My World | |
Type: | studio |
Artist: | Ray Charles |
Cover: | My World (Ray Charles album).jpg |
Released: | 1993 |
Length: | 44:42 |
Label: | Warner Bros.[1] |
Producer: | Richard Perry |
Prev Title: | The Birth of Soul |
Prev Year: | 1991 |
Next Title: | Strong Love Affair |
Next Year: | 1996 |
My World is an album by the American musician Ray Charles, released in 1993.[2] [3] Charles incorporated elements of gospel, funk, and New jack swing.[4]
The album peaked at No. 145 on the Billboard 200.[5] "A Song for You" won a Grammy Award, in the "Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male" category.[6]
The album was produced by Richard Perry.[7] Charles covered Leon Russell's "A Song for You" and Paul Simon's "Still Crazy After All These Years".[8] Mavis Staples duetted with Charles on "Love Has a Mind of Its Own".[9] Billy Preston, Eric Clapton, Abe Laboriel, Brenda Russell, Jeff Porcaro, Paulinho Da Costa, Randy Waldman, Steve Gadd and Vinnie Colaiuta also contributed to My World.[10] [11]
Rolling Stone wrote: "Over the years, a benign, grandfatherly quality has crept into Charles's singing. In bringing this amused overview to 'Still Crazy', Charles turns the Simon gem into a jubilant, frisky declaration of independence by a proud eccentric." Ebony stated that Charles "continues to infuse his music with social messages, smooth productions and rhythmic funk."[12]
The Chicago Tribune noted that "producer Richard Perry inexplicably insists on separating the Genius from his keyboards; that's a cardinal sin." Newsday called the album "surprisingly potent, awash in rhythms and production techniques not even imagined when Ray first entered a studio."[13] The Baltimore Sun concluded that "what Brother Ray needs first and foremost are songs, and when you hear how much he makes of a classic, Paul Simon's 'Still Crazy After All These Years', it suddenly becomes obvious how cut-rate the rest of the writing here is."[14]
AllMusic wrote that the album "marked an attempt to somewhat 'modernize' Ray Charles by incorporating elements of hip-hop and New Jack swing into his trademark sound."