A low-budget anthology that tries to pick and choose between the best Charles cuts on Atlantic and ABC-Paramount. It's strictly for the novice, and isn't even the best set...
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Another round of great tracks compiled in typical Rhino fashion: the best recordings of the best tracks by some of the best artists. Chock-full of soul, this compilation...
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The theme of this collection is, in large part, songs of patriotism, about specific American places, or testaments to the American spirit. Still, you do get the sense that...
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Genius Loves Company is the last studio album Ray Charles completed before his death in June 2004. Prior to this, the last studio album he released was Strong Love Affair in...
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Alas, when you look in the Ray Charles bins at the major record chains these days, you'll find mostly his Columbia and Warner Bros. releases. Never entirely terrible, they...
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One of Columbia's "Best of Times" specials, this features Ray Charles doing nice, sometimes above average, country pop and countrypolitan, plus some nondescript filler. This...
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Alas, when you look in the Ray Charles bins at the major record chains these days, you'll find mostly his Columbia and Warner Bros. releases. Never entirely terrible, they...
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Some early-'90s Ray Charles material that ranges from enjoyable to entertaining to forgettable. His voice retains its drama, intensity, and flair, but he's extending himself...
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Here, Rhino has combined the two jazz LPs--1958's Soul Brothers and 1962's Soul Meeting--that Charles recorded with Milt Jackson, and a band including Oscar Pettiford,...
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This brings together all of the extant takes recorded for two albums that Milt Jackson made with Ray Charles for Atlantic in 1957 and 1958. With Oscar Pettiford, Connie Kay,...
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By the time this album was cut, Ray Charles was already an established rhythm & blues star, fortified with the recording of his 1955 hit "I Got a Woman." He joined up with...
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A Rhino reissue of the LP that set the stage for the nearly-perverse direction Charles would maintain throughout his career, alternating a classic like "Let The Good Times...
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Some players from Ray Charles' big band are joined by many ringers from the Count Basie and Duke Ellington bands for the first half of this program, featuring Charles...
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This set is rather unusual, for it is strictly instrumental, allowing Ray Charles a rare opportunity to be a jazz-oriented pianist. Two selections are with a trio (bassist...
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Less modern for its country-R&B blend (Elvis Presley and company did it in 1955) and lushly produced C&W tone (the Nashville sound cropped up in the late '50s) than for its...
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Alas, when you look in the Ray Charles bins at the major record chains these days, you'll find mostly his Columbia and Warner Bros. releases. Never entirely terrible, they...
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A repackaging of Ray Charles In Newport and Ray Charles In Person presents concerts from 1958 and 1959 that found Charles in peak form, performing some of his best-known R&B...
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Alas, when you look in the Ray Charles bins at the major record chains these days, you'll find mostly his Columbia and Warner Bros. releases. Never entirely terrible, they...
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A collection of what the label considered Charles' best cuts from his mid-'80s countrypolitan and country pop sessions, none of which were that great. The title track was a...
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As previously said, he can take basically any song and make it his own. Still... when you look in the Ray Charles bins at the major record chains these days, you'll find...
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A fine holiday album for those who enjoy that type of thing. Ray Charles puts his inimitable spin on hymns, carols, and seasonal material, and does it well. ~ Ron Wynn, All...
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Alas, when you look in the Ray Charles bins at the major record chains these days, you'll find mostly his Columbia and Warner Bros. releases. Never entirely terrible, they...
more >
Alas, when you look in the Ray Charles bins at the major record chains these days, you'll find mostly his Columbia and Warner Bros. releases. Never entirely terrible, they...
more >
Ray Charles was cutting decent-to-competent light country material in Nashville during the mid-'80s. His still-gripping voice and masterful timing and delivery kept things...
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Alas, when you look in the Ray Charles bins at the major record chains these days, you'll find mostly his Columbia and Warner Bros. releases. Never entirely terrible, they...
more >
Another light country and countrypolitan outing from Ray Charles. These mid-'80s albums were miles removed from the earthiness and intensity he brought to his revolutionary...
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A two-for-one pairing of albums from 1963 (Ingredients in a Recipe for Soul) and 1964 (Have a Smile With Me), with the addition of historical liner notes. Neither rate among...
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The first of two DCC compilations to collect the best of Brother Ray's 1960s stint at ABC-Paramount Records, when he flew off in a dozen different stylistic directions....
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More seminal performances from the '60s ABC catalog of the Genius (DCC split the classics evenly between the two discs, making both of them indispensable). His beloved "Hit...
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Alas, when you look in the Ray Charles bins at the major record chains these days, you'll find mostly his Columbia and Warner Bros. releases. Never entirely terrible, they...
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Some late-'80s Charles light pop, countrypolitan, and other good to below-average material. Charles sings with the usual strong touches, but he can't salvage much of this...
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Also features 20 tracks, including his biggest early "gospel"-sounding hits for Atlantic. Buying this along with the above Rhino Anthology offers a pretty strong...
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Taking one of the most interesting bodies of work in the history of American music and trying to narrow it down to one 20-song compact disc would seem to be the sort of...
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In the late '40s and early '50s, Ray Charles recorded several dozen sides for the Swingtime/Downbeat label, 30 of which are presented here. As has been noted many times by...
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It's a Blues Thing is a good, but uninspiring, live set recorded with Esther Phillips, featuring such Ray Charles staples as "You Are My Sunshine" and "Cryin' Time." ~...
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Once he signed to Warner Bros., Ray Charles adopted the '90s superstar schedule, releasing an album every three years. Strong Love Affair, the third of them (now on Quincy...
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In keeping with his jazz/pop crossover ambitions, Charles decided to record a concept album of sorts with a dozen songs devoted to various parts of the U.S. -- "Alabamy...
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One of a series of ultra-loose concept albums Charles cut in the '60s, this one dedicated entirely to songs with titles or lyrical references to crying and tears. It's an...
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As the first comprehensive, multi-label box set assembled on Ray Charles, the five-disc, 101-song Genius & Soul: The 50th Anniversary Collection is an extensive overview of...
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Included are ten of Ray Charles' best duo tracks, from George Jones on "We Didn't See a Thing" to Willie Nelson on "Seven Spanish Angels." Though there would've been plenty...
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Standards is a 17-track collection of Ray Charles' versions of classic pop songs, culled recordings he made for Atlantic, ABC/Paramount, ABC/TRC and Crossover/Atlantic...
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Rhino's reissue of Ray Charles' 1961 duet album with Betty Carter, Dedicated to You, combined the terrific original album with their other great duet album, Ray Charles and...
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Duets is such a terrific idea for a Ray Charles compilation, it's a wonder it hasn't been done before. Charles is always compelling as a solo vocalist, but he's also an...
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In Concert is not a concert, but rather a two-CD compilation of chronologically sequenced excerpts from five live Ray Charles albums, drawing from recordings of concerts in...
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Rhino's Instrumentals features 16 instrumentals Ray Charles recorded between 1953 and 1970, culled from ten different albums for a variety of labels. These don't just...
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Ray Charles' explorations into country music were no mere dalliance. They have their genesis in "I'm Movin' On," the last record he made for Atlantic before moving on to ABC...
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James Brown may be "the hardest working man in show business," Aretha Franklin may be the Queen of Soul, but as Ultimate Hits Collection proves, the most apt nickname in all...
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Ray Charles has sung thousands of songs and many of them were love songs. For the compilers of Rhino's Love Songs, the ones that mattered are classics. Yes, there are a...
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This fine chronicle of Charles' early years (1947-1951) finds the future soul originator waxing jazzy and urbane on 19 cuts that show the early influence of both Nat "King"...
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This brief selection from Delta Records features early sides from Ray Charles at a time when he was more of a crooner than the gospel-fueled soulman and icon he was to...
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An hour of previously unreleased live music from Ray Charles in his prime. During this era he was touring with a big band including saxophonists David "Fathead" Newman and...
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The title isn't just hype -- this absolutely essential three-disc box is where soul music first took shape and soared, courtesy of Ray Charles' church-soaked pipes and...
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Porgy & Bess 1/1/1976, Yahoo! Music, Bill Holdship
Perhaps his final great hurrah before his "down" years. An interpretation of the great Gershwin American "opera," recorded with Cleo Laine, for RCA in...
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Although the exact recording dates are not given, this reissue CD from the budget Drive Archive label is quite historical. The 14 selections are taken from Ray Charles's...
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The 20-track Rhino compilation includes much of the ABC hit material; the Atlantic stuff, however, is live re-recordings. Still perhaps a better buy than the two Rhino...
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Perhaps the best single CD collection of Ray Charles' '60s and '70s ABC-Paramount material. They've also been issued on two separate anthologies, but for someone who only...
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Another easy access point for Charles' seminal Atlantic catalog. This two-disc set is evenly split between his bluesiest sides on the first disc and a selection of his...
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The light blues and jazz of Ray Charles' early recordings were heavily influenced by Nat King Cole, and Charles frequently recorded in a similar trio format. His sound...
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With so many better and more comprehensive compilations of Charles' hits on the market, 14 Hits/The Early Years should be passed up by all but the most diligent completist....
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Here are 15 classic performances from the collaborative years of Ray Charles and Betty Carter, surely something in terms of a Mt. Rushmore when it comes to significant vocal...
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This 16-track budget package hits all the high notes of Brother Ray's rise to greatness. Starting in the '50s with classic Atlantic sides like "I've Got a Woman,"...
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Unlike the soundtrack for his Jerry Lee Lewis biopic Great Balls of Fire, director Taylor Hackford didn't have Ray Charles re-record his classic songs for the soundtrack of...
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Ever since Dirty Dancing in the late '80s, it has been an industry custom to follow a hit soundtrack with a sequel a few months after the original turned into a hit. By the...
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Down-home, anguished laments and moody ballads were turned into triumphs by Ray Charles. He sang these songs with the same conviction, passion, and energy that made his...
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