I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You

What a voice.

Awe inspiring. I have to go through her entire discography from beginning to end now. I'm reminded of this quote from Billy Preston: "I don't care what they say about Aretha. She can be hiding out in her house in Detroit for years. She can go decades without taking a plane or flying off to Europe. She can cancel half her gigs and infuriate every producer and promoter in the country. She can sing all kinds of jive-ass songs that are beneath her. She can go into her diva act and turn off the world. But on any given night, when that lady sits down at the piano and gets her body and soul all over some righteous song, she’ll scare the shit out of you. And you’ll know—you’ll swear—that she’s still the best fuckin’ singer this fucked-up country has ever produced."

Though I prefer Lady Soul (of the 2 Aretha albums I’ve listened to in full), there’s a certain gift in performing decent songs and making them sound like the anthem of a generation. Those Redding & Cooke covers, they’re enough to justify listening to this in full.

HL: “R.E.S.P.E.C.T.”, title track, “A Change is Gonna Come”, “Save Me”, “Don’t Let Me Lose That Dream”

These types of albums are the hardest for me to rate. There's no denying that it's good, she can sing, the songs are tight, etc. But I just don't like it. After a couple of songs I get bored.

This is Aretha Franklin's 10th studio album, and is her first with Atlantic Records. From what I understand, in her time with Columbia, they were trying to mold her into a pop star, forcing her to try and fit into a mold of what was popular at the time, and that just wasn't her. Atlantic gave her artistic freedom to just be herself, and man does it show on this record. Her vocal runs and creative freedom shines bright here!

Her backing band on this record, Muscle Shoals Sound Rhythm Section, were super tight, melding seamlessly with Aretha's huge voice. It was with this record, that she blew the top off of the soul/blues genres and paved the way for future acts to aspire to.

Every song on this album is phenomenal, and just makes ya wanna move.

On an unrelated note: Every time I hear Aretha's name, I think of the part of School of Rock, where Dewey is trying to convince Tomika that she can sing in front of people, even though she's a bigger girl. "You've heard of Aretha Franklin right? She's a big lady. But when she sings, she blows peoples minds! Everyone wants to party with Aretha!!"

Favourite songs: Respect, Good Times, Save Me, A Change Is Gonna Come, Soul Serenade, I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)

Least favourite song: if forced to choose, "Baby, Baby, Baby"

5/5

Voimakasta menoa! Erityisesti Respecthän on nyt klassikko. Jostain slowareista en sit niin välittänyt, joten taitaa mennä keskitielle 3/5

hi aretha!

Absolute killer voice. Reasonable songs.

Respect. Suena muy bien y se disfruta bastante. Hay algunas buenas canciones más pero todo está eclipsado desde el principio: "Don't Let Me Lose This Dream" o "Baby, baby, baby".

Nothing but a solid Aretha Franklin album.

average

Mixed feelings on this album. The first 3 and last 3 tracks are brilliant! The middle tracks seemed to drag the album down. I was close giving it a 3, but the bookends are so good it deserves more.

I did listen to this, but I forgot to review it. The singles are good, from what I remember.

sock it to me sock it to me sock it to me sock it to me sock it to me sock it to me sock it to me sock it to me sock it to me sock it to me sock it to me sock it to me sock it to me
Probably my favorite album I was served this week.

What a voice

This album is good for the soul. I can't help but feel the music and want to join in.

Aretha's powerful and adept vocals are first and foremost the glorious centerpiece of every track. But when I listen to songs like "A Change is Gonna Come" I also realize that her performances enhance the movement and the emotions of the underlying music as well. Every pause and flourish beautifully embelishes the solid framing that the band provides.

The songs don't just reference the range of human emotion, they evoke them, and that is one of the truest measures of art that I can think of.

Brilliant voice, brilliant songs, properly stopped me in my tracks at points. The title track, A Change is Gonna Come and, of course, Respect were highlights.

One of the best soul albums of all time - my favourite cover of a change is gonna come

R.E.S.P.E.C.T! I wanted that album like 15 more times on repeat. fabulous all the way through