The Genius of Ray Charles Features Collaborations with David "Fathead" Newman and Quincy Jones: Second Half of Iconic Atlantic Release Features Ballads and a String Orchestra

Mastered from the Original Mono Master Tapes: Mobile Fidelity's Numbered-Edition Hybird Mono SACD of 1961 Compilation Corrects Longstanding Sonic Problems

Divided into two sides, The Genius of Ray Charles finds the pianist/singer paired with tenor saxophonist and longtime foil David "Fathead" Newman, Charles' band, and a few members from Count Basie and Duke Ellington's ensembles. Arranger Quincy Jones does the chart honors, revving up the big bands and seizing their energetic prowess while Charles outshines everyone in the all-star cast. Exuberant, joyous, stylish, and, in a word, the epitome of soulful, the brassy music is belted out with unfettered emotion and honesty, crossing boundaries and rolling the blues, gospel, and jazz into a pure-voiced hybrid.

On the record's second half, ballads take over. Charles teams up with arranger Ralph Burns and a sizeable string orchestra, delivering standards such as "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin'" and "Am I Blue" with an equal balance of intensity, feeling, and sympathetic originality. Yet the record's single-greatest performance--and, quite possibly, the definitive performance of Charles' career--belongs to "Come Rain or Come Shine." It's here that Charles, free of the piano and big band, comes into his own as a singer, becomes the singular artist that, in just a few years, would turn country music on its head. The brilliance goes beyond words.

Alas, The Genius of Ray Charles has never been celebrated for its sound. Instances of overmodulation clouded crescendos and the music never popped with requisite life. A 2005 Atlantic remaster from Europe didn't solve the problems, and also sucked the warmth and dynamics out of many of the songs. Mobile Fidelity is honored to have finally resolved the deficiencies and, on this reissue, present Charles, Newman, and an iconic batch of arrangers, producers, and musicians in scintillating mono sound.

Mastered from the original mono master tapes and presented in mini-LP-style gatefold packaging, Mobile Fidelity's numbered-edition hybrid SACD breathes with palpable airiness, tremendous warmth, sonorous details, snappy dynamics, and studio echoes. Charles' recognizable voice nearly jumps out of the songs, and the large string orchestra's instruments possess discernible body, identifiable imaging, and natural decay. What a difference the original mono mixes make.