Search - Ray Charles :: The Best of Ray Charles: The Atlantic Years

Adam B. (Cavemanmusic) from FLORENCE, MA
Reviewed on 9/11/2009...

almost impeccable

Mary H. (JazzWoman)
Reviewed on 7/12/2009...

Great!! from his !st and maybe greatest years.

Twenty choice tracks from Ray Charles' years at Atlantic

Lawrance M. Bernabo | The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota | 06/11/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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 Atlantic Years

T. B. Vick | The Lone Star State | 09/06/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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!!"