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List Price: $11.98 | | Label: Rhino / Wea
Salesrank: 121602
Released: June 10, 1997 |
| Our Price: $6.04 |
| Used Price: $3.49 |
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| Media: Audio CD |
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The Genius Hits the Road Track Listing:
1. Alabamy Bound
2. Georgia on My Mind
3. Basin Street Blues
4. Mississippi Mud
5. Moonlight in Vermont
6. New York's My Home
7. California, Here I Come
8. Moon over Miami
9. Deep in the Heart of Texas
10. Carry Me Back to Old Virginny - Ray Charles, The Raelettes, Raeletts
11. Blue Hawaii
12. Chattanooga Choo Choo
13. Sentimental Journey [*]
14. Hit the Road Jack [*]
15. Blue Moon of Kentucky (Swingova) [*]
16. Rainy Night in Georgia [*]
17. I'm Movin' On [*]
18. Swanee River Rock (Talkin' 'Bout That River) [*]
19. Lonely Avenue [*]
Editorial Review:
"What'd I Say" may have given Ray Charles his first top 10 single, but it was this 1960 album that really solidified his commercial standing. It hit the top 10 on the strength of the massive sales of "Georgia on My Mind"; while nothing else here comes close to topping that particular song, there are a number of other fine performances, including "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny," "Basin Street Blues," and "New York's My Home." Charles takes a smooth, supper-club approach to most of the material, but only "Deep in the Heart of Texas" is really too hokey for its own good. Rhino's CD reissue adds several other geographically themed cuts from Charles's career, including "Rainy Night in Georgia," "Swanee River Rock," and a marvelously swingin' take on "Blue Moon of Kentucky." --Dan Epstein
The Genius Hits the Road Reviews:
A Solid if Trite Ray Charles Record 
2009-08-18 - Picture the pitch session..."Ray, you've done country, you created a new genre by reworking gospel, now? It's time to do a bunch of forgettable tunes that HAPPEN to have place names in them!"
Of course, Ray could make "Happy Birthday" new and exciting, and there are some good moments here. But it is NOT the place to START your Ray collection.
Ray Charles at his dead level best. 
2005-08-17 - This CD/album is one I have had as a 33rpm vinyl record for many years--bought it new when it first came out.Sooo......, was tickled pink when I saw it in CD format.The songs are vintage Ray Charles and include the string/large orchestra that he made several albums w/ in the 70's. Brings these old tunes to life as really no one else could.
Ray poised for Superstardom
2004-11-26 - Thank Rhino for reissuing this overlooked album. This was his first after he split from Atlantic for ABC/Paramount. People like to think that his ABC/Paramount period starts with MODERN SOUNDS, but you can see the "road" Ray's traveling with this album. Most of the orchestration is done with a lot of taste and not syrupy as might plague some later recordings. These cuts sound classic today and not dated -- well, except for the silliness over Deep in the Heart of Texas.
Enjoy this album for more than Ray's signature tune of Georgia on my Mind, Ray's solo on Moon over Miami, for example. The bonus cuts complete the experience. This album will help bridge those who only know Ray from his Atlantic years into the rest of his career - about a 40 year period!
It sucks the soul right out of him 
2002-03-19 - The orchestrations and chorus present on all of the regular tracks intended to make him more palatable to a wider audience suck the soil right out of Ray Charles' performances. This is particularly evident when you hear the bonus tracks. The bonus tracks are fabulous, but I'm sure you can find them on another Ray Charles album.
1959 REISSUE AND MORE 
2001-06-17 - After awhile, Ray Charles starts sounding like a spokesperson for 'Travel in America' as each 19 songs on this CD speak of hittin' the road and visiting, not the musical road less travelled, but the swinging nightclubs and hot spots where Steve and Eydie Gormet may be the opening act. We're reminded what a great hit single, "Hit the Road Jack", was, an explosion of anger at the heat of a romantic conflict as the vocals scream and demand in two part melody. The first twelve songs are the original tracks from his 1959 album, "The Genius of Ray Charles", and the transfer to CD has left them sounding a little hollow like Charles is singing from another room. One suspects the vocals were sung over at the time this album was compiled. The Bonus Tracks are much better but hey! did I say something negative about this cool laid-back groovy album? You have to hear the half spoken/half vocal call and response of "New York's My Home", as Charles grinds his gravelly voice over his blues/pop piano and wins any argument against New York City. "Georgis On My Mind" is also here and a less grave "Rainy Night In Georgia", where Charles even hiccups over a drink in the fade out of the vocal tracks. Now that's casual.
