Pure Genius: Complete Atlantic Recordings 52-59

Ray Charles is an American legend beyond compare. A ten-time Grammy-winning superstar who almost single-handedly laid the groundwork for soul music, Charles proved his mastery with countless jazz, country, R&B, and pop masterpieces as well. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame the first year they gave the honors ('86), and his extraordinary career spanned seven decades. His remarkable life was celebrated in the 2004 biopic Ray-featuring Jamie Foxx's Oscar-winning performance as the artist-and now Ray Charles' musical genius is spotlighted in this comprehensive box of his seminal Atlantic Records era, 1952-1959. As preeminent music writer David Ritz notes inside, "These are the historic years of his creative explosion, the time when he reinvented himself as a musical revolutionary. These records will live forever."

Jamie Foxx's Oscar-winning turn as Ray Charles could only touch on the musical highlights of the American musical legend's career. But for those further intrigued by Charles' savory musical roots, this seven CD/one DVD anthology of Charles' epochal career at Atlantic Records (who purchased the fledgling star's contract from a small L.A. label for $2500) is the ultimate chronicle. While the singer's recorded output for the label was typically shuffled and jumbled across a series of contemporary albums and compilations, this set offers them up chronologically as originally recorded in NYC, New Orleans and elsewhere, a gambit that allows a clearer insight into the musician's artistic growth and burgeoning confidence as a performer in the bargain. Though focused on the `fervent r&b and soul sides he cut before crossing over into country and pop in the ‘60s, Charles' Atlantic tenure also includes insightful excursions into small jazz combo work that further underscored the range of his incomparable gifts.

The final CD in the set is a treasure trove of unreleased (mostly) solo performances that range from a lengthy 1953 rehearsal tape to a handful of hotel room-recorded arrangement demos for his 1959 Genius of Ray Charles collection. The set's DVD is another welcome bonus, containing the legend's complete performance at the 1960 Newport Jazz Festival (though he'd just left Atlantic, his repertoire and band for the show are rooted in the era), capped with the modern reminisces of Atlantic founder Ahmet Ertegun. Lavishly packaged in a box that replicates a ‘50's-era 45-player and featuring a hard-bound liner book that includes reprints of the original albums' liner notes, a comprehensive sessionography and an insightful new essay from noted r&b biographer David Ritz, the collection lives up to its billing at every level: Pure genius, indeed. --Jerry McCulley