Ray

The original motion picture soundtrack to Ray!, the biopic produced by Taylor Hackford, with music supervision by Curt Sobel, is a compilation of 17 original Ray Charles records spanning the most musically innovative 20 years of his life. The CD was produced from the original masters with approval of Ray Charles Enterprises and Ray himself. The collection includes most of Ray Charles, aka Hallelujah I Love Her So and cuts from Ray's live records. All of it is great. All of it is a rush to listen to over and over again. Ray Charles could sing, play and write like nobody else. He created more than one signature style and epitomized countless others. He often referred to himself in album titles as "The Genius," and he was.

Jamie Foxx plays Ray Charles in the film, and he gets all the important parts right. The performances are very realistic on film, but that doesn't affect the CD. This record is all Ray, all the way. It opens with "Mess Around," a southern-fried stomp with Ray wailin' the blues. The sax sound is better than on your old 45s, and so's the piano. The modern remastering adds headroom and clarity without removing even a hint of soul. On Ray's piano solo you can hear that, no matter how down and dirty he plays, his technique was always clean as a whistle. You can dig it on the first cut.

Everybody old enough to know better knows what he's talkin' about in "You Don't Know Me." Ray's heart-wrenching, soul-tortured ballads are without peer. Recorded live, he grabs the house by the throat and squeezes until the tears flow. This is also the cat who said that "You only live but once, and when yer dead yer done." Every note he sang, played, wrote or heard was in the moment. His music has an immediacy that makes your heart beat faster. Whether he's got a drag or a shuffle going, he swings, swings, swings. And Brother Ray can scream in tune. The guy probably snored musically.

The set up to the live recording of "What'd I Say" shows that bugaloo groove that he built right up from the ground. Genius plus soul equals soul cubed, and Ray wrapped it all up in a box every time he sat down. He had it in his fingers, he had it in his voice and he gave it up at every show.

This collection is incredibly personal and well organized. It's a "greatest hits" for sure, but the enhanced sound and cinematic organization makes it a cut above its type. It's Ray Charles, which makes it better than any 10 records from some other guy. It's all wrapped up in a CD, so you can pop it into your car's player and just cruise. When you do, check out old "Mary Ann," 'cause she's got her groove on.

By Dave Morgan