Ray Charles - "His Greatest Hits, Vol 2" - 1993

More seminal performances from the '60s ABC catalog of the Genius (DCC split the classics evenly between the two discs, making both of them indispensable). His beloved "Hit the Road Jack" (one of several Percy Mayfield copyrights dotting Charles' repertoire), the daring country crossover "I Can't Stop Loving You," an electric-piano powered "Sticks and Stones," a wise "Them That Got," and a wonderfully mellow "At the Club" rank with the 20-song disc's standouts (though versions of the Beatles' "Yesterday" and the corny "Look What They Done to My Song, Ma" end the set on a bummer note).- Bill Dahl, All Music Guide.
Ray Charles was the musician most responsible for developing soul music. Singers like Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson also did a great deal to pioneer the form, but Charles did even more to devise a new form of black pop by merging '50s RB with gospel-powered vocals, adding plenty of flavor from contemporary jazz, blues, and (in the '60s) country. Then there is his singing; his style is among the most emotional and easily identifiable of any 20th-century performer, up there with the likes of Elvis and Billie Holiday. He's also a superb keyboard player, arranger, and bandleader. The brilliance of his 1950s and 1960s work, however, can't obscure the fact that he's made few classic tracks since the mid-'60s, though he's recorded often and tours to this day.

Tracklist:

1. Busted
2. Hit the Road Jack
3. I Can't Stop Loving You
4. You Are My Sunshine
5. Ruby
6. Sticks and Stones
7. Take These Chains from My Heart
8. Them That Got
9. No One
10. Without Love (There Is Nothing)
11. Don't Set Me Free
12. I'm a Fool to Care
13. Makin' Whoopee, Parts 1 & 2
14. Hardhearted Hannah
15. Baby It's Cold Outside
16. At the Club
17. In the Heat of the Night
18. Eleanor Rigby
19. Look What They Done to My Song, Ma
20. America the Beautiful