Love & Peace

AMG Review of Love & Peace

Richard S. Ginell
All Music Guide

Here, unfortunately, is one of several examples of why Ray Charles has been such a frustrating record-maker over the last quarter of the 20th century at least. His powers of expression as a vocalist and keyboardist are undiminished on the second album of his return to the Atlantic fold; he could still squeeze some soul out of anything. But his ability to choose great, good, or even merely appropriate material had deserted him -- and so we hear nowhere allads ("She Knows"), stale song ideas ("You 20th Century Fox"), empty, poorly arranged and paced rousers ("We Had It All"), and political statements that fall flat ("A Peace That We Never Before Could Enjoy," "Give the Poor Man a Break") -- nothing that even this prodigious talent can save, and all treated to a veiled, raucous mix. Other than the team of arrangers (Harry Goodnight, Roger Newman, Larry Mahoberack), there are no musician credits nor any notes. Ultimately the blame for this uninteresting record must go to the producer, the co-engineer, the lead keyboardist, and the singer -- who are all one and the same person.