by Steven Wine
In a better world, the music industry would spend less time
endlessly repackaging material decades old and more time cultivating young Ray
Charles-type talent. It must be out there, right?
Then again, someone of Charles' caliber might find it
impossible to break into the business today, because record labels and radio
stations wouldn't know how to categorize and market such a genre-busting,
multidimensional performer.
"Pure Genius" requires eight discs to capture the
range of Charles' skill as a singer, pianist, saxophonist, writer, arranger and
producer. Charles was still only in his 20s in the 1950s when he pioneered soul
music, played dazzling jazz, sang the blues like few before or since and swung
even on the most hoary tunes ("My Bonnie,"
"Swanee River Rock"). By the end of the
decade, he was branching out into country, too ("I'm Moving On").
Rather than push for hits, Atlantic Records allowed Charles
to follow his marvelous musical muse. "Our only job was to turn on the
lights for him," coproducer Jerry Wexler said.
"And as a friend pointed out, we didn't even have to do that."
The 164-track collection includes a disc of demos and
rehearsal outtakes -- at one point, Charles coaches
sax man David "Fathead" Newman on how to play a specific note -- and
a DVD featuring a previously unreleased performance by Charles' group at the
1960 Newport Jazz Festival. Also included is an 80-page hardcover book with
exhaustive liner notes.
A lot of the material duplicates Rhino's 1991 boxed set of
'50s recordings, but that three-CD package focused on R&B tunes. This more
comprehensive collection reflects Charles' refusal to acknowledge musical
boundaries -- and makes one wish the industry had room for such a performer
today.
11/25/05
Source: AP
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