This came out in 2004 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
You couldn’t ask for a more fitting sendoff than this. Or a better-attended one.
Even as he was being treated for the liver cancer that ultimately ended his life, soul pioneer Ray Charles — an artist whose groundbreaking work has influenced generations of musicians — summoned his energy to record this set of duets with a varied list of friends, contemporaries and acolytes.
And a swell stroll down memory lane it is. Piano gals like Norah Jones and Diana Krall turn down the lights, cozy up and purr Charles classics like Here We Go Again and You Don’t Know Me. Blues icons like Bonnie Raitt and B.B. King get down with Do I Ever Cross Your Mind? and Sinner’s Prayer. ı preaches the gospel on Heaven Help us All, while soul sister Natalie Cole gets sinful on a jazzy revamp of Fever. Willie Nelson juxtaposes his dusty twang with an orchestra on a sweeping version of It Was A Very Good Year. Van Morrison shares the mic on a smoky live recording of Crazy Love. And Elton John lets Ray take the first chorus on Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word, recorded just a couple of months before Charles’ June 10 passing.
Obviously, between Ray’s condition and the populist approach, this is hardly Charles at his strongest or most groundbreaking. But even the disease that has clearly diminished the physical power of his voice cannot dilute its emotional impact on these dozen cuts. Ultimately, Genius Loves Company leaves you wishing we still had Brother Ray around — but thankful he left us this memento to cap his rich and immortal legacy.
