Ray Charles，著名的“灵魂乐之父”。他似乎永远都戴着墨镜，但这并不是为了摆酷，而是因为他从小就失去了光明。然而这位天才以惊人的毅力和悟性学会了用盲文读谱，并且精通了多种乐器，他把当时被斥为低俗的黑人蓝调和被奉为圣灵的教堂福音唱腔划时代地完美结合在一起，开创了灵魂乐这一音乐流派，这是无数明眼人连想都不敢想的伟大成就。 　　这张精选集中了Ray Charles在1952-1959年间最好的作品，1991年发行，公认为是他最好的精选集。专辑名为《The Birth Of Soul》，这里的soul可以理解为“灵魂”，也可以理解为“灵魂乐”，这样的标题，确实也只有Ray Charles才配得上。 　　这张专辑在滚石杂志选出的500张历代最强专辑中排名第53位。 　　 　　The title isn't just hype — this absolutely essential three-disc box is where soul music first took shape and soared, courtesy of Ray Charles' church-soaked pipes and bedrock piano work. Brother Ray's formula for inventing the genre was disarmingly simple: he brought gospel intensity to the R&B world with his seminal "I Got a Woman," "Hallelujah I Love Her So," "Leave My Woman Alone," "You Be My Baby," and the primal 1959 call-and-response classic "What'd I Say." There's plenty of brilliant blues content within these 53 historic sides: Charles' mournful "Losing Hand," "Feelin' Sad," "Hard Times," and "Blackjack" ooze after-hours desperation. No blues collection should be without this boxed set, which comes with well-researched notes by Robert Palmer, a nicely illustrated accompanying booklet, and discographical info aplenty.