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Best of Ray Charles
R&B / Soul · 2000 · 12 tracks

Best of Ray Charles

Ray Charles

A definitive survey of the man who married the church to the jukebox. Seventeen tracks of gravel-voiced piano blues, brassy R&B, and lush, crossover country-soul.

March 14, 2000 · Direct Source Special Products Inc.

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This collection captures the literal 'Big Bang' of soul music. It is the sound of the sacred meeting the profane, where the ecstatic energy of a Sunday morning church service is transplanted into the smoky atmosphere of a Saturday night jazz club. Ray Charles's voice is the central anchor: a weathered, gravelly baritone that can shift from a vulnerable whisper to a triumphant shout in a single measure. The music feels physically present, driven by his percussive piano playing and a brass section that feels like it's breathing right next to you.

Tracklist · 12 Tracks
04
You Are My Sunshine
3:01
06
In the Heat of the Night
2:37
07
Let’s Go Get Stoned
3:02
08
Busted
2:12
09
Don’t Set Me Free
2:39
10
Hide nor Hair
3:13
11
That Lucky Old Sun
4:23
12
At the Club
3:03
13
Makin’ Whoopee, Part 1
6:20
15
Crying Time
2:58
16
Here We Go Again
3:19
17
Ellie My Love
4:13
Moments Worth Listening For
the iconic call-and-response sequence between ray and the raelettes during the climax of what'd i say
the moment the strings dissolve into a lonely piano melody on georgia on my mind
the raw grit in his voice when he hits the high notes in the final chorus of i can't stop loving you
the percussive piano triplets that drive the frantic energy of mess around
Where This Album DepartsEach spoke is a trait. The orange shape shows where this album pulls away from — or holds to — the rest of the artist’s catalogue. Tap for more.

How does Best of Ray Charles sound next to the rest of Ray Charles's catalogue?

Joyful+1.3σ

Joyful saturates this record notably more than the artist's norm.

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