2 LPs on 1 CD: TOUCH MY HEART (1966)/BURNING MEMORIES (1964).
Personnel includes: Ray Price (vocals); Wayne Moss (guitar); BuddySpicher (fiddle); Bill Pursell (piano); Snuffy Miller (drums).
Originally released on Columbia Records.
Somewhat perplexingly, these two Ray Price albums aren't presented in chronological order, with 1966's TOUCH MY HEART coming first. On the other hand, this record's more stripped-down sound is probably more accessible to a modern country listener. (Here producer Don Law dials back the orchestral arrangements, preferring to anchor the songs with Tommy Jackson's fiddle and Buddy Emmons's pedal steel.)
Ironically, the full-fledged countrypolitan strings on 1964's BURNING MEMORIES, which were intended to draw Price a more mainstream audience, might sound dated and slick to some country purists. The song selection and performances, however, are unimpeachable: "Make the World Go Away" and "Release Me" were, of course, the huge hits. However, Price also scores with excellent versions of Willie Nelson's "Are You Sure" and Buck Owens's "Walk Me to the Door," less orchestrated tunes that showcase Price's growing command of the lovelorn country ballad, the style that he would grow to dominate in the late '60s and early '70s. These two albums mark the key transition of Price's career, from his early honky-tonk days to his later stature as the voice of the Nashville Sound.