You know, over the years, you get exposed to so many cliches about Ray Charles that it's easy to forget how great he is – but you won't after hearing this set! This totally essential box pushes way past any other collection to pull together the raw early R&B sides by Ray – much harder stuff than any
of his later country soul work, and way more rockin than even his instrumental sides that
show up more as "jazz" efforts. No, this stuff kicks ass – and is right up there with the best 50s R&B work by artists like Tiny Bradshaw, Wynonie Harris, or Ray Brown. Plus, a huge amount
of the cuts on here never really appeared on full LPs, so it's not like you'll be able to track them down that easily on other reissues. There's a wealth
of excellent material here that will open up a whole new side
of Ray for you – and which will fill in loads
of holes if you've already got some
of his work. There's a total
of 53 tracks in all, plus a great set
of notes and a very
handsome box – and titles include "What Kind
Of Man Are You", "Get On The Right Track", "Leave My Woman Alone", "Roll With My Baby", "Jumpin In The Morning", "It Should Have Been Me", "Feelin Sad", "Mess Around", "I Wonder Who", "Blackjack", "Greenbacks", "A Fool For You", "Hard Times", "A Bit
Of Soul", "I Want To Know", "It's Alright", "Ain't That Love", and "That's Enough". All cuts are vocal – and this is some
of the most satisfying Ray Charles you could ever buy!