Album Description
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Producers: Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd, Arif Mardin.
Compilation producer: Gary Stewart.
Includes liner notes by Steven Ivory.
Digitally remastered by Bill Inglot and Dan Hersch (DigiPrep).
Personnel: Aretha Franklin (vocals, piano).
Liner Note Author: Steven Ivory.
30 Greatest Hits is still the preferred essential document for the Atlantic years, but this is certainly an excellent 16-track primer of her most popular late-'60s tracks. Most of them are also on 30 Greatest Hits. But if you've got a particular yen for Aretha's early Atlantic period (which was also her very best), you'll find all the biggest smashes from that era here, including "Respect," "Chain of Fools," "Think," "The House That Jack Built," "Baby I Love You," "I Never Loved a Man," and so forth. ~ Richie Unterberger
If there is a better female soul singer than Aretha Franklin in this galaxy, we have not yet heard her. This Rhino compilation, while in no way comprehensive, is nonetheless an outstanding sampler of songs by one of soul music's all-time giants. Save a couple of missteps (the crossover attempts of her versions of "Elenor Rigby" and "The Weight") there's not a dud among these 16 songs and some, like "Chain of Fools," "Baby I Love You," and "Respect," rank among the greatest pop songs ever recorded.
Franklin's performances are mesmerizing and seem to embody the perfect balance between nuanced sensitivity and sheer powerhouse wailing. The combination of her unique magnetism and the quality of such songs as "Think," "I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)," and "(You Make Me Feel) Like A Natural Woman" is almost too good to be true. The album's only shortcoming is that there aren't more tracks to savor. A perfect introduction to this phenomenal singer.
