30 Greatest Hits

Aretha Franklin | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Atlantic
• ASIN: B001551B5W
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #157,250 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitive Collection of Lady Soul's Best Work...an Absolute Desert Island Selection, February 22, 2009

By 

Ed Uyeshima (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 30 Greatest Hits (Audio CD)

If you need validation of Aretha Franklin's legacy, look no further than this definitive collection of her best work recorded for Atlantic Records between 1967 and 1974. I have owned this two-disc set for over twenty years since its release in 1985, and I never tire of it. In fact, I return to it often and would have to conclude it to be one of my desert island selections. Teamed up with the equally legendary production team of Jerry Wexler and Arif Mardin, she sparked magic on an amazingly consistent basis during this period. Before signing with Atlantic, Franklin recorded for Columbia but was erroneously being marketed as a jazz chanteuse. After Wexler's departure from Atlantic in 1974, her work, I feel, declined artistically, and Franklin's subsequent recordings with Arista, although more commercial, were not nearly as memorable.

Disc One opens appropriately with her first breakout hit, the heart-ripping "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Loved You)". Then the onslaught of classics - her signature cover of Otis Redding's "Respect" which completely eclipses his version; the loping doo-wop of "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man"; the roof-raising take on Carole King's "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman"; the had-it-up-to-here anthem, "Chain of Fools". Her soulful covers of the Band's "The Weight" and the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" reflect her personal style without compromising the memory of the original performances. Franklin takes Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "I Say a Little Prayer" quite literally and converts it into a uniquely gospel-tinged love song of longing and regret. Her soaring vocals on potentially inane confections such as "See Saw" and "The House That Jack Built" elevate their substance significantly.

Disc Two continues the hits with particular standouts being a near-inspirational version of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's classic, "You're All I Need to Get By"; an almost hymnal version of Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water"; and the cruising "Spanish Harlem". My personal favorites are her dramatic cover of Lulu's 1969 hit, "Oh Me Oh My (I'm a Fool for You Baby)"; the appropriately named "Day Dreaming"; and her last big Atlantic hit, Stevie Wonder's "Until You Come Back to Me" with a playfully sauntering melody an intriguing contrast to its obsession-oriented lyrics. But honestly, there is not a single disappointment among the thirty tracks here and some, especially the religion-fueled numbers like "Wholly Holy" and "Spirit in the Dark", are simply transcendent. This set is the one to own.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars what a musical artist, January 9, 2011

By 

Sue Ann Martin - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 30 Greatest Hits (Audio CD)

The product was in excellent condition. A lot of the songs I had never heard and I've been around a long time. I did enjoy them, tho. I'm glad I purchased this CD.