Ray Charles, the man, the music, the pure genius! The most amazing thing about Ray Charles was how he used his best instrument, and I don't mean the Piano. Ray Charles used his fine tuned voice to capture more peoples hearts and soul that Carlos Santana did with his guitar. It's true, when you hear a Ray Charles song pop onto your radio, you know instantly who it is, there were no others that had that power over the audience, at least not one artist in so many genres as the great Ray Charles.

A man who's musical heritage crossed many boundaries, country music fans loved him, soul music listeners knew him, and could always take a bit more, and so goes the phenomenon through Rock and Roll, blues, Jazz and many other styles! Ray Charles' unique voice brought many fans to hear him, and it just seems to be such a shame, as it is in many cases, that the legend had to pass on before many of the worlds music fans really caught on to his music. Before you get your feathers ruffled over that statement, I know many of us did know and love the man, but there are countless more that didn't discover the true genius of Ray Charles until after his passing. 

The CD "More Music From Ray" is the second collection of recordings offered from the film Ray, and some music that inspired the film as well. These tracks may not be as immediately recognized as the tracks from the predecessor, but they are still gems. Most of the tracks included here are from the time period of 1956 to 1966, a ten year span in the life of the man. There are also two 2003 versions of classic tracks ("Baby Let me Hold Your Hand" and "Drown In My Own Tears/ You Don't Know Me"), and the single that was released twice in the early to mid 1970s "America The Beautiful".

All in all this is a great tribute to Ray Charles, even though it is not as "commercial" as the first collection of tracks, the music still shines and has been restored enough to glimmer in real crystal clarity. By all means, add this CD to your growing Ray Charles catalog, but don't forget to get the first in the series, the soundtrack to the Oscar nominated film RAY.

  ( 5 Stars out of 6 )

Read the Rikks revues review of the DVD release of "Ray"

Read the Rikks Revues DVD review of Ray Charles "O-Genio" Live in Brazil 1963.

Read  the CD review of More Music From Ray