Aretha Franklin (Photo © Neal Preston; used with permission)
There have been no shortage of Aretha Franklin anthologies and now the Queen of Soul has been celebrated again with a new boxed set, Aretha, that spans her entire career. The collection’s 81 newly remastered tracks include alternate versions of classic hits, demos, rarities, and live tracks, like her stunning performance of “(You Make Me Feel) Like A Natural Woman” at The 38th Annual Kennedy Center Honors in 2015. The title, originally announced for 2020 to coincide with her upcoming biopic, Respect, arrived on July 30, 2021, via Rhino in a variety of editions, including a 4-CD set.
Listen to several of the songs below. Respect, the highly anticipated biopic about Franklin’s life starring Jennifer Hudson, now opens on August 13.
The singing legend died August 16, 2018, at age 76.
The collection is accompanied by liner notes written by Rochelle Riley, author and director of arts and culture for the City of Detroit, and David Nathan, a music journalist and soul historian who interviewed Franklin more times than any other living writer. The collection features artwork by celebrated artist Makeba KEEBS Rainey, who provides her signature style to a photo of the Queen of Soul taken by Neal Preston.
Aretha includes recordings for all the labels Franklin recorded for but the majority is dedicated to her significant tenure with Atlantic Records between 1967 and 1979, which included five consecutive #1 R&B albums. The first two unreleased songs on the collection – “My Kind Of Town (Detroit Is)” and “Try A Little Tenderness” – are home demos that she recorded in 1966 to give Atlantic executive and producer Jerry Wexler an idea of possible material for her debut LP for the label. “My Kind Of Town (Detroit Is)” finds Franklin replacing the classic “Chicago” lyric from the Sinatra version of the song with a callout to her hometown.
Listen to “My Kind Of Town (Detroit Is)”
Arranged in mostly chronological order, Aretha opens with “Never Grow Old” and “You Grow Closer,” which were released as her first single in 1956 by J.V.B Records. Notably, she recorded these gospel songs at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, where her father, C. L. Franklin, was the longtime pastor.
The next 10 songs focus on the period between 1960 and 1966 when Franklin was signed to Columbia Records. The music includes her first single with the label (“Today I Sing the Blues”), her first single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 (“Won’t Be Long”), plus the Top 40 R&B hits “Runnin’ Out Of Fools,” “One Step Ahead” and “Cry Like A Baby.”
Related: Legendary Columbia talent scout John Hammond talks about discovering Franklin
Franklin’s biggest hits are here too, like “I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You),” “(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You’ve Been Gone” and her signature smash, “Respect.” But instead of using familiar takes for other hits, the collection selects different versions, like alternate takes of “Chain Of Fools,” “Rock Steady,” and “Spanish Harlem”; live recordings of “Baby I Love You” and “Don’t Play That Song”; and “Think” recorded for The Blues Brothers soundtrack.
Watch the scene from the movie
Her early 70s collaboration with producer Quincy Jones is revisited with a trio of unreleased recordings including the Franklin original “The Boy From Bombay” and an alternate version of her take on the Sondheim and Bernstein classic “Somewhere.”
Listen to Franklin’s previously unreleased cover of “You Light Up My Life”
Aretha also includes her work with Arista Records between 1980 and 2007. Standouts from this era include hits like “Jump To It” and “Freeway of Love.” This period also featured a number of memorable collaborations including “Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves” with Eurythmics and the #1 hit “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)” with George Michael.
The set also features the CD debuts of several television appearances, including duets with Tom Jones (“It’s Not Unusual/See Saw”), Smokey Robinson (“Ooo Baby Baby”) and Dionne Warwick (“I Say A Little Prayer”). The collection also rounds up rarities like her cover of Donny Hathaway’s “Someday We’ll All Be Free” from the Malcom X soundtrack and her live performance of “Nessun Dorma.”
See the complete track listing below the links.
Aretha Track Listing
Disc One
“Never Grow Old”
“You Grow Closer”
“Today I Sing The Blues”
“Won’t Be Long”
“Are You Sure”
“Operation Heartbreak”
“Skylark”
“Runnin’ Out Of Fools”
“One Step Ahead”
“(No, No) I’m Losing You”
“Cry Like A Baby”
“A Little Bit Of Soul”
“My Kind Of Town (Detroit Is)” – Demo *
“Try A Little Tenderness” – Demo *
“I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)”
“Do Right Woman – Do Right Man”
“Respect”
“A Change Is Gonna Come”
“Chain Of Fools” – Alternate Version
“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” – UK Single Version
“(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You’ve Been Gone”
“Ain’t No Way”
“My Song”
“You Send Me”
“The House That Jack Built”
“Tracks Of My Tears”
Disc Two
“Baby I Love You” – Live
“Son Of A Preacher Man”
“Call Me” – Alternate Version *
“Let It Be”
“Young, Gifted And Black” – Alternate Longer Take *
“Bridge Over Troubled Water” – Long Version
“It’s Not Unusual/See Saw” – with Tom Jones *
(Originally Broadcast on This Is Tom Jones, October 9, 1970)
“You’re All I Need To Get By” – Work Tape *
“Brand New Me” – Work Tape *
“Spanish Harlem” – Alternate Mix *
“Rock Steady” – Alternate Mix/Take
“Day Dreaming”
“Share Your Love With Me” – Live
“Don’t Play That Song” – Live
“Dr. Feelgood” – Live
“Spirit In The Dark” (Reprise with Ray Charles) – Live
“How I Got Over” (Single Edit) – Live
“Master Of Eyes (The Deepness Of Your Eyes)”
Listen to her long version of “Bridge Over Troubled Water”
Disc Three
“Somewhere” – Alternate Version *
“Angel” – Work Tape *
“The Boy From Bombay” *
“Til It’s Over” – Demo *
“Oh Baby” (a.k.a. “There’s Something Magic About You”) – Demo *
“Until You Come Back To Me” – Work Tape *
“I’m In Love” – Alternate Vocal
“Without Love”
“Mr. D.J. (5 For The D.J.)”
“You”
“Something He Can Feel”
“Look Into Your Heart”
“Break It To Me Gently”
“When I Think About You”
“Almighty Fire (Woman of the Future)”
“Ladies Only” – Short Version
“You Light Up My Life” *
“Ooo Baby Baby” – with Smokey Robinson *
(Originally Broadcast On Soul Train, December 1, 1979)
“Amazing Grace”
(Originally Broadcast On Royal Variety Performance, November 23, 1980)
Disc Four
“Think”
“I Say A Little Prayer” – with Dionne Warwick *
“United Together”
“Jump To It”
“The Wind”
“Freeway Of Love”
“Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves” – Eurythmics & Aretha Franklin
“I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) – Aretha Franklin and George Michael
“Oh Happy Day” – with Mavis Staples (Live at New Bethel Baptist Church, Detroit, MI – July 1987)
“A Rose Is Still A Rose”
“Someday We’ll All Be Free”
“The Makings Of You”
“Nessun Dorma” – Live
“At Last” – with Lou Rawls *
(Originally Broadcast On American Soundtrack: Rhythm, Love And Soul, March 2003)
“You’ve Got A Friend” – Ronald Isley featuring Aretha Franklin
“Rolling In The Deep” – The Aretha Version
“My Country ’Tis Of Thee”
“(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” – Live *
(Originally Broadcast On The 38th Annual Kennedy Center Honors, December 19, 2015)
Listen Franklin and Staples perform “Oh Happy Day” live in 1987
Franklin’s multi-octave voice moved millions around the world during an unrivaled career that spanned six decades and garnered the singer-songwriter every achievement and honor imaginable.
Watch the official trailer for the biopic, Respect
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