Ray Charles LIVE IN CONCERT: THE COMPLETE PERFORMANCE Released on Vinyl

Tangerine Records has released Ray Charles Live In Concert: The Complete Performance, an expanded edition of 1965's Live In Concert, which originally captured a fraction of Ray Charles' 1964 show at LA's Shrine Auditorium. Restored to include the legendary singer and pianist's entire 75-minute concert, the expanded reissue is the first ever complete concert vinyl release. Originally produced by Sid Feller and recorded by Wally Heider, Live In Concert: The Complete Performance has been freshly remastered by five-time GRAMMY winner Michael Graves and mastered for vinyl by Jeff Powell. The album is also available at all streaming platforms.

An immediate hit upon release 61 years ago, the original Live In Concert album earned critical praise and landed in the R&B Top Ten as fans got a taste of the incredible live performance Ray Charles had been honing on stages all around the world. However, as essential as the '65 release was, it only told half the story of that unforgettable night at the Shrine.

Backed by his full orchestra, which included the finest musicians of the era – including tenor saxophonist David 'Fathead' Newman, trombonist Julius Preister, and alto saxophonist Hank Crawford – Ray Charles showcased his singular ability to turn any song, no matter where or when it came from, into something universally and uniquely soulful.

'It was a case of putting the small band into the big band,' said the late sax-man Newman. 'Quincy Jones gave Ray his book from his previous big band, so that was the starter, because Ray didn't have any big band arrangements.'

'At that time, we were like Ellington's band,' added the late altoist Crawford. 'People came to see us as well as they did Ray, because we were all kind of individual artists ourselves. He had a star-studded group.'

Following a four-month summer tour that closed in Europe and Japan, this concert at the Shrine was the first of the fall tour concerts and filled the landmark's 6,000+ capacity. Tony Gumina, President of the Ray Charles Marketing Group, notes that committing this concert to tape was strictly the brainchild of Ray's manager, former top-rated Los Angeles DJ Joe Adams. Without telling Ray (nor the label executives except for producer Sid Feller, who played along) that the concert was going to be recorded, Adams hired the legendary sound engineer Wally Heider, a late expert in 'miking' an orchestra for live recordings, and preserved the spontaneity of a typical Brother Ray concert. Adams paid Heider out of his own pocket, knowing he would get reimbursed if his vision worked out the way he thought it would, and the risk certainly paid off. The result is a legendary live album that Ray Charles didn't know he was making.

Known for never taking the stage with a set list, few performers were less predictable onstage than Ray Charles. And nobody did it better. After a classy introduction by emcee Adams, the opening two numbers at the Shrine were jazz instrumentals designed to heat the stage up. 'Swing a Little Taste,' contributed to the band's book by newer recruit Priester, showcases the roaring horn section in a flag-waving big band arrangement. After Newman's two-chorus ride, Ray Charles stretches out on the piano his brilliant solo, punctuated by an occasional grunt. If anyone in the crowd doubted his jazz chops, this blazing passage surely made them believers. Another great demonstration of Ray's prowess is his stellar piano interpretation of 'Makin' Whoopee,' motivated by a roaring audience.

Then, Ray informs his bandleader, 'Okay, the Mint,' and counts it off. The crowd responds immediately to the infectious cha-cha horns and Ray's choppy organ, since 'One Mint Julep' had been an R&B chart-topper for him in 1961. This track, featuring a spicy arrangement by Quincy Jones, was left off the original LP, making its debut on the 2026 release.

Like 'One Mint Julep,' Ray's rendition of 'Georgia on My Mind' was absent from ABC's 1965 pressing. It's a beauty, opening with Ray's ornate organ and taken at an achingly deliberate clip, a flute dancing gaily behind his earthy vocal. The performance then climbs to a crescendo that must have induced goosebumps even in the back rows of the auditorium.

Additional live versions of Ray Charles' greatest hits include 'I Gotta Woman,' 'You Don't Know Me,' and the unbeatable anthem 'What'd I Say,' which wrapped the concert. A spontaneous closer, Ray builds the excitement first with his piano and cooking rhythm section; the roaring bank of horns enters next, and finally the Raelets (an all-female group backing vocals for Ray) make it a full-fledged call-and-response orgy of sex and salvation. There's no actual encore after such an exhilarating climax, just the unexpected debut of the 'Ray Charles Choir' with a whimsical 'Pop Goes the Weasel' coda.

Produced under the supervision of The Ray Charles Foundation, The Complete Performance has been pressed on two 180-Gram LPs and features gatefold packaging with expanded art and liner notes.

Tracklist

1. Opening

2. Swing a Little Taste

3. One Mint Julep

4. I Got a Woman

5. Georgia On My Mind

6. Margie

7. You Don't Know Me

8. Hide Nor Hair

9. That Lucky Old Sun

10. Baby Don't You Cry

11. In The Evening (When the Song Goes Down)

12. Hallelujah I Love Her So

13. Making Whoopee

14. Busted

15. Don't Set Me Free

16. Two Ton Tessie

17. My Baby

18. What'd I Say

19. Finale