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.

This CD is simply "great!!!" It is early Ray Charles when he was recording with Atlantic Records. The songs have a very old Rock and Roll and Bluesy feel. These recordings occurred between 1952 to 1959.

Ray's voice is young but sounds crisp and clean. This CD is Ray in progress - of course his sound, vocals, and writing skills just got better and better as the years rolled on. But this CD is early raw Ray. His bluesy piano style really comes out in "Don't You Know," and "Blackjack." Of course these sessions include his early hits like "I've Got a Woman," and "A Fool for You."

Songs like "What Would I do Without You" are more akin to his 60's tunes. All the songs run the spectrum of blues, jazz, gospel, or rock. Ray puts more emotion into one bar of a song than most artists today do in their whole song. This is classic Ray Charles and worth every red cent!!

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.