Rating:
Genre:
R&B
Release Date: 07/10/2007
Ray Charles' first recording sessions from the late '40s and very early '50s show an artist heavily influenced by
Nat King Cole and
Charles Brown and working in a pronounced
pop direction.
Charles recorded for several small West Coast labels during this time, but most notably for
Jack Lauderdale's
Swing Time Records. It wasn't until
Lauderdale sold
Charles' contract to
Atlantic Records (for a mere $2,000) in 1952 that
Charles began the legendary fusion of
R&B and
gospel that led to hits like
"What'd I Say" and
"I Got a Woman" that single-handedly created what became known as
soul. This set features 14 of those early pre-
soul, West Coast recordings and while these sides don't display the powerful synthesis of
Charles'
Atlantic work, they have tremendous archival importance.
~Steve Leggett, All Music Guide
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