Ray Charles Ray Charles (Mono) (Atlantic 75 Series) 45RPM (2 LP)

Mono 180g 45rpm Double LP!
Classic 1957 Album Includes the Hits "Hallelujah I Love Her So," "Ain't That Love" & "I Got a Woman"!
Mastered Directly from the Original Master Tape by Bernie Grundman!
Pressed at QRP and RTI!
Atlantic 75 Historic Reissue Series from Analogue Productions!
Atlantic Records began releasing 12-inch LPs in 1956 featuring hit singles from their established rhythm & blues artists. An early release in this "8000 'popular' series" was Ray Charles' album of the same name from 1957. It was not only the pianist and singer's first studio album, but is also a compilation of his hit singles released up to the debut. In 1962, the LP was released again under the name "Hallelujah I Love Her So".
Two of the three songs on "Ray Charles" were penned by himself, but his renditions of titles such as "Mess Around" and "Greenbacks" also became chart successes. Bernie Grundman took over the remastering for the double LP at 45 rpm.
Ray Charles' self-titled 1957 album was one of the first handful of LPs issued by Atlantic (and was later retitled Hallelujah I Love Her So). As AllMusic reviewer Bruce Elder notes, the album is weighted about three to one in favor of Charles' own compositions, with the hits "Hallelujah I Love Her So" and the pounding, soaring "Ain't That Love," which opens the LP, its raison d'etre.
Charles does just as well with his interpretations of others' work, most notably the ominous, gospel-focused rendition of "Sinner's Prayer" (which offers a virtuoso piano performance, and comes courtesy of the pen of Charles' former mentor Lowell Fulson) and Henry Glover's wrenching ballad "Drown in My Own Tears," which is topped out on each verse by a gorgeous chorus. "Funny (But I Still Love You)" offers a guitar break played in such an understated fashion that it almost doesn't seem so much a part of R&B as it was usually being offered in 1957 as it does a part of Charles' early career output.
The second side of the LP is even better, opening with the title track, a number that is almost too ubiquitous in its various cover versions — the original has a mix of urgency and playfulness that's absolutely bracing, and the album carries this mood forward with "Mess Around," an Ahmet Ertegun-authored piano- and sax-driven romp with Charles at his most ebullient as a singer. "This Little Girl of Mine" offers him in a surprisingly light, almost acrobatic vocal mode, while "Greenbacks" is a knowing, clever cautionary narrative that is almost a throwback to 1940s-style R&B. "Don't You Know" is as salacious a piece of R&B as one was likely to hear in 1957, and "I Got a Woman" closes the record out on a pounding, driving note.
All the hallmarks of a top-notch Analogue Productions reissue are here for you to savor: Mastered directly from the original master tape by Bernie Grundman and cut at 45 RPM. Pressed on 180-gram at Quality Record Pressings and RTI, and housed in a tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jacket with film lamination by Stoughton Printing.
The 75th Anniversary of Atlantic Records
"75 for 75" is a series of 75 vinyl releases from Atlantic Records' storied catalog to celebrate the label's 75th Anniversary. This great label includes some of the best artists and records of all time.

Features:

• Atlantic 75 Series
• 180g Vinyl
• 45rpm
• Double LP
• Mono
• Mastered Directly from the Original Master Tape by Bernie Grundman
• Pressed at Quality Record Pressings and RTI
• Tip-On Old Style Gatefold Double Pocket Jacket with Film Lamination by Stoughton Printing

Selections:

Side A
1. Ain't That Love
2. Drown in My Own Tears
3. Come Back Baby
4. Sinner's Prayer
Side B
1. Funny (But I Still Love You)
2. Losing Hand
3. A Fool for You
Side C
1. Hallelujah I Love Her So
2. Mess Around
3. This Little Girl of Mine
4. Mary Ann
Side D
1. Greenbacks
2. Don't You Know
3. I Got a Woman