Charles "made it acceptable for black people to sing country & western music, in the process doing almost as much to break down racial barriers as did the civil-rights movement." Subsequent work by Charles In addition to the album's legacy as one of the most influential recordings of all time, Modern Sounds also had an effect on Charles's later work. According to writer Nate Guidry, the recording marked the zenith of Charles's popularity and success. By the mid-1960s and continuing into the 1970s and 1980s, the majority of his musical output was focused onto more middle of the road and pop releases, featuring less of his recognizable, trademark soul and R&B, and more of the crossover and fusion tendencies of Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music. On the album's influence, columnist Spencer Leigh of The Independent stated that "Numerous artists followed Charles's lead, but it must be said that Charles himself repeated the trick much too often." The period of releases following Modern Sounds has been recognized by writers as a "critical slide" and the weakest in his recording career. Several of the LP albums from this period have yet to be reissued and have remained rare among record collectors, if not out of print. Charles's final studio album Genius Loves Company (2004) would later be released shortly after his death, and proved to be a comeback success, in terms of sales and critical response, as it quickly became Charles's first top-10 album in forty years and the best-selling record of his career. On October 27, 1998, Rhino Entertainment issued a four-disc box set entitled The Complete Country & Western Recordings: 1959–1986, which chronicles Charles's country and western recordings. The collection features the two volumes of Modern Sounds, as well as his later country singles for Warner Bros. Included in the set is a hardcover booklet of essays by producer Sid Feller, writer Daniel Cooper, and Ray Charles, along with liner photography by Howard Morehead and Les Leverett. On June 2, 2009, both volumes of Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music were reissued as a single package by Concord Music. Track listing All tracks were produced by Ray Charles and Sid Feller. In October 1988, the album was reissued on compact disc by the specialty record label Rhino Entertainment, with sides one and two combined as tracks 1–12 accompanied by three bonus tracks. Personnel Musicians Ray Charles –