CHARLES, RAY - Just About As Good As It Gets!

There have been other budget compilations of early Ray Charles recordings, comprised mainly of his historically interesting but, for the most part, musically derivative search for identity before he hit his stride. While including a few pertinent examples from that formative period, our 55-track tribute is essentially prime time. Here we concentrate on the years 1954-1962 during which Brother Ray revolutionised rhythm ’n’ blues (and a lil’ bit country) roots with a hot dose of gospel spirit, some jazz licks and an incidental exchange with the concurrent emergence of rock ’n’ roll to create the most individualistic and influential R&B-rattling-the-Pop-chart hits of the era. It was perhaps a tad OTT that he was dubbed a Genius but no exaggeration that he was the exhilarating catalyst of new wave interpretation; the progenitor of what would soon be termed Soul Music; one of the outstanding singer-songwriter musicians, arrangers and bandleaders of the 20th Century. The set has been compiled with an ear to musical flow rather than strictly chronological dates of recording. However, Disc One is all 50s movers ’n’ shakers and Disc Two focuses on Ray’s emergence as an internationally renowned hitmaker at the beginning of the 60s. A double-dynamite homage to a main man. Record Label: Smith & Co Style: R & B