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List Price: $11.98 | | Label: Rhino / Wea
Salesrank: 36566
Released: March 14, 2000 |
| Our Price: $5.99 |
| Used Price: $2.69 |
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| Media: Audio CD |
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The Very Best of Ray Charles Track Listing:
1. I Got a Woman
2. Fool for You
3. Drown in My Own Tears
4. Hallelujah, I Love Her So
5. Night Time Is the Right Time
6. What'd I Say, Pts. 1 & 2
7. Sticks and Stones
8. Georgia on My Mind
9. One Mint Julep
10. Hit the Road Jack
11. Unchain My Heart
12. I Can't Stop Loving You
13. You Are My Sunshine
14. Busted
15. Let's Go Get Stoned
16. Seven Spanish Angels - Ray Charles, Willie Nelson
Editorial Review:
No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: CHARLES,RAY
Title: VERY BEST OF RAY CHARLES
Street Release Date: 03/14/2000
Domestic
Genre: BLUES
Description of The Very Best of Ray Charles:
Hard as it is to go wrong when shopping for a Brother Ray package, some career-spanning compilations bundle the decades better than others. Count this one, true to its title, among the very best. The track sequencing is straight-up chronological, opening with 1954's groundbreaking blues and gospel mingling "I've Got a Woman." From there it charges through the late-'50s Atlantic era, rounding up classic singles like "Hallelujah (I Love Her So)," "(Night Time Is) The Right Time," and "What'd I Say." By the time the disc lands us in the '60s, the Genius has saddled up to explore his country side, turning in such popular-music-altering hits as "Georgia on My Mind" and "I Can't Stop Loving You." A final cut jumps into the '80s for the Willie Nelson duet "Seven Spanish Angels," leaving the listener with a solid--and deeply satisfying--sense of Charles' bold artistic wanderings. All that's missing is his soul-dunked rendition of "America the Beautiful." -Tammy La Gorce
The Very Best of Ray Charles Reviews:
From the SOONER NATION 
2009-05-13 - The Very best of Ray Charles, This is a Great CD. I enjoy it very much.
All the song get my blood pumping.
Ray as Good as it Gets
2009-02-08 - If you like Ray Charles you will truly enjoy this CD. From "Shout" to "Born to Lose", it covers all aspects of Ray's talent and style as a singer and stylist. Just sit back and enjoy.
Very Best of Ray Charles
2008-03-22 - I was very pleased with the cd of Ray Charles and also with the delivery time.
Thank you
Carol Dodd
Tight As You Can 
2007-08-25 - Rhino's Ray Charles collection brings together 18 tracks of classic Charles. From "I've Got A Woman" to the exuberant "Hallelujah I Love Her So" to "Georgia on My Mind" and "Unchain My Heart," Charles' music doesn't stop grabbing you. Ray had a distinctive vocal sound that made his records unlike anyone else's. "Hit the Road Jack" is such a great breakup song that it still puts a smile on my face. "I Can't Stop Loving You" is such a great classic. The sassy blues-flavored "(Night Time Is) The Right Time" bowls me over with Ray's willingness to follow the music across genres, "I want you to hold my hand tight as you can." However, Rhino doesn't do much as far as remastering and sprucing up the technical quality of the recordings. For that reason, this collection is a budget-friendly but still limited collection of one of the master musicians of the United States. Enjoy!
Very Best Of Ray Charles In A 16-track CD? Sorry, It Can't Be Done
2007-08-19 - I would think that, after putting this together and then releasing it in 2000, the folks at Rhino likely wished they had come up with a better title like, say, "16 Of His Very Best." Because, quite frankly, I don't believe it's possible to squeeze the "very best" of Ray Charles into one 16-track CD.
After all, the man put 76 selections into the Billboard Pop Top/Hot 100 between 1957 and 1989, and from 1949 to 1993 added another 26 that scored only on the R&B Top 100 singles charts [most of the others charted on both]. And just for good measure, some 29 made the Adult Contemporary (AC) charts after their introduction in 1961, while 13 scored only on the Country charts, How's that for widespread appeal?
As another reviewer points out, there are far too many notable omissions which, by any definition, would have to be included in anything labeled his "very best." For example, while track 5 was a solid R&B hit in 1959 [# 5], but a low # 95 Hot 100, songs like You Don't Know Me [# 1 AC for 3 weeks/# 2 Hot 100/# 5 R&B in 1962], Take These Chains From My Heart [# 3 AC/# 7 R&B/# 8 Hot 100 in 1963, Crying Time [# 3 AC/# 5 R&B/# 6 Hot 100 in 1965], Here We Go Again [# 5 R&B/# 15 Hot 100/# 38 AC in 1967], and Yesterday [# 9 R&B/# 25 Hot 100 in 1967] were smash hits.
However, if you can get past the title and just accept these as 16 of his very best it is a welcome addition to any Ray Charles collection. Five pages of informative background notes written by Bill Dahl, and several more shots of Ray, are augmented by a complete discography of the contents showing label and chart details and the musicians involved on each track. The sound reproduction is flawless.
