The Birth of Soul

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

The Birth of Soul
Box set by
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]

Critical reception

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

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

  1. 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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