Customer Reviews

The Best Of Ray Charles: The Atlantic Years

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Ray Charles died today and that means a lot of people are going to be listening to his music and enjoying the first great American soul singer. For those who do not have a Ray Charles album in their music library they will be looking for a good hits collection and while it seems strange to recommend one that does not have "Hit the Road, Jack" on it, this Rhino album of "The Best of Ray Charles: The Atlantic Years," which brings together twenty of his best songs from his years at Atlantic Records in the late 1950s is still my top recommendation because it represents the crucial and groundbreaking period when he defined soul music, even if the term was not in use when most of these songs were recorded. But from this vantage point there is no other single word that better describes the singing of Ray Charles.

That is not to say that you will not recognize the best of these tracks. If you want to point to a specific song and say this is where soul music begins then it would have to be 1954's "I've Got a Woman," where Charles blends rhythm & blue music with gospel singing. The song, which would be covered by Elvis Presley and countless others over the years, features baritone saxist David "Fathead" Newman, who would play tenor sax on a lot of Charles' best albums. "What Would I Do Without You?" features a great sax solo by Don Wilkerson and exemplifies Charles' ability to merge country and gospel (the piano playing particularly sounds like it is from a church service). There is also a cover of Henry Glover's "Drown in My Own Tears," which became one of Charles' signature songs. For younger listeners the most familiar track will probably be "Night Time Is the Right Time," which was used to great effect on "The Cosby Show," while for the rest of us "What I'd Say, Part 1" is another obvious classic and the song that made Ray Charles a household name (in the right households, anyway).

So, yes, there are more hits out there and better collections of the "best" of Ray Charles if you are going by the Billboard charts. But if you want to listen to the sound of Ray Charles creating the sound of soul music that this is the one album that best accomplishes that goal. What starts off as "jump" blues with "It Should've Been Me" and "Greenback" because pure soul sung as only Ray Charles could sing it on songs like "Hallelujah, I Love Her So," "Lonely Avenue," and "This Little Girl of Mine." This stuff is so good that after "The Best of Ray Charles: The Atlantic Years" you might go back and start picking up his original albums from the Atlantic period instead of picking up a hits collection focusing on his 1960s work.

The soulful singing of Ray Charles makes this album a Must-Have for anyone who enjoys today's modern R and B. Charles infuses each word he sings with emotion; he focuses not on cheap theatrics but on word-play, tone, and feeling. This particular compilation contains some of Charles' better known songs, like "I Got a Woman," and "What'd I Say," and some that should be better known. Charles paints the picture of lost love in "Lonely Avenue"; a beautiful yearning tinges "A Fool For You"; and "Tell the Truth" sounds as if all the participating recording artists had the time of their lives. This is an album that introduces newcomers to Ray Charles and keeps them fans; and for fans, it keeps them marveling at his genius.

This is a collection of Ray's bluesiest cuts. Some of my very favorites. Naturally, it is just one of several cd's by Ray that I own, but it's the one I listen to most.

If you don't wish to spring for the more expensive 3-CD box set The Birth Of Soul: The Complete Atlantic Rhythm & Blues Recordings 1952-1959 [but you should, believe me, if you are a serious Ray Charles fans], this Rhino product is your next best option.

It contains all but five of the hits he had for Atlantic Records from 1952 to 1960, the missing ones being: Blackjack - the B-side to Greenbacks and a # 8 R&B on its own in 1955; Mary Ann - the flip of Drown In My Own Tears and a # 1 "follow-along" hit in 1956; Rockhouse Part 2 (# 14 R&B/# 79 Billboard Pop Hot 100 in early 1959); I'm Movin' On (# 11 R&B/# 40 Hot 100 in late 1959); and Don't Let The Sun Catch You Cryin' (# 17 R&B/# 95 Hot 100 in early 1960].

In the insert are seven pages of fascinating background notes written by Billy Vera and a complete discography of the contents which also shows the musicians on each track. There are also several nice photos of Ray, including one of him playing the sax [this genius could - and did - play numerous instruments] with equal proficiency to that displayed at the keyboard].

What do you get when you cross a RnB/Jazz player and the sacred sound of Gospel miusic?

Brother Ray!

Having watched last nights Soul Deep program on BBC2, I was ensconced and fascinated find out how this man's clock ticked.

You can't write, play, or feel this kind of music unless you've been there, and Ray is no execption. Being a real fan of RnB, Soul, Gospel, yet (admittedly) only really tuning in again to what it was he did musically since his death, its amazing and inspirational to hear how he took all the exsisting idioms of black music and augmented them in his inimitable way.

Reading braile music, taking in classical points, then becoming an acomplished Jazz pianist in the Nat Cole vein, he turned his sights to the nitty gritty sound of RnB. But that was not enough, and, as the program explained, Saturday night became Sunday mornin' and he saw the light in the churches and hollerin' of the spirituals he bore witness to. Taking these sounds and feelings he came up with Soul. James Brown was on this tip, too.

The ups and downs of black and white, drugs, women, and life in general, just fortified the need for him to channel it all into his very special approach and style of playing and singing.


This collection of songs is a great starting point for anyone new to Ray's songs, as it gives the broadest possible examples of his 'variation on a theme.'

Other reviewers have said 'this song or that song was omitted,' but there isn't another collection that will twist and turn the way the songs do on this CD.

Earlier recordings show him in a different light, later ones in yet another shade, but this was the Midas touch period. He was at the acme of his powers when recording swinging foot tappers like 'It should have been me,' and 'Greenbacks.' The haunting gospel drive of 'Lonely Avenue,' with the Raylettes breezin' behind, are perfect examples of how he turned the sound around. Ballads and tearjerkers and the sound of the Blues on tracks like 'Night time is the right time,' the dirty low swing and horn honkin' throb of 'Dont you know, baby' are testament to his omniscience as a player. Then there are moments of pure, unprecidented musical glory, like on 'I got a woman,' and 'This litle Girl of mine.' There's even a string orchestra finish on 'Just for a thrill.'

All in all, this 20 track collection showed me the many sides of Ray, and I'll be buying each cd in turn as, 50 years on, the music still sounds as fresh and as sweet as a summers day.

For every idiot who has told me how "awesome that guy in the Pepsi-One commercials is," I present this album as an education in American music.

Ray Charles made some of the finest sides ever, and the band he used for most of these sides is a smoother, more blues-based version of James Brown's crack soul band. Charles sounds young--really young--on these songs. It's hard to believe it's the same guy who waddles around in a purple glitter jacket, lip-synching bad soft-drink jingles during half-time of XFL games.

Listen to the way he chugs through "I've Got A Woman"--Elvis covered it and sounded downright lame in comparison. Harder blues like "Blackjack" and "Come Back" show off a masterful voice. The Beatles used to do "Hallelujah I Love Her So" in their Hamburg days, and all of the British invasion bands did "What'd I Say," one of the hottest, hottest, HOTTEST records to ever hit the American charts, in their stage acts at one point or another.

My personal favorites here are "(Night Time Is)The Right Time," "That's Enough," and the aching "Just For A Thrill."

It's a great album, but be warned that track 19 is bad (on the MP3 download version of the album). It goes silent at around 55 seconds and stays silent for the rest of the song.

I opened a ticket and they authorized my account to download it again, but it was the same. I then spoke to someone on the phone, who said they would refund my credit card (for the full album!) and let the MP3 team know that the track is bad, but that it would take some time to get a new version of the track. So I got (most of) the album for free, but that's not what I really wanted. Five bucks is a great price for the album -- I just want track 19 to play!

This is great stuff, from the novelty hits "Greenbacks" and "It Should've Been Me" to the spirituals-in-soul-clothing "This Little Girl of Mine" and "Hallelujah, I Love Her So." There's so much good stuff here, it could easily make two great CD's.

However, there is one serious problem that keeps this CD from being perfect...and that's when What'd I Say stops right in the middle, with the backup singers still begging Ray for more. Instead of the incredible call-and-response climax of Part II, what more than one critic has called five minutes of pure sexual release, the song just stops. And that's just wrong, sort of like...well, a novel without the last chapter, The Messiah without the Hallelujah Chorus, the Shawshank Redemption without a prison break, or...well, you know.

So buyer beware. You won't be disappointed by what you hear, but you may be left feeling a little unfulfilled.

Ray Charles at Atlantic is where it all began in the recording career. These songs are mixtures of jazz, blues, jump blues, and R&B. Listen to "It Should've Been Me" and "Greenbacks" and you'll hear Ray talk the lyrics with the band responding after each stanza before he'll sing the chorus with the band backing him up. "This Little Girl of Mine" is peppy and will put a smile on your face: "...and that's why I, I, I, I, ohh, love that little girl of mine." Classic stuff, indeed. Get bluesy with "It's All Right", "Lonely Avenue, and "That's Enough". Of course there are the immortal "I've Got A Woman" and "What'd I Say." Pop fans beware because this was the part of Ray's career where he was hitting big on the R&B scene but yet to get attention from pop audiences. You won't find "Hit The Road, Jack" here. Look elsewhere. If you're willing to give this a try, you won't be disappointed. Long live Brother Ray!

This is the Ray I like best-the R&B chart topper of the mid 50's-When he belonged only to Black America. Great mid 50's top 10's like "I've got a woman", "Comeback", one of my personal faves "A fool for you", "Drown in my own tears", "Greenbacks", and "What I'd say" were all big sellers in every African American community( and on every juke box) from Harlem to Miami to LA to Kansas City. His vocal styling incorporates the sound of Charles Brown and Percy Mayfield with a whole lot of Ray thrown in for thickener. This is the Ray that only Black America knew at the time which doesn't make these songs any less powerful but instead full of rich substance. "A fool for you" is one of the all time great R&B singles of that wonderful decade called the 50's. Another priceless piece of Rock n Soul history.It wasn't watered down top 40 pop radio material but that's why this stuff is so addictive to listen to.By the way if you wanna hear soul music being single handedly invented- listen to 1955's "Comeback" and "A fool for you". This was not the sound of R&B in 1955 and these songs pre-dated James and The Flames 1956 classic "Please,Please,Please. In fact "Comeback" and "A fool for you" could've easily been released in 1965 and neither song would've stood out like a sore thumb right smack dab in the middle of the soul music explosion. There's proof in this cd that Brother Ray single handedly invented Soul music.