I don’t know about other people, but I sometimes take things for granted. In the case of music, I think I’ve taken Aretha’s singing for granted. I mean, I always knew she was the Queen of Soul and all that, but knowing that doesn’t really speak to the pure quality of her singing. I mean, she’s got hits, which is how most people regard quality, I guess, but for me, the not-as-popular songs are the ones that tell the whole story. Bearing that in mind, let’s check out Good To Me As I Am To You. Natural Woman, Respect, Chain of Fools, et al are wonderful songs, and I’m not frontin on them at all, but Good To Me…she should be famous for this song. Seriously.
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You’d never know it from Oldies Top 40 and Easy Listening radio, but most of our 1960’s R & B stars’ unsung tunes represent their best work. In Aretha’s case, “Baby, Baby, Baby” is a masterpiece, her sense of timing and improv on “Rock Steady” is nonpareil, “Ain’t No Way” has the emotion of a letter, and “The Old Landmark” puts most full-time gospel belters to shame..
Girlfriend’s piano playin’ ain’t bad either.
as far as gospel goes, i don’t even like ‘mary don’t you weep,’ but her vocal control on there is outSTANDING. nobody had it like Aretha.
Have you heard the old hymns she cut in Detroit when she was in her early teens? “Precious Lord” and “There is a Fountain” and some other stuff… it’s pretty mind-blowing; for my money it’s some of her best singing on record.