“Anyway You Want To”
Song by Ray Charles
Ray Charles’s smooth, pure and poppy “Anyway You Want To” opens with a chorus of Raelets, but these are not the grungy soul mamas of yore. As befitted the time of the song’s release (1980), these Raelets are groovy disco queens, sultry and disembodied. They’re just a short opening section to the main song, though. After a heart-stopping key change Ray leads us into “Anyway You Want To” proper, and immediately it’s his gorgeous, powerful voice that really sets the tone for the performance.
Famous songwriter Dee Ervin wrote “Anyway You Want To” for Ray, who added it to the eclectic final album (Brother Ray Is At It Again) before his 1980s about-face as a Nashville country star. In the hands of the genius the track is a stunner. Silky to the point of blurry, peppered with the occasional bass slap and nourished by a steady stream of slowly wah-wahing guitar textures, the singer sounds amazing and inviting, negotiating the rangy melody like a magician. Try to listen to this song and not clap your hands and shake your head on those soaring, sing-along choruses.
Listen to “Anyway You Want To”
Songs on Brother Ray Is At It Again