RAY CHARLES GENIUS SINGS BLUES RARE ORIG LTD EDITION 180-GR MFSL AUDIOPHILE LP

$

43

WE CURRENTLY HAVE  MORE THAN 300  LISTED ITEMS

►Click here to see ALL our ROCK auctions ►Our PSYCH & PROGRESSIVE  auctions ►Our PUNK & NEW WAVE  auctions ► Our  JAZZ auctions ►Our BLUE NOTE JAZZ auctions  ►Our BLUES auctions ►Our CLASSICAL auctions ►Our COUNTRY auctions ►Our FUNK auctions ►Our LATIN auctions ►Our METAL auctions►Our REGGAE auctions ►Our SOUL auctions ► Our STILL SEALED ITEMS  ►Our PROMO auctions ►Our ACETATE  auctions ►Our TEST PRESSING  auctions  ►Our AUDIOPHILE auctions

♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫

·       RAY CHARLES – GENIUS SINGS THE BLUES - ORIGINAL 2012 MOBILE FIDELITY (MFSL) HIGH-QUALITY 'ORIGINAL MASTERS' AUDIOPHILE, EXTENDED DYNAMIC RANGE VIRGIN VINYL LP MFSL-1-337

·       ORIGINAL U.S. PRESSING

·       LIMITED EDITION; THIS COPY HAS THE NUMBERED EDITION BOX LEFT BLANK, WHICH MEANS THAT THIS IS A PROMOTIONAL COPY

·       ORIGINAL BLACK AND SILVER MFSL LABEL WITH ‘GAIN 2’ LOGO

·       THIS IS THE ORIGINAL, AUTHENTIC, FIRST U.S. AUDIOPHILE PRESSING; THIS IS NOT A REISSUE, AN IMPORT, OR A COUNTERFEIT PRESSING.

·       ORIGINAL, THIN CARDBOARD COVER (NO THICK CARDBOARD MOBILE FIDELITY COVERS WERE EVER PRODUCED FOR THIS TITLE)

·       THICK, HEAVY VINYL PRESSING

·       CLEAN, WEAR-FREE LABELS

(►PLEASE SEE THE IMAGE OF THE COVER, LABEL OR BOTH, SHOWN BELOW)

(Note: this is a REAL image of the ACTUAL item you are bidding on. This is NOT a "recycled" image from our previous auction. What you see is what you'll get.  GUARANTEED!)

♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫

Make no mistake: what ‘Nightbeat’ is for Sam Cooke, what ‘Otis Blue/Otis Redding sings Soul” is for Otis Redding and what “Tell Mama” is for Etta James, ‘Genius Sings the Blues’ is for Ray Charles – simply his most brilliant artistic statement, his shining hour,  the resplendent showcase for his vocal and instrumental talent, which – on this album – is on abundant, almost overpowering, display – and the crowning achievement of his 50-year career. 

By far the least commercially successful of all Ray Charles' Atlantic albums – and, as a result, one of the hardest-to-find - this 1960 album is (in our humble opinion) ALSO by far Brother Ray’s best… released almost as an afterthought by Atlantic to capitalize on Ray Charles’ newly found fame and fortune after Brother Ray signed up for ABC-Paramount and abandoned Atlantic in 1960, this gorgeous collection compiles his seminal early Blues, Soul and R&B sides recorded for Atlantic between 1952 and 1959. The tracks vary between straight blues (Feelin' sad - Nobody cares - Some day baby) to bouncy, jumpy R&B Kansas City-style vocal Jazz (Early in the morning) to straight Rock & Roll (Ray's wonderful cover of Hank Snow's "I'm movin' on" which shows his early proclivity for country music and even Rockabilly).  Songs on this album have been covered by anyone and everyone in the universe. Just one of the tracks - the incredible "I believe to my soul" must have been covered by more than 30 artists - both black and white - over the past 50 years, including Joe Cocker, Humble Pie. Donny Hathaway and many, many, many more.  You are looking at what surely must be one of three or four defining moments of Soul Music. Period, end of the sentence, end of the story, case closed.

For its extraordinary contribution to the modern music, superb production, craftsmanship, fine musicianship, revolutionary significance and influence it exerted on numerous generations of musicians, writers and general public, or for some other innate quality, this album was voted one of top-200 albums of all time in one of the largest poll of critics, music reviewers, professionals and producers ever organized: the poll, which was conducted by Paul Gambaccini, legendary BBC Radio A&R man, surveyed more than 50 top music professionals (including Roy Carr, Jonathan Cott, Robert Christgau, Cameron Crowe, Chet Flippo, Ben Fong-Torres, Charlie Gillett, Greil Marcus, Murray the K., Lenny Kaye, Bruce Morrow (a/k/a "Cousin Brucie"), Tim Rice (of "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Evita" fame), Lisa Robinson, Robert Shelton (who wrote liner notes for Bob Dylan's first album), Ed Ward, Joel Whitburn, Pete Wingfield, etc.). For more details, see: "Critics Choice: Top-200 albums" compiled by Paul Gambaccini, Omnibus Press, Library of Congress Catalog No.7855565 (or ►click here  for complete album listing)

And, finally, if this is of any relevance (and I do not claim that it is):  Genius Sings The Blues is an important  entry in ►my personal top list. Other entries - in no particular order - include  Love, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Everly Brothers, James Carr, Can, Tim Buckley, Byrds, Five Royales, Stooges, Richard and Linda Thompson and  Muddy Waters)

This is a rare opportunity to acquire this great album in its FINEST audio format, no longer in print, and no longer easily obtainable.

For additional historical or discography information on this album, including track listing ►click here

TO SEE IF WE HAVE OTHER LISTED ITEMS BY THIS GROUP OR ARTIST ►  CLICK HERE

♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫

·                               CONDITION:

·                               THE RECORD

(IMPORTANT NOTE: unless otherwise noted, ALL records are graded visually, and NOT play-graded!; we  grade records under the strong, diffuse room light or discrete sunlight)

(a)          WE GRADE THE VINYL  AS  NEAR MINT. Some VERY LIGHT AND SUPERFICIAL abrasions – mostly sleeve scuffs -  are (barely) visible, but are probably inaudible,  and do not affect visual integrity or beauty of the vinyl. The original luster is very much intact, and the vinyl shines and sparkles almost like new.

(b)          The record comes in a hi-grade MFSL PVC inner sleeve, which has - apparently with success - shielded the record from the harmful impact of elements over many years!

(c)           The record is pressed on a beautiful, high-quality, virgin-grade vinyl, which is usually used for audiophile, extended-dynamic-range, half-speed mastered and connoisseur pressings.

(d)          In addition, the record is pressed on a thick, inflexible vinyl.

(e)           Of course, this is a full-bodied ANALOG recording, and not an inferior, digital recording!!!

·                               THE COVER

THE COVER IS NEAR MINT !

The following flaws or imperfections are noted on the cover:

-        Cover has JUST A HINT of ring wear (nothing significant); On the scale from 1 to 10 (1 being the least, and  10 being the most severe), we assess the severity of ring wear as 1.

-        Cover shows JUST A HINT of yellowing on both sides, apparently from aging.

NO OTHER VISIBLE FLAWS OR IMPERFECTIONS ON THE  COVER

♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫

POSTAGE & SHIPPING:

We offer THREE postage rates for both Domestic and International Mail: Media Mail, Priority Mail and Express Mail for domestic, and First Class, Priority International Mail, and Express International Mail for international orders. INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS PLEASE NOTE: WE RECOMMEND that you pay for USPS International Priority Mail OR International Express mail when making a payment in order to obtain tracking information, which is NOT available for First Class International shipments.

INTERNATIONAL POSTAGE rates vary from country to country. For SPECIFIC international and domestic postage rates ►click here. While you can be rest assured that ►our packaging is careful, sturdy and impact-proof, please note that damage, loss or theft in transit is always possible, and in the case of some countries even PROBABLE. To discuss this potential problem and ensure flawless delivery, please contact us thru eBay BEFORE placing a bid.

WANT A DISCOUNT ?!? 

IT’S EASY: CLICK ►HERE TO see HOW!

(please note recent changes in our policy)

♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫

FOR OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION, CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW:

►OUR VOLUME DISCOUNTS AND POSTAGE REBATES ►OUR GRADING POLICY ►ITEMS WE DO NOT GRADE ►HOW TO ACKNOWLEDGE WINNING BID OR RESOLVE A DISPUTE ►OUR PAYPAL “CHARGEBACK” POLICY ►ACCEPTABLE PAYMENT METHODS ►OUR REFUND POLICY ►POSTAGE RATES AND DISCLOSURES ►PAYMENT DEADLINES ►FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)

♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫

OUR REFUND POLICY :

WE OFFER UNCONDITIONAL MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE WITHIN 30 DAYS FROM THE RECEIPT OF THE MERCHANDISE, NO QUESTIONS ASKED (THE BUYER PAYS FOR THE RETURN POSTAGE); Still sealed items MUST be returned sealed in order to be eligible for a refund Some restrictions apply. Please read our complete refund policy before placing a bid. ►Click here  for the full text of our policy

© 2001,2007 MDJ. All rights reserved.