 1993 CD entitled Classic Ray Stevens. This CD appears a lot on eBay by those wanting to make some quick cash on Ray Stevens items. It also appears in search engines and other places where music is sold. The thing that often annoys me, though, is when people, usually on eBay, state that the CD is a greatest hits collection because of it's title. There was even one web-page that once remarked that this album "contains 10 Ray Stevens classics...". It was like a big write-up for a compilation album of some kind and to those in the know the actual CD is a song of then all-new recordings. The only reason it was titled Classic Ray Stevens was due to the eye-catching cover photo showing a classical music scene with a bust of Ray a top the piano. I usually just roll my eyes when I see people who sell this CD on-line proclaim that it's a collection of hit songs. Ray got a lot of mileage from this CD because after it's release he didn't issue another one until 1997, for MCA Records. Classic Ray Stevens was recorded for Curb Records and afterward he and the label parted ways...after 1994's hiatus, Ray emerged in 1995 with his home video movie, Get Serious. The songs that are featured on the 1993 CD are as follows...

1. If 10 Percent Is Good Enough For Jesus
2. The Higher Education of Ole Blue
3. The Bricklayer's Song
4. Little League
5. Meanwhile
6. Super Cop
7. If You and Yo' Folks Like Me and My Folks
8. The All-American Two Week Summer Family Vacation
9. The Ballad of Jake McCluskey
10. The Motel Song

Now, although some mistakenly refer to Classic Ray Stevens as a collection of hit songs, here's a real example of a hit song collection...

I decided to post an image of this particular 1987 album today because with football season heading into it's final weeks and the play-off's around the corner pretty soon it'll be Spring Training and baseball players will be warming up and playing exhibition games in anticipation of Opening Day 2010. I happen to like this album's picture...the baseball theme. I have both the cassette and vinyl copy...in fact, the cassette copy that I have was one of the very first Ray Stevens tapes that I had in my once modest collection in the early 1990's. I've never found out who the other three people are...I've often felt that the umpire was either Norro Wilson or Buddy Kalb...the catcher I have no idea. The bat-boy I have no clue, either. They're probably all friends or relatives of Ray or were people who happened to be from a talent agency of some kind. The allure of this particular compilation album at the time was the still popular/controversial single of Ray's called "Would Jesus Wear a Rolex?".

Imagine if there was a You Tube or the internet as we know it back in 1987 when that song was brand new...and although the song is on You Tube now the commentary in hindsight pales by comparison to the fiery emotions of a lot of people when it came to televangelists in 1987...particularly when religious scandals weren't something commonplace like they are now. Isn't that a sad truth? The audacity, according to some, of Ray to put out a song putting ridicule on so-called chosen ones from the Lord was as controversial as "We The People" is with some today. So, if anything, this shows those who've never even heard of Ray Stevens until this month that "We The People" isn't some song born to give this 'Ray Stevens guy' his fifteen minutes of fame...he's been there, done that, and is getting the chance to become discovered by a whole new audience yet again.

There are 10 songs on that compilation album...one of the songs was brand-new and featured a touch of dark humor. "Mama's In The Sky With Elvis" is a wonderful salute to Elvis but at the same time there's irony and a touch of melancholy given that the song is about a death afterall. If you hadn't heard the song...track it down on-line and purchase it. It's a catchy song and one of my all-time favorites that he recorded. Here are the 10 songs from that album...

1. Would Jesus Wear a Rolex?; 1987
2. Can He Love You Half as Much as I?; 1986
3. The Blue Cyclone; 1985**
4. I Need Your Help, Barry Manilow; 1979
5. Mama's In The Sky With Elvis; 1987
6. Mr. Businessman; 1966
7. The Haircut Song; 1985
8. Jeremiah Peabody's Green and Purple Pills; 1962
9. Freddy Feelgood; 1969
10. In The Mood; 1976

**- "The Blue Cyclone" on this collection is the radio edit. The album version was broken into two parts and was never officially released as a single due to it's incredible running time of over 8 minutes total. Of course, 8 minutes is way too long for a commercial single...and so an edited version was furnished to radio and jukebox operators. The song spoofed wrestlers, for those who hadn't heard the song yet. It's a narrative where Ray recites a hilarious story about getting into trouble with a wrestler named Blue Cyclone. Anyway, the version of the song that appears on various compilation albums is the radio edit. Some prefer the full two-part version because each and every detail is necessary and vital. I don't have a preference...but yet I do find myself appreciating the two-part full length recording the most but the edited version is still highly entertaining.

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