Ray Charles: Singular Genius

Hi all.

There's a new compilation out called Ray Charles - The Singular Genius: The Complete ABC Singles. It appears that these tracks are all in mono, although there's some discussion on the Hoffman forum about whether these are the actual dedicated mono mixes or simply stereo fold downs. Does anyone have this set yet to share their findings?

Santi Paradoa wrote: I was hoping Pat would give us a review once he has had a chance to listen to the box set. Isn't the single hit version of "I Can't Stop Loving You" supposed to finally be on CD with this release?

"I Can't Stop Loving You" runs 2:35 on the new set and
I'm assuming it's the correct 45 edit (I don't have a 45
to compare with). It sounds to me like there is one
edit, removing the section from :25 to 2:01, occurring at
the beginning of the line "I can't stop wanting you..."
sung by the backup singers.

But one thing that I noticed with the song on this set
that had never jumped out at me before is a prominent
upper frequency noise, which at first I thought sounded
like vinyl distortion but which I now think is brushwork.    
I went back and re-listened to the stereo version and
it's there as well, just not as noticeable. I think the
mono version on the new box set has more high-end eq,
making this effect more prominent (and for me,
distracting).

I really can't tell if it's a fold-down. I will say that
most of the tracks that I have listened to thus far have
the sonic characteristics associated with 60s radio mixes
(rather lo-fi eq and compression), making me lean toward
these being the authentic mono mixes. But I don't have
any actual mono vinyl to compare with.

How about that! I was browsing over my "Single/Album Versions Wanted on CD" list today and just happened to notice the MANY Top 40 hits by Ray Charles that I've been wanting in their original mono 45 mixes, but have never been made available on CD... That is, until now!

I'm excited to now learn about this new Singular Genius box set. The only thing is, I promised myself not even 24 hours ago that I wasn't going to buy anymore CDs until after Christmas. But I don't know if I can wait for this box set!

jono wrote: For some reason they used the LP version of "Don't Change On Me", which is the only Ray Charles 45 I have. I think there's an edit somewhere around 2:20, but most obvious is the length difference (my 45 runs 3:01, the LP version is in the 3:25 range on cd). The rest of the songs seem at first glance to be the 45 versions, although there is some talk on the Hoffman Boards that there might be a 45/LP difference in the sax solo in "Unchain My Heart". Jon O.

I wonder why they didn't use the 45 version of "Don't Change On Me" since it already has appeared on CD prior to this release?

Regarding "Dont Change On Me":

Just noticed another LP vs. 45 difference - it sounds like a different take. Listening from 20-25 seconds into the song, Ray sings "Make all the pain stop" very differently. On the 45, it is almost syncopated: "Make all the pain...stop". On the new box set, he sings "Make all the pain stop". There are probably other differences as well.

So I was wrong about just the edit on this song.

Jon O.