Artist: Aretha Franklin
Album: I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You
Year: 1967
Aretha Franklin is well-known as the Queen of Soul, and the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Outside of her biggest hits, I was pretty much unfamiliar with Franklin's music prior to listening to I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You, Franklin's debut album on Atlantic Records.
There is no doubt this woman can sing, and this album provides her the ability to showcase the various sides of her voice. It has some absolutely legendary songs, not least of which is "Respect," one of the most instantly recognizable tracks in this history of popular music. I don't really care for the song myself, but that could be more a result of its overexposure than its quality. I preferred the slower songs in this set, like "Don't Make Me Lose This Dream." That song, and others like it (the beginning of "Do Right Woman - Do Right Man"), show off a relatively quiet side of Franklin's voice, which I greatly prefer over the shouty version she essays on some of the bigger hits here.
As should be well known by now, I'm not a fan of soul in general. I can say, however, that this is a particularly strong set of songs well suited to their performer. But it seems like Aretha kind of oversings at times. When comparing her with someone like Ray Charles who has a completely effortless, smooth delivery...I'm gonna pick Ray every time. Plus the ever-present backing vocals on this album get to be really annoying and samey after awhile.
But anyway, I feel like I'm dumping quite a bit on this album, and it really is unwarranted. It's a good album. Aretha's a good vocalist--not my personal favorite of the genre, but still really obviously talented. The songs here are memorable. Solid stuff, even it's not really my cup of tea.
Rating: Worth a listen
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