Ultimate Hits Collection

Performer: Ray Charles
Artist: Willie Nelson; Chaka Khan; Quincy Jones; James Ingram
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Personnel: Ray Charles (vocals, acoustic & electric pianos); Willie Nelson, Chaka Khan, Margie Hendrix, Renald Richard (vocals); Wesley Jackson, McHouston Baker (guitar); David Newman (alto, tenor & baritone saxophones); Donald Wilkerson, Sam Taylor (tenor saxophone); Emmitt Dennis, Cecil Payne, Bennie Crawford, Dave McRae (baritone saxophone); Marcus Belgrave, Lee Harper, Joshua Willis, Joe Bridgewater, Charles Whitley, Riley Webb, John Hunt, Jessie Drakes (trumpet); Paul West, Roosevelt Sheffield, Jimmy Bell, Edgar Willis, Lloyd Trottman (bass); David Francis, William Peeples, Milt Turner, Glenn Brooks, Connie Kay (drums); Jerry Wexler (tambourine); James Ingram, The Raeletts, The Cookies (background vocals); Quincy Jones. Producers include: Ahmet Ertegun, Herb Abramson, Jerry Wexler, Nesuhi Ertegun, Sid Feller. Compilation producers: James Austin, Billy Vera, Michael Johnson. Recorded between 1953 & 1989. Includes liner notes by David Ritz. This edition of the Ultimate Legends series highlights Ray Charles recordings from the early '50s, a few years before waxing his landmark R&B singles on the Atlantic label. These 16 songs offer a glimpse into the singer's earliest influences, specifically, the mellow voices of Charles Brown and Nat Cole. Unfortunately, the sound quality fluctuates throughout the disc. The best way to experience this period of Ray Charles is to seek out the chronological sessions reissued on the French Classics label. ~ Al Campbell 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 of music may belong to Ray Charles: the Genius. Forget for a moment that fitting all of Charles' hits on a mere two CDs is not remotely possible. Almost any Ray Charles greatest-hits compilation is going to be excellent, and this one is better than most, if only because it's two-discs long. Ultimate Hits Collection follows the path of Charles' work as it cruises through the genres he so richly influenced: R&B, pop, jazz, blues, and country. The standard favorites are here from Charles' repertoire, but what sets this compilation apart are the lesser-known tracks. "Mess Around" and "Hide 'Nor Hair" are certainly not as popular as "Hit the Road Jack," but they are no less enjoyable. The most welcome inclusion is Charles' version of the country classic "You Don't Know Me," which is often left off of other Charles retrospectives. Of the multitude of duets he has recorded, two appear here. "Seven Spanish Angels" with Willie Nelson and "I'll Be Good to You" with Quincy Jones and Chaka Khan are fine choices, but adding "Baby Grand" with Billy Joel could have pushed the collection from great to superb. The liner notes are lengthy and compelling, featuring some great photos, and the packaging, with each disc in its own jewel box, is functional. The sound quality is also superb, considering some of the recordings were almost 50 years old at the time of this release. ~ Mark Vanderhoff This edition of the Ultimate Legends series highlights Ray Charles recordings from the early '50s, a few years before waxing his landmark R&B singles on the Atlantic label. These 16 songs offer a glimpse into the singer's earliest influences, specifically, the mellow voices of Charles Brown and Nat Cole. ~ Al Campbell This "ultimate" collection conveniently merges the two major phases of Ray Charles' career. It moves from the R&B Atlantic years in which Charles single-handedly invented the concept of "soul" to the broader pop triumphs at ABC-Paramount, including his definitive 1960 version of "Georgia On My Mind" and the landmark album MODERN SOUNDS IN COUNTRY AND WESTERN MUSIC. Charles was hardly the first R&B singer to incorporate gospel technique into his style. Rather he was one of the first pop singers to do so. Charles always had bigger fish to fry than just carving out an innovative niche in rhythm & blues, one reason he left Atlantic in the first place. The scope of his eventual achievement is well documented over the span of these two discs, including his ultimate "crossover" single, 1972 's "America The Beautiful." For the most part though, the collection wisely sticks to the superior tracks of the '50s and '60s.

There are few musicians in modern pop music who can truly be called "genius," but in the case of Ray Charles, the term applies. His innovative singing, drawing on both gospel and pop, has inspired legions of great singers. With a long, prolific recording career that began in 1949, Charles became perhaps the finest interpreter of pop music in the postwar years. A gifted pianist, songwriter, and vocalist, he was a master of every style he attempted, be it R&B, country, blues, or soul. The man who wrote such indelible R&B classics as "I Got a Woman" and "What'd I Say" passed away in 2004, a legend several times over. The same year, a remarkable performance by Jamie Foxx in the biopic RAY served as a fitting cinematic eulogy.

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