Analogue Productions Atlantic 75 Audiophile Series created in honor of the 75th Anniversary of Atlantic Records. This is not just a product but an experience, a curated collection of 75 premium titles from the historic Atlantic Records' vault. Each title is a testimony to the golden era of music, capturing the essence of some of the greatest artists ever known.

• Analogue Productions Atlantic 75 Audiophile Series
• Numbered Limited Edition
• 2LP 180 Gram Audiophile Vinyl
• Cut at 45rpm for the absolut best sound quality!
• Cut by Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering
• Analog cut directly from the Original Master Tape - Mono
• Pressed at Quality Record Pressings, QRP USA
• Tip-On Old Style Gatefold Cover by Stoughton Printing

Analogue Productions (Atlantic 75 Series), Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Atlantic Records!

Iconic musician and singer Ray Charles' classic 1957 album! Includes the hits "Hallelujah I Love Her So," "Ain't That Love" and "I Got a Woman".

180-gram 45 RPM double LP, Mastered directly from the original master tape by Bernie Grundman.

Pressed at Quality Record Pressings. Tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jackets with film lamination by Stoughton Printing.

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 tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jackets with film lamination by Stoughton Printing.

Track Listing:

01. Ain't That Love
02. Drown In My Own Tears
03. Come Back Baby
04. Sinner's Prayer
05. Funny (But I Still Love You)
06. Losing Hand
07. A Fool For You
08. Hallelujah I Love Her So
09. Mess Around
10. This Little Girl Of Mine
11. Mary Ann
12. Greenbacks
13. Don't You Know
14. I Got A Woman

Click here to listen to samples on YouTube.com ♫