Unreleased

The death of Ray Charles brought a new focus to his earliest Swing Time recordings. The popular notion that these Los Angeles blues, ballad, and swing recordings were somehow inferior to his most widely known work was put to rest. Night Train's previous double CD ("The Complete Swing Time/Down Beat Recordings" - NTI 2CD 2001) showed that Charles' foray through Central Avenue blues and pop (a la Nat King Cole) was as credible and valuable as his later R&B and country & western recordings. With the release of "Ray Charles: Unreleased" Night Train is pleased to present an exciting find: a body of unreleased alternate takes from the Swing Time era. These recordings, many of which are taken directly from original metal session discs, show that the brilliance of Charles' artistry transcended business decisions that may have deemed a released version of a song to be worthier than an unreleased version. The highest standards of restoration have been applied to the presentation of this extremely exciting find.