George, I love this review, a massive improvement on the original one (again, it was good but this is simply much more thorough and extensive). I always thought this was a really excellent album and quite underrated: like you said, Aretha for the first two decades of her career was generally in top-level form, and it really comes down to the songs she was given, the atmosphere she was in, and the players backing her up. That's what makes Franklin so incredible to me: she was happy to ride the waves of her time but try to adapt those waves to her personality and charisma, and because of that, she consistently encapsulated the best sides of her era (unlike Otis Redding or Al Green, for example, who individually had too much charisma to do that as well as Aretha). And you are so right about Aretha in how she adapts that strength in an organic way, it's exactly in the same way you (absolutely 100% correctly) described Bessie Smith's power coming from how natural the mix of strength and vulnerability come out in a natural expression of her soul. I love Ruth Brown, but she is not always believable on certain songs where you still detect hints of vaudeville or theatricality (she transcended it in her prime, though), but Aretha would never at her best sing in a strong way that isn't believable. That's why her music always moves me to tears, it's deeply humanistically beautiful, which is the best type of beauty because it's a beauty all people possess.
Also, "Won't Be Long" is one of my favorite songs of hers! It's like how I really enjoy those early Beatles or Muddy Waters songs: they hadn't fully established themselves as artistic giants, but their raw personality shines through sometimes even more powerfully than when they would have more polished compositions. I will admit that even though I've heard the album 6-7 times, I haven't really remembered any of the other songs as well, but I will vouch to your idea that she is in truly excellent form on every song, even the fluffier songs, and there is no reason to ignore this album in favor of her classic period albums (and personally, I think it is maybe even better than a couple of albums from her classic period). But yeah George, this was a very extensive review that I enjoyed reading and I am glad you gave it the time it deserves. Excited to see the blog heading onwards into George's favorite decade :)
My only real point of criticism is "Because, honestly, this stuff still totally blows contemporary Ray Charles out of the water." Surely if we talk about some of the boring sappy slop he put into LPs, but wasn't 1961 the year he released the magnificent "Unchain My Heart" and "Hit The Road Jack"? Surely those songs aren't blown away by Aretha?
I thought Lady Marmalade was Patti Labelle's signature song. Over The Rainbow didn't even chart.
Anyway, just one more strong reason why the song should have stayed in 1939. Patti LaBelle sticks a dynamite fuse to the songs she covers rather than uncovers their hidden potential.
Sorry, no, attempts to turn the song into a painful tear-jerker really don't work for me. It still remains the same rosy fluff, only soaked in pain, and I'd rather keep the rosy fluff and the pain separate. It's like making a heavy metal cover of 'Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da' - no amount of distortion and growling can ever disguise the fact that it's a kid song, and at best you'll end up with a post-modern deconstruction like Babymetal.
George, I love this review, a massive improvement on the original one (again, it was good but this is simply much more thorough and extensive). I always thought this was a really excellent album and quite underrated: like you said, Aretha for the first two decades of her career was generally in top-level form, and it really comes down to the songs she was given, the atmosphere she was in, and the players backing her up. That's what makes Franklin so incredible to me: she was happy to ride the waves of her time but try to adapt those waves to her personality and charisma, and because of that, she consistently encapsulated the best sides of her era (unlike Otis Redding or Al Green, for example, who individually had too much charisma to do that as well as Aretha). And you are so right about Aretha in how she adapts that strength in an organic way, it's exactly in the same way you (absolutely 100% correctly) described Bessie Smith's power coming from how natural the mix of strength and vulnerability come out in a natural expression of her soul. I love Ruth Brown, but she is not always believable on certain songs where you still detect hints of vaudeville or theatricality (she transcended it in her prime, though), but Aretha would never at her best sing in a strong way that isn't believable. That's why her music always moves me to tears, it's deeply humanistically beautiful, which is the best type of beauty because it's a beauty all people possess.
Also, "Won't Be Long" is one of my favorite songs of hers! It's like how I really enjoy those early Beatles or Muddy Waters songs: they hadn't fully established themselves as artistic giants, but their raw personality shines through sometimes even more powerfully than when they would have more polished compositions. I will admit that even though I've heard the album 6-7 times, I haven't really remembered any of the other songs as well, but I will vouch to your idea that she is in truly excellent form on every song, even the fluffier songs, and there is no reason to ignore this album in favor of her classic period albums (and personally, I think it is maybe even better than a couple of albums from her classic period). But yeah George, this was a very extensive review that I enjoyed reading and I am glad you gave it the time it deserves. Excited to see the blog heading onwards into George's favorite decade :)
My only real point of criticism is "Because, honestly, this stuff still totally blows contemporary Ray Charles out of the water." Surely if we talk about some of the boring sappy slop he put into LPs, but wasn't 1961 the year he released the magnificent "Unchain My Heart" and "Hit The Road Jack"? Surely those songs aren't blown away by Aretha?
I can understand the omission since it's beyond the purview of this blog, but its Patti Labelle's signature song.
I thought Lady Marmalade was Patti Labelle's signature song. Over The Rainbow didn't even chart.
Anyway, just one more strong reason why the song should have stayed in 1939. Patti LaBelle sticks a dynamite fuse to the songs she covers rather than uncovers their hidden potential.
"‘Over The Rainbow’ is a song that never ever ever worked for anybody except Judy Garland..."
Eva Cassidy, anyone? Is there anything else, anywhere, like her repetition of the 'Somewhere over the rainbow' line?
Michael Greengard
Sorry, no, attempts to turn the song into a painful tear-jerker really don't work for me. It still remains the same rosy fluff, only soaked in pain, and I'd rather keep the rosy fluff and the pain separate. It's like making a heavy metal cover of 'Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da' - no amount of distortion and growling can ever disguise the fact that it's a kid song, and at best you'll end up with a post-modern deconstruction like Babymetal.