Genius & Soul: The 50th Anniversary Collection
If anyone deserves his own section in record stores, it's Ray Charles. Witness this Charles box set, a full five-disc career retrospective that follows smaller packages concentrating on his early R&B; (The Birth of Soul) andBlues + Jazzwork. In addition to those styles, we get Ray's stabs at Nat "King" Cole/Charles Brown urban blues ("Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand"), handfuls of country songs ("I Can't Stop Loving You"), definitive readings of the American songbook ("Georgia on My Mind," "Come Rain or Come Shine"), and personal claims on the '60s soul he made possible ("I Don't Need No Doctor"). Whether you're a newcomer or a veteran Charles fan, this impeccably selected box is for you.--Rickey Wright