Cuatro años de la muerte de la reina del soul, aunque siga plenamente viva en la memoria, y en los tocadiscos, de sus fans y de los buenos aficionados a la música.
Aretha Franklin: recomendaciones
Aretha Franklin falleció el 16 de agosto de 2018, el mismo día del año que Elvis. Tuvo su película “Respect” en 2021 , protagonizada por su amiga Jennifer Hudson, su miniserie de TV, “Genius: Aretha” y una excelente caja de 4 CDs a modo de resumen de una de las más impresionantes carreras que la música negra ha dado en el último siglo.
“Aretha” incluye 81 temas remasterizados, mayoritariamente de sus famosos años en Atlantic Records, pero abarca desde las primeras canciones hasta sus últimas grabaciones, cuenta además con versiones alternativas de algunos de sus mayores éxitos, demos y presentaciones en directo.
La caja incluye clásicos como “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)”, “Do Right Woman – Do Right Man” y “Respect”, a menudo en versiones diferentes, como tomas alternativas de “Chain Of Fools”, “Rock Steady” y “Spanish Harlem”; grabaciones en vivo de “Baby I Love You” y “Don’t Play That Song”; y “Think” en la toma para la banda sonora de The Blues Brothers.
La colección no olvida la era Arista de su producción y el set incluye “Jump To It” o “Freeway Of Love” y una serie de colaboraciones memorables como “Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves” con Eurythmics y “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)” con George Michael.
Y entre los cortes inéditos, una versión de estudio de 1978 de “You Light Up My Life” de Debby Boone.
ARETHA:
CD 1
“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”
CD 2
“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)”
CD 3
“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)
CD 4
“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)
ARETHA (HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE BOXED SET)
2-LP vinyl (same track listing on a single CD)
Side One
“Never Grow Old”
“Today I Sing The Blues”
“One Step Ahead”
“I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)”
“A Change Is Gonna Come”
Side Two
“Respect”
“Chain Of Fools” – Alternate Version
“Call Me” – Alternate Version *
“Rock Steady” – Alternate Mix/Take
“How I Got Over” (Single Edit) – Live
Side Three
“Master Of Eyes (The Deepness Of Your Eyes)”
“Until You Come Back To Me” – Work Tape *
“Something He Can Feel”
“You Light Up My Life” *
“Think”
Side Four
“Freeway Of Love”
“I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) – Aretha Franklin and George Michael
“Someday We’ll All Be Free”
“A Rose Is Still A Rose”
“(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” – Live*
(Originally Broadcast On The 38th Annual Kennedy Center Honors 12/19/15)
*Previously Unreleased Audio