RARE & UNRELEASED RECORDINGS FROM THE GOLDEN REIGN OF THE QUEEN OF SOUL - ARETHA FRANKLIN
From the opening bars of the title-track demo for “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You),” there’s no trouble channeling the goose bump-raising atmosphere that yielded Aretha Franklin’s groundbreaking Atlantic debut. That song is just one of the enthralling, you-are-there moments on this double-CD of ’60s- and ’70s-era demos and outtakes. The fervor and versatility of Franklin’s gospel-bred vocals and emotive piano playing still mesmerize, whether on the demo of another classic (”Dr. Feelgood”) or the outtake of Leonard Cohen’s “Suzanne.” Other gems include a jazzed-up reading of the Beatles’ “The Fool on the Hill,” an Aretha-fied cover of the Supremes’ “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” and a church-stompin’ duet with Ray Charles on “Ain’t but the One.” Listening to this treasure trove, it’s instantly clear why no one has been able to wrest the crown away from the Queen of Soul.
