“Go On Home”
Song by Ray Charles
Ray Charles began 1968 with a single in January pairing two non-LP songs: “Go On Home” b/w “That’s A Lie” (ABC 11045). It was released during a gap between the LPs Listen and A Portrait Of Ray.
“Go On Home” is a fairly simple paint-by-numbers rhythm and blues piece. A lean, muscular band propels the song forward while Ray plays a carnivalesque Farfisa-like church keyboard. There is a potent brass section, generally laying low but then suddenly stabbing the air with their sharp sounds at opportune moments. The bass guitar strings it all together, burbling deep with an especially bottom-heavy pulse.
Ray is the vocal star, of course, and he shares the singing with some prominent Raelets. The girls echo his lines at times, and at others contribute a short, melodic “doo doo doo” background chorus. The whole mix of sounds together recalls some of Ray’s earlier ABC songs, but most of all the feel of his 1950s Atlantic singles. This is sweaty R&B from across the tracks; “Go On Home” is like a news bulletin to let you know what’s happening over there, in case you were unaware.
Unfortunately, “Go On Home” has a sloppy, off-hand feel that robs it of some of its potential. Ray, in particular, sounds tired as he sings, and even the Raelets sound unimpressed. Bad vibes in the studio that day? He growls and cajoles and accuses, of course, but his heart doesn’t seem to be in it. Still, he manages some moments of a more fiery vocal style, and the range of styles (exhausted-sounding or not) are what anchors “Go On Home” to his career ten years earlier. Ray at 90% is still pretty great. A short excursion into falsetto territory towards the end of the just-over-two-minutes song recalls several similar instances on his then-previous album Listen.
The lyrics of “Go On Home” are particularly forgettable – vague and uninspired admonitions to a woman to either straighten up, quit messing him around, or go home because “I don’t want you around anymore”. So which is it? I don’t know, and Ray doesn’t seem to either; it changes with the verse. An exception is Ray’s brief recounting of a comical episode in which he lent her his brand new car, which she used to go to a club (without him).
The best thing about “Go On Home” is its middle section, a short bridge that keeps the same beat as the rest of the song but goes off into some new directions, including a three-chord cluster with an unexpected minor final chord, leaving the melody unresolved. It’s a little weird and kind of adventurous; the entire song sounds like something cooked up by a young white British R&B pop group, especially this odd little middle portion.
“Go On Home” was written by Hugh McCracken, noted session guitarist who was at this point just beginning his career. The song is also credited to a Mack Pierce, which was a McCracken stage name at the time. How he and his nom de plume both got writer’s credits I can’t say, but somehow I suspect royalties treachery.
“Go On Home” is not one of Ray’s more famous or fabulous songs, but its simplicity, driving R&B beat, and lightly anguished sentiments come well recommended; it could easily have its enthusiastic supporters if more people heard it. Copies of the 45 are easy enough to find online.
Single releases
“Go On Home”
b/w
“That’s A Lie”
Listen to “Go On Home”
Get your own “Go On Home” on 45 or MP3 from Amazon. Or get the out-of-print complete ABC singles 5xCD box set.