Ray Charles - Ray Charles

Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Atlantic 8006
1957

When Atlantic Records put out their wonderful CD box set of Ray Charles recordings for the label, they called it "The Birth of Soul" which seems accurate to me.  If anyone invented soul music, it was Ray Charles.  However the music on this album is mostly rhythm and blues, although it is labeled rock and roll on the cover and the liner notes describe Charles as a blues singer.  This was Charles' first album on Atlantic although it is basically just a compilation of his past singles for the label.  The earliest track is the classic "Mess Around" which was recorded and released in 1953.  The song was written by Ahmet Ertegun under the pseudonym A. Nugetre.  Charles lights up this smoking boogie-woogie song with his ferocious piano playing and a red hot vocal.  It is one of the most exciting recordings that he ever made.  The b-side of the single was Charles' own "Funny (But I Still Love You)" which is a bluesy torch song.  Charles' singing and playing make it memorable and I like the romantic guitar solo as well.  Lowell Fulson's "Sinner's Prayer" was originally the b-side of the 1954 single "It Should've Been Me."  It was recorded at the same session that produced "Mess Around."  It is a blues song with an authoritative vocal from Charles backed up by his typically dynamic keyboard work.  The self-penned "Don't You Know" was also a 1954 single.  It is a slight song but Charles sings his heart out on it in addition to delivering an energetic piano solo.  The song was paired with Charles Calhoun's "Losing Hand" which is a slow blues propelled by Charles' piano runs.  Charles wrote "I Got a Woman" which was a big hit single in 1955.  It is arguably the definitive recording of Charles' rhythm and blues period, an absolutely perfect song that exemplifies all the best qualities of the genre.  Its flip side was "Come Back Baby" which was credited to Charles although it was actually written by Walter Davis who recorded it in 1940.  It also was a hit and deservedly so.  Charles' vocal is incredibly expressive, a landmark in the development of soul singing.  Charles' "A Fool For You" was a 1955 single.  It also has a stirring vocal that enables this otherwise pedestrian song to carry a lot of weight.  Charles wrote the b-side "This Little Girl of Mine" which is a jumping rhythm and blues cut.  Renald Richard's "Greenbacks" came out in 1955 as well.  It reminds me of the jazzy recordings Charles made prior to signing with Atlantic when he was aspiring to be the next Nat King Cole.  Henry Glover's "Drown In My Own Tears" was a hit single in 1956.  Charles' bluesy vocal is rich with feeling, truly stunning.  It gives me goosebumps.  The single was backed with Charles' "Mary Ann" which has a Latin sound to it which gives it extra swing.  Charles' magnificent "Hallelujah I Love Her So" also came out in 1956.  The song reveals Charles phenomenal growth as an artist, as he moved beyond a traditional rhythm and blues sound into his own unique style combining blues, jazz and gospel, the nascent sound of soul.  Charles' "Ain't That Love" was the most recent single on the album.  It was recorded in late 1956 and released early in 1957.  It is the song that most approaches soul particularly in the gospel inspired interaction between Charles and the background singers although the sax solo is still pure rhythm and blues.  This song foreshadows the sound that Charles would further develop on his later Atlantic recordings.  If you have any interest in the transition from rhythm and blues to soul, this is an essential record.  Half of it is sheer genius and the remainder is outstanding.  There has never been a better pop singer than Ray Charles.  This music is not only important and influential, it is also endlessly compelling and stimulating.  I've played it countless times and it never loses its appeal.  Recommended to fans of Aretha Franklin.