Genius Hits the Road

The famed 1960 Genius concept album, featuring a dozen songs devoted to various parts of the U.S. with brassy big band arrangements and material from the likes of Al Jolson and Hoagy Carmichael. This newly remastered version features 7 bonues tracks!

"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