Atlantic Records’ Ertegun brothers were immensely proud to add Ray Charles onto their roster, and this album set out to prove exactly how delighted they were. It was surely the Erteguns who came up with the idea of proclaiming Charles a genius and pegging the appellation onto a series of album titles, starting with this release.

The album’s intent was to display the multifaceted talents of Ray Charles, but it goes a bit further than they intended. Side one presents Charles working with a swinging big band, while side two has him performing over lush orchestration. That much makes perfectly good sense, but it’s the cracks in between that make the album feel almost schizophrenic. The tracks veer from the sublime to the ridiculous and make no apologies for the sudden shifts. It opens and closes with “Let the Good Times Roll” and “Come Rain or Come Shine”, two genuine masterpieces that surpass previously definitive versions by Louis Jordan and Frank Sinatra respectively, but the consistency of what comes between them is perplexing. I can understand Charles incorporating his unique style onto an oldie like “It Had to Be You” or Ruth Etting’s “’Deed I Do” (which dates from 1926), but “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” is more than one step too far in that direction. “Two Years of Torture” feels completely out of context with the rest of side one, but the consistency of side two renders the middle tracks almost bland. Despite its strange fluctuations, Charles survives it all brilliantly, which ultimately proves that Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun knew what they were talking about when they named the album “The Genius of Ray Charles.”

At the time, Atlantic Records operated as both an R&B and a Jazz label. Ahmet Ertegun looked over the R&B side of things while his brother Nesuhi took responsibility for the jazz side. Things got interesting when they attained Ray Charles, who fit comfortably in either category. Apparently, the brothers operated independent from one another because in October 1959, Atlantic released two Ray Charles albums simultaneously. “The Genius of Ray Charles” came out on the jazz series (numbers starting with 1200, for their then new 12” album series) while “What’d I Say” was released in their ‘popular’ series (the catalog numerically starting with 8000). Like the ubiquitous title track, “What’d I Say” contained a series of R&B rhythm workouts, with varying degrees of success. Lyrically, the album is a bit lightweight but as the saying goes, Ray Charles could sing from the phone book and make it sound life affirming. Of the two, I give “The Genius of Ray Charles” the edge.

Featured Tracks:

Let the Good Times Roll

It Had to Be You

Alexander's Ragtime Band

Two Years of Torture

When Your Lover Has Gone

'Deed I Do

Just for a Thrill

You Won't Let Me Go

Tell Me You'll Wait for Me

Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin'

Am I Blue

Come Rain or Come Shine

October 1959 -  Billboard Charted #17