Ray [Original Soundtrack]

1	Mess Around 2:41
2	I Got a Woman 2:52
3	Hallelujah, I Love Her So Live 3:05
4	Drown in My Own Tears 3:21
5	(Night Time Is) The Right Time 3:24
6	Mary Ann 2:47
7	Hard Times (No One Knows Better Than I) 2:55
8	What'd I Say Live 4:38
9	Georgia on My Mind 3:39
10	Hit the Road Jack 2:00
11	Unchain My Heart 2:50
12	I Can't Stop Loving You Live 3:16
13	Born to Lose 3:15
14	Bye Bye Love 2:11
15	You Don't Know Me Live 3:15
16	Let the Good Times Roll Live 2:48
17	Georgia on My Mind Live 5:30

Barnes & Noble

You may have someone else play the part of Ray Charles in a bio film, but don't even think about anyone else singing his songs. Accordingly, the soundtrack to Ray -- starring Jamie Foxx as "The Genius" -- has 17 tracks of vintage Charles performances. And, as his legion of cross-generational fans know, rhythm and blues just doesn't get any finer than that. The breakthrough recordings made for Atlantic Records in the 1950s are represented by such pivotal tracks as "I've Got a Woman," Hallelujah, I Love Her So," "Drown in My Own Tears," and "(Night Time Is) The Right Time." Charles continued his hit making throughout the 1960s on ABC-Paramount with classics like "Hit the Road Jack," "Georgia on My Mind," and "Unchain My Heart," all included here. "What'd I Say," the archetypal Charles rave-up, is captured on a roaring in-concert version from the 1965 album Ray Charles Live in Concert, while such signature songs as "Born to Lose" "You Don't Know Me," and "I Can't Stop Loving You" are drawn from the electrifying 1976 album Ray Charles Live in Japan. For anyone unfamiliar with the work of an artist who, along with Louis Armstrong, was perhaps the most significant force in American popular music, this soundtrack will act as an enticing introduction to Charles' magnificent work. Those already in love with his music will enjoy a gleaming sampling of his enduring genius. Steve Futterman

All Music Guide

Unlike the soundtrack for his Jerry Lee Lewis biopic Great Balls of Fire, director Taylor Hackford didn't have Ray Charles re-record his classic songs for the soundtrack of his Charles biopic, Ray! Instead, he selected 17 songs of Ray at his '50s and '60s peak, skillfully balancing selections from both Atlantic and ABC to create a surprisingly successful and thoroughly entertaining overview. While 17 tracks can't contain all of his best work -- there's not too much of his jazz playing and just a little bit of his country-soul recordings, plus singles from "Lonely Avenue" to "Busted" are MIA -- it does hit all of the best-known songs ("I Got a Woman," "(Night Time Is) The Right Time," "Georgia on My Mind," "Hit the Road Jack"), mixing in a couple of relatively obscure tracks (such as barnburning, transcendent early R&B cut "Mess Around") and adding excellent live renditions of such staples as "Hallelujah I Love Her So," "What'd I Say," and "I Can't Stop Loving You." The end result may not be definitive, but it surely is a good introduction that will no doubt whet the appetites of listeners who were turned onto Ray Charles because of Hackford's film. Stephen Thomas Erlewine