75. Nina Simone- Wild Is The Wind

Release Date: 1966
Label: Philips

A bizarre choice for this book simply because this album isn't a proper album as such, but a collection of discarded tracks from previous sessions.Having said that, apart from the live tracks in the middle, you could be forgiven for not realising this, Some songs will be recognisable to the listener from later cover versions (Lilac Wine and the be gorgeous Wild is the Wind) but the great song on the album is 'Four Women', whose downcast melody and passionate vocal comes straight after the upbeat opener.

Rating: 7/10

Favourite Track: Four Women

51. Otis Redding - Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul

Release Date: 1965
Label: Stax

Otis Redding had one of the coolest voices in soul. He's up there with Marvin Gaye when it comes to pure vocal talent, and it would be interesting to hypothesise on how his career would've developed had he not Buddy Holly'd it back in 1967 (days after he'd finished recording his signature song (Sitting On) The Dock of The Bay. There is nothing speciail about the music on this album, but there doesn't need to be.

Rating: 7/10
Favourite Track: A Change is Gonna Come

40. James Brown - Live At The Apollo

Release Date: 1963
Label: King

Yet another live album for me to sink my ears into, and one I'd actually heard of after years of noticing it whilst working at HMV. Unfortunately, it's the worst of the ones I've heard so far even though it has the highest reputation. I didn't like it, and felt no connection. Sorry James.

Rating: 3/10
Favourite Track: Night Train

38. Sam Cooke - Live at the Harlem Square Club

Release Date: 1963
Label: RCA

For years I'd been wanting to buy a Sam Cooke compilation with all his hits on, but none of the ones I saw ever drew me in. I knew next to nothing about the man but for some reason what I'd heard made me want to investigate him more. Eventually I managed to track something down and it regular gets a spin on my CD player. It is, however, nowhere near as good as this. It's sad to remember that a man with such talent and ability to captivate an audience was only two years away from his death because this collection of tracks proves what a fantastic artist he was.

Rating: 9/10

Favourite Track: Chain Gang

20. Ray Charles- The Genius of Ray Charles

Release Date: 1959
Label: Atlantic

I confess to having a pamphlet sized knowledge of Ray Charles. I know he was blind, he was portrayed by Jamie Foxx in the 2004 biopic, and I know he wrote What'd I Say. Apart from that, I don't know much. According to this album though- and it's a very bold statement to make- the man is a genius. Now, I don't want to start and arguments here, but I think the word 'genius' is a tad too strong. Whilst Mr. Charles is certainly talented (if the evidence of this record is to go by), he is no genius. If Mr. Charles or his record company don't want to get sued for false advertising, perhaps the album should be titled 'The Appreciative Talents of Ray Charles' instead. This album started of well, but just couldn't keep it up and seemed to fall away at the end.

Overall: 5/10
Favourite Track: Let The Good Times Roll

Next Album: Miles Davis- A Kind of Blue