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RAY CHARLES "Genius Loves Company" (Concord Records) 3 stars

Ray Charles, who died of liver failure in June, may be neck-and-neck with Frank Sinatra as the most influential popular vocalist in history, so it's an almost eerie coincidence that the final studio recordings of both were duet projects pairing them with singers both simpatico and of marquee value. But while Sinatra's rote run-throughs of songs from his classic repertoire with the admiring likes of Bono and Barbra Streisand were, in most cases, literally phoned in, an audibly ailing Charles actually shared the studio (and in one case, a stage) with acolytes like Michael McDonald, Van Morrison and even Elton John, all of whom spent much of their early careers attempting to sound as much as possible like Brother Ray.

Instead of rifling through the Charles catalog, John Burk, who produced most of the tracks, has thankfully avoided unnecessary reprisals of "Unchain My Heart" and "Georgia On My Mind" in favor of songs made familiar by or suggested by Charles' duet partners. That means Charles fans get to add the lovely gravelly/whispery ...