Even for a relatively brief (20-song) overview of Ray Charles's '60s output during the peak of his recording stardom at ABC-Paramount, Anthology covers a hell of a lot of styles. It couldn't be any other way, not when examining the period in which he hit the charts with transformed versions of half-forgotten standards ("Georgia on My Mind"), hip jazz instrumental takes on Clovers tunes ("One Mint Julep"), rocking uptempo R&B ("Hit the Road Jack") and mournful proto-countrypolitan ("I Can't Stop Loving You"). If any of those four titles means a thing to you, this primer on America's greatest singer is probably a disc you should own. --Rickey Wright
