The Best of Ray Charles: The Atlantic Years (CD - 1994)

Personnel includes: Ray Charles (vocals, acoustic & electric piano); Margie Hendrix (vocals); Wesley Jackson, Mickey Baker (guitar); Hank Crawford (alto saxophone); Freddie Mitchell, Pinky Williams, Joe Tillman, Don Wilkerson (tenor saxophone); Dave McRae, Warren Bell, Cecil Payne (baritone saxophone); Wallace Davenport, Frank Mitchell, Joe Bridgewater, Charles Whitley, Joshua Willis (trumpet); Lloyd Trotman, Lloyd Lambert, Jimmy Bell, Paul West (bass); Connie Kay, Oscar Moore, Glenn Brooks, Panama Francis (drums); The Cookies (background vocals); David "Fathead" Newman.

Producers: Jerry Wexler, Zenas Sears, Nesuhi Ertegun, Ahmet Ertegun.

Compilation producer: Yves Beauvais.

Recorded between 1953 & 1959. Includes liner notes by Leo Sacks & Billy Vera.

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 project that's doomed to failure, and there's little arguing that this collection of Ray Charles's classic Atlantic Records sides merely skims the surface of some of the most groundbreaking music in the history of rhythm and blues. But that's not to say that the surface in question isn't quite satisfying, and as an introduction to Charles's most crucial period of creative growth, The Best of Ray Charles: The Atlantic Years offers nearly all the hits, some choice lesser-known cuts, and an admirably accurate representation of his creative arc from this period, starting with rough-and-tumble jump blues such as "It Should've Been Me" and "Greenback" and growing into heartfelt but sophisticated proto-soul masterpieces like "What'd I Say" and "Drown in My Own Tears". One disc simply isn't enough to tell Ray Charles's full musical story from this period, but what is here is all top-shelf stuff, and the selection and sequence of this collection should please both longtime fans looking for a portable sampler and neophytes easing their way into Ray's Atlantic catalog. The mastering and packaging is done with Rhino's typical degree of care, and besides, who wouldn't enjoy a disc with "I Got a Woman," "Hallelujah, I Love Her So," "Lonely Avenue," "Night Time (Is the Right Time)," and "This Little Girl of Mine" on it? (By the way, if you happen to be the type who wouldn't enjoy a disc like that, you might want to ask yourself just why you're reading record reviews in the first place.) ~ Mark Deming

This is not just a terrific greatest hits package. It's also a revelatory look at the astonishingly rapid development of Ray Charles' music between 1954 (when he signed with Atlantic after a few previous years as a Nat "King" Cole wannabe) and 1960, when he departed for ABC-Paramount for what was at the time one of the biggest advances any artist had ever received.

The distance between the opening "Should've Been Me," a charming, if not particularly memorable piece of journeyman R&B, which Charles sings a la Richard Berry, and the concluding "Just For a Thrill," in which he's recognizably Brother Ray and which pointed the way his music would go in future years, is immense. In between, you'll find the big hits, such as "Hallelujah, I Just Love Her So" and "I Got a Woman," with their revolutionary combination of blues and gospel (the sacred and the profane), as well as fascinating lesser-known tracks like the guitar-driven, bluesy "Blackjack," and a spectacular live version of Lowman Pauling's "Tell the Truth." Great stuff. minimize