| The Birth of Soul | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Box set by | ||||
| Released | October 1, 1991 | |||
| Recorded | 1952–1959 | |||
| Genre | Rhythm and blues[1] | |||
| Length | 148:48 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Producer | Herb Abramson, Ahmet Ertegün, and Jerry Wexler | |||
| Ray Charles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [2] |
| Down Beat | [3] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [4] |
The Birth of Soul: The Complete Atlantic Rhythm and Blues Recordings is a 3-CD box set compilation by Ray Charles, released in 1991.
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]
All tracks are written by Ray Charles, unless otherwise noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Sun's Gonna Shine Again" | 2:36 | |
| 2. | "Roll With My Baby" | 2:35 | |
| 3. | "The Midnight Hour" | Sam Sweet | 2:59 |
| 4. | "Jumpin' in the Mornin'" | 2:44 | |
| 5. | "It Should Have Been Me" | Memphis Curtis | 2:42 |
| 6. | "Losing Hand" | Charles Calhoun | 3:11 |
| 7. | "Heartbreaker" | Ahmet Ertegun | 2:51 |
| 8. | "Sinner's Prayer" | Lowell Fulson; Lloyd Glenn | 3:21 |
| 9. | "Mess Around" | Ahmet Nugetre | 2:38 |
| 10. | "Funny But I Still Love You" | 3:12 | |
| 11. | "Feelin' Sad" | Eddie Jones | 2:47 |
| 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 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Got a Woman" | Ray Charles; Renald Richard | 2:50 |
| 2. | "Greenbacks" | Ray Charles; Renald Richard | 2:48 |
| 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 Glover | 3:19 |
| 10. | "Hallelujah, I Love Her So" | 2:34 | |
| 11. | "What Would I Do Without You?" | 2:34 | |
| 12. | "Lonely Avenue" | Doc Pomus | 2:33 |
| 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 Turner | 2:17 |
| 18. | "RockHouse (Parts 1 & 2)" | 3:51 | |
| Total length: | 49:08 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(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 Moll | 2:53 |
| 6. | "Yes Indeed" | Sy Oliver | 2:14 |
| 7. | "I Had a Dream" | Ray Charles; Ricky Harper | 2:52 |
| 8. | "You Be My Baby" | Ray Charles; Doc Pomus; Mort Shuman | 2:28 |
| 9. | "Tell All the World About You" | 2:01 | |
| 10. | "My Bonnie" | 2:44 | |
| 11. | "Early in the Morning" | Dallas Bartley; Leo Hickman; Louis Jordan | 2:43 |
| 12. | "(Night Time Is) The Right Time" | Lew Herman | 3:26 |
| 13. | "Carryin' that Load" | Doc Pomus; Mort Shuman | 2:22 |
| 14. | "Tell Me How Do You Feel" | Ray Charles; Percy Mayfield | 2:42 |
| 15. | "What'd I Say (Parts 1 & 2)" | 6:26 | |
| 16. | "Tell the Truth" | Lowman Pauling | 3:03 |
| 17. | "I'm Movin' On" | Hank Snow | 2:20 |
| 18. | "I Believe to My Soul" | 2:59 | |
| Total length: | 51:50 | ||
