Customer Reviews

Anthology

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To most people under thirty, Ray Charles is known only as a pitchman for Pepsi and Arby's. That's too bad. Charles arrived on the music scene fifty years ago and first made his mark at Atlantic in the Fifties and then after switching labels to ABC Paramount dominated the charts in the Sixties, which is the focus of this set.

Every major hit from the Sixties is here (with the exception of the No. 2 hit "You Don't Know Me," taken from his country album Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music). You get his No. 1 hits "Georgia on My Mind," "Hit the Road Jack" and "I Can't Stop Loving You," along with other notable hits like "One Mint Julep," "Busted" and "Crying Time." Throughout the Sixties, Charles released several albums using the word "genius": Genius Hits the Road, The Genius After Hours, The Genius Sings the Blues; in the case of Ray Charles it was simply a matter of truth in advertising.

Charles' influences were diverse. He could play R&B, jazz, gospel and even country & western. While his hits dropped off as the Sixties wore on, his influence on other artists continued. [Listen especially to Steve Winwood's work with the Spencer Davis Group.] In 1986, Charles was part of the first group of inductees into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. This CD should help explain why.

This is not the definitive collection. The 2-CD Ultimate Hits duplicates this plus adds some of his earlier Atlantic work. If you really want to do it right you could get the 5-CD Genius & Soul box set. But Anthology is an excellent place to start. ESSENTIAL

Ray Charles, more than any musician, understood "soul" as more than musical style. It was a way to sing (and live, really) that reached a listener deeper than anything else he or she would hear that day.

"Anthology," comprises hits, favorites and live versions originally released on ABC-Paramount in the 1960s. Soul pours over this collection like thick, sweet maple syrup: over C&W standards ("I Can't Stop Loving You," "Born to Lose," "Crying Time") rhumbas ("Unchain My Heart," "Don't Set Me Free"), work songs ("You Are My Sunshine," That Lucky Old Sun") and especially on the soulful, witty live versions of his Atlantic hits (including a snippet of a Beethoven sonata before charging into "I Got A Woman.")

Yes, a lot of songs ("Ruby," "No Letter Today" and his great covers of Hank Williams) are missing. But what is here is as eclectic and beautiful as American music gets. Highly recommended.

This is the best mini-collections one can get of Ray's music. I think it's a crime that so many of our legends that are still living are virtually invisible, drowned out by the thunder-thump of some of the digital wizards that pretend to be musical artists today. There is one song I really like that wasn't included her. It's "You Don't Know Me" ("You give your hand to me....and then you say hello...."). This is the music of my early childhood, and it was played around my house along with Cannonball Adderley, Lou Rawls, Nancy Wilson, Wes Montgomery..... oh man, the list could go on and on! I find myself reminiscing every time I come to these Amazon music pages! If you are on a budjet, this CD gives you the most for the least dough. Ray Charles is part of the royalty that gave us the best music of the 20th century. He will be eulogized and all after he passes away, but it's just a shame there isn't enough room in the mainstream spotlight for those that got us here.

I own this CD and The Genius of Ray Charles. Both excellent, but between the two, I have to give my thumbs up to the Anthology. "Busted" is enough of a reason to own this album and the entire CD is just as good. Buy it, you won't be disappointed.

In 1967 I was stationed at Ft. Benning, Ga. after doing my 1 yr."tour" of Viet Nam. I needed a healthy dose of Soul to re-invent my lost spirits, so I bought a double-album by Ray called "Ray Charles, A Man And His Music", I liked that album so much I kept it, and played it quite often for over 35 yrs. Yikes am I gettin old! I finally gave it away to a friend cuz my record player went to Hell.
Anyway if you like Ray's music even a little bit I think you'll like "anthology" Here are a few of my picks in different
music styles: 1- "I Don't Need No Doctor" (blues-rock) "Unchain my Heart" (blues-rock) 2-"I Can't Stop Loving You (mournful-blues ) "Lets Go Get Stoned" (hard-day-at-work blues)
Buy This One....I am cuz I know what's on it
Later on dudes!!
Blues-eyed Bob

If anyone ever needs to be reminded of the R&B heritage of rock music, Ray Charles is just the person to do that reminding. No one puts the Blue in Rhythm and Blues like Ray does.

This collection features the mega-hits "Hit the Road, Jack" and "Georgia on My Mind", his two most commercially successful releases. However, take the time to savor Ray's soulful renditions of I Can't Stop Loving You, Busted and Crying Time.

If you ever get the chance, take a very careful look at the roots of rock and roll. One of them will be stamped with the name "Ray Charles."

Charles' masterful sides for ABC, Atlantic, and CBS helped change the face of popular music and this CD goes a long way towards proving the case convincingly: "Georgia On My Mind," "America The Beautiful," "Born To Lose," "Hit The Road, Jack," "What'd I Say," "One Mint Julep," have influenced most every musician alive. "Anthology" leaves the listener hungry for more from Charles' legendary "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music" CD, but fortunately, Rhino has released that (with bonus tracks) as well. "Anthology" is the most economical, all-inclusive collection of the output of one of the most important artists of the 20th century.

will there ever be a true anthology of Ray Charles music? The man was so prolific and merged and melded and blended and crossed so many boundaries. (Ever hear of "I'm Moving On", probably his earliest "country" tune written by country legend Hank Snow?) This package is probably the best of the compilations and for me with "Busted" and the best "America the Beautiful" rendition I know of, it's enough. But consider it does not include "This Little Girl of Mine", "The Night Time is the Right Time" (later covered by Creedence Clearwater Revival), "Drown in My Own Tears", "You Don't Know Me". Those are not just "filler" songs but songs whose mention conjure up this great artist's name. Still for the money this is a very good compilation and I recommend it.

Charles' masterful sides for ABC, Atlantic, and CBS helped change the face of popular music and this CD goes a long way towards proving the case convincingly: "Georgia On My Mind," "America The Beautiful," "Born To Lose," "Hit The Road, Jack," "What'd I Say," "One Mint Julep," have influenced most every musician alive. "Anthology" leaves the listener hungry for more from Charles' legendary "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music" CD, but fortunately, Rhino has released that (with bonus tracks) as well. "Anthology" is the most economical, all-inclusive collection of the output of one of the most important artists of the 20th century.

It is hard to imagine a "serious" music collection that lacks a good sampling of black music, and this CD is about as good as it gets. Just listen to the songs here, and its easy to figure out why Georgia wanted Ray's version of "Georgia on my Mind" as its state song.

This CD is not just a bunch of great songs, sung by a great artist: it's a virtual course in Rhythm and Blues and "roots" music (as in 'roots' of most of the rock and pop which was produced through the 1980's, and even some of today's music).

Charles doesn't just 'play it safe; he takes big chances here. His interpretation of Eleanor Rigby is very diffrenet from The Beatles' version, and some Beatles fans may not initially like it (as I didn't), but trust me, it'll grow on you in good time.

Then there are the 'signature songs': Hit the Road, I Don't Need no Doctor, and others. They just shimmer and shine; this digital recording brings out all the liveliness of the recording sessions--and the energy level is infectiously high.

One of the more subtle features of many of these songs is that, despite their obvious R & B flavor, they sound remarkably "Country & Westernish" in places. Perhaps this is inadvertant, but it reveals the common geographical origins, and separateness of the cultures, of both forms of American music.

Even if you're not a big R & B fan (and I'll admit that I am not), this CD is one you will regret not owning once you hear it.