Sweet & Sour Tears

Ray Charles

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Sweet & Sour Tears Review

by Richie Unterberger

One of a series of ultra-loose concept albums Ray Charles cut in the '60s, this one is dedicated entirely to songs with titles or lyrical references to crying and tears. It's an excuse for Charles to choose his usual varied menu of upbeat jumpers, slow countrified weepers, and proudly saccharine pop standards. The production, as one might fear, also tends to the lachrymose side on the slow tunes, with the thick strings and backup vocals straight out of TV variety shows. One is almost tempted to think that Charles was toying with audience expectations by mixing unabashedly sentimental slow tunes with the far more bluesy, satisfying, and upbeat numbers, such as "Don't Cry, Baby" and "Baby, Don't You Cry," as well as his surprisingly brassy, punchy treatment of "Cry Me a River." These outings have always played much better with critics than the gloppy pop tunes, and for good reason -- they are much better.

Track Listing

Title/Composer Performer Time Stream
1
Cry
Churchill Kohlman
Ray Charles 03:34 SpotifyAmazon
2
Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry
Sammy Cahn / Jule Styne
Ray Charles 04:20 SpotifyAmazon
3
A Tear Fell
Dorian Burton / Eugene Randolph
Ray Charles 02:45 SpotifyAmazon
4
No One to Cry To
Sydney Robin / Foy Willing
Ray Charles 02:43 SpotifyAmazon
5
You've Got Me Crying Again
Isham Jones / Charles Newman
Ray Charles 02:52 SpotifyAmazon
6
After My Laughter Came Tears
Charles Tobias / Roy Turk
Ray Charles 03:13 SpotifyAmazon
7
Teardrops from My Eyes
Rudy Toombs
Ray Charles 03:29 SpotifyAmazon
8
Don't Cry Baby
Saul Bernie / James P. Johnson / Stella Unger
Ray Charles 03:09 SpotifyAmazon
9
Cry Me a River
Arthur Hamilton
Ray Charles 03:20 SpotifyAmazon
10
Baby, Don't You Cry
Buddy Johnson / Ned Washington
Ray Charles 02:40 SpotifyAmazon
11
Willow, Weep for Me
Ann Ronell
Ray Charles 04:37 SpotifyAmazon
12
I Cried for You
Gus Arnheim / Arthur Freed / Abe Lyman
Ray Charles 02:40 SpotifyAmazon
13
My Heart Cries for You
Percy Faith / Carl Sigman
Ray Charles 02:51 SpotifyAmazon
14
I Wake Up Crying
Burt Bacharach / Hal David
Ray Charles 03:00 SpotifyAmazon
15
Drown in My Own Tears
Henry Glover
Ray Charles 03:21 SpotifyAmazon
16
Teardrops in My Heart
Vaughn Horton
Ray Charles 03:05 SpotifyAmazon
17
Crying Time
Buck Owens
Ray Charles 02:58 SpotifyAmazon
18
No Use Crying
Johnny B. Daniels / Roy Gaines / Freddy Kober
Ray Charles 03:19 SpotifyAmazon
19
Tired of My Tears
Jimmy Holiday / Jimmy Lewis
Ray Charles 02:23 SpotifyAmazon
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Sweet & Sour Tears

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