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The Birth of Soul

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The Birth of Soul
Box set by
Ray Charles
ReleasedOctober 1, 1991 (1991-10-01)
Recorded1952–1959
GenreRhythm and blues[1]
Length148:48
LabelAtlantic
ProducerHerb Abramson, Ahmet Ertegün, and Jerry Wexler
Ray Charles chronology
Rhythm & Blues: Ray Charles – 1954–1966
(1991) 		The Birth of Soul
(1991) 		His Greatest Hits
(1992)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Down Beat[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[4]

The Birth of Soul: The Complete Atlantic Rhythm and Blues Recordings is a 3-CD box set compilation by Ray Charles, released in 1991.

Critical reception

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In a contemporary review, Peter Watrous of The New York Times said that the box set "tracks the progress of a figure who profoundly changed what was possible in American music."[5] He ranked it as the twelfth best album of 1991.[6] The Birth of Soul was voted the third best reissue of the year in The Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop critics' poll for 1991.[7]

In 2003, the album was ranked number 54 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time,[8] maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list,[9] then dropping to number 210 in a 2020 reboot of the list.[10] In a retrospective article for the magazine, Robert Christgau wrote that, despite "caveats" such as material repeated on more "economic" releases, The Birth of Soul is "the rockingest Charles long-form you can buy" and remarked on the legacy of its recordings:

Although Charles' fabled blues-gospel synthesis is on display from 'I Got a Woman' to 'I Believe to My Soul,' 'birth of soul' gets the emphasis wrong. Seldom conventionally catchy, this Robert Palmer-annotated collection epitomizes a world-historic catchall of a genre that Charles could only describe as 'genuine down-to-earth Negro music' — namely, rhythm & blues. Crack bands, first Atlantic's and then his own, underpin his rich, gravelly vocals with hard-hitting grooves of deceptive rhythmic and harmonic complexity. Halfway in, a female backup group soon to be known as the Raelettes starts shoring up his male voice and egging it on, an innovation that became a cliche so fast people think it was always there.[1]

Christgau recommended Rhino Entertainment's 1994 compilation album The Best of Ray Charles: The Atlantic Years as a cheaper alternative to the box set.[1]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Ray Charles, unless otherwise noted

Disc 1 (1952-1954)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Sun's Gonna Shine Again" 2:36
2."Roll With My Baby" 2:35
3."The Midnight Hour"Sam Sweet2:59
4."Jumpin' in the Mornin'" 2:44
5."It Should Have Been Me"Memphis Curtis2:42
6."Losing Hand"Charles Calhoun3:11
7."Heartbreaker"Ahmet Ertegun2:51
8."Sinner's Prayer"Lowell Fulson; Lloyd Glenn3:21
9."Mess Around"Ahmet Nugetre2:38
10."Funny But I Still Love You" 3:12
11."Feelin' Sad"Eddie Jones2:47
12."I Wonder Who" 2:47
13."Don't You Know" 2:55
14."Nobody Cares" 2:37
15."Ray's Blues" 2:52
16."Mr. Charles' Blues" 2:45
17."Blackjack" 2:18
Total length:47:50
Disc 2 (1954-1957)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I Got a Woman"Ray Charles; Renald Richard2:50
2."Greenbacks"Ray Charles; Renald Richard2:48
3."Come Back Baby" 3:04
4."A Fool for You" 3:00
5."This Little Girl of Mine" 2:30
6."Hard Times" 2:53
7."A Bit of Soul" 2:17
8."Mary Ann" 2:45
9."Drown in My Own Tears"Henry Glover3:19
10."Hallelujah, I Love Her So" 2:34
11."What Would I Do Without You?" 2:34
12."Lonely Avenue"Doc Pomus2:33
13."I Want to Know" 2:09
14."Leave My Woman Alone" 2:38
15."It's Alright" 2:15
16."Ain't That Love" 2:51
17."Get on the Right Track"Titus Turner2:17
18."RockHouse (Parts 1 & 2)" 3:51
Total length:49:08
Disc 3 (1957-1959)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Swanee River Rock" 2:18
2."That's Enough" 2:43
3."Talkin' 'bout You" 2:49
4."What Kind of Man Are You" 2:47
5."I Want a Little Girl"Murray Mencher; Billy Moll2:53
6."Yes Indeed"Sy Oliver2:14
7."I Had a Dream"Ray Charles; Ricky Harper2:52
8."You Be My Baby"Ray Charles; Doc Pomus; Mort Shuman2:28
9."Tell All the World About You" 2:01
10."My Bonnie" 2:44
11."Early in the Morning"Dallas Bartley; Leo Hickman; Louis Jordan2:43
12."(Night Time Is) The Right Time"Lew Herman3:26
13."Carryin' that Load"Doc Pomus; Mort Shuman2:22
14."Tell Me How Do You Feel"Ray Charles; Percy Mayfield2:42
15."What'd I Say (Parts 1 & 2)" 6:26
16."Tell the Truth"Lowman Pauling3:03
17."I'm Movin' On"Hank Snow2:20
18."I Believe to My Soul" 2:59
Total length:51:50

References

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  1. ^ a b c Christgau, Robert (July 8, 2004). "The Genius at Work". Rolling Stone. New York. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  2. ^ Allmusic review
  3. ^ "Review: The Birth of Soul". Down Beat. Chicago: 36. March 1992.
  4. ^ Considine, J. D.; Matos, Michaelangelo; et al. (2004). Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 154. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Watrous, Peter (December 15, 1991). "POP MUSIC; Already Boxed and Suitable for Wrapping". The New York Times. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  6. ^ Watrous, Peter (January 1, 1992). "The Pop Life; Top 12's, or So". The New York Times. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  7. ^ "The 1991 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". The Village Voice. New York. March 3, 1992. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  8. ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. New York. December 11, 2003. p. 112.
  9. ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time". Rolling Stone. 2012. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  10. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. 2020-09-22. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
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