Amazing Grace: The Complete Recordings

Aretha Franklin | Format: MP3 Download

Product Details

• Original Release Date: May 4, 1999
• Label: Rhino Atlantic
• Copyright: 1999 Atlantic Records Inc. Manufactured & Marketed by Warner Strategic Marketing.
• Total Length: 2:35:18
• Genres: Christian & Gospel/Gospel, Christian & Gospel/Live Recordings, R&B/Live Recordings, R&B/Soul
• ASIN: B0018AM1OO
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars TRULY AMAZING, September 11, 2004

By 

J. Brady (PAWLEYS ISLAND, SC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Amazing Grace: The Complete Recordings (Audio CD)

If you think Aretha Franklin's early Atlantic albums were the perfect combination of gospel, soul and rock, and you haven't heard this set, then you need to. It is in my opinion the best record of her career. Recorded live, with a few overdubs, during two nights at a church, she is backed by a great band, and a truly amazing choir. She is joined on occasion by the Reverend James Cleveland ( most notably on an awe-inspiring and spine tingling rendition of Precious Memories ). Amazing Grace was originally two compact discs, but was much shorter, and had most of the sermons taken out. This re-issue is the COMPLETE 2 nights,sermons included, and with all of the original overdubbing removed. If you have listened to both versions as many times as I have , you will spot the few overdubs that were removed. This is Aretha in a voice more primal, more moving, more soulful than at any time in her long recorded career. Everything else pales in comparison. A truly gifted woman at her prime. This is a must have fans of Franklin or fans of Gospel music.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll Never Walk Alone, December 13, 2002

By 

David Bradley "David Bradley" (Sterling, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Amazing Grace: The Complete Recordings (Audio CD)

There was a time, not too long ago, when the Rhino label was ridiculed because it wasted a lot of time and effort releasing oddities that nobody needed--triple-disc box sets from one-hit wonders and the like--but, for my money, Rhino has become one of the most important labels in the industry.

That's because they have turned their attention to saving some forgotten classics from the dustbin. And don't kid yourself for a second, though it may never have been heard on LP-format FM radio when it was released in a more abbreviated format in 1973 (though it is one of Franklin's best selling LPs), AMAZING GRACE is one of the absolute classics of it's time, a chunky R&B treatment of Gospel by thE Queen of Soul.

Aretha Franklin ranks with Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald as one of the all-time great American singers, and this CD showcases her amazing pipes in a perfect setting: piano, organ, a bit of drums and guitar, but mostly the power of Cleveland and the Southern California Community Choir carrying things along. The mix gives Franklin room to breathe and move. The result is one of the earthiest albums you'll ever hear.

"How I Got Over" is a real Southern Baptist shouter, but it's the tunes that start off in a gentle slide that most clearly demonstrate Franklin's mastery: "You'll Never Walk Alone," "What A Friend We Have In Jesus," and "Amazing Grace."

There's even a great instrumental, Baptized version of George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord."

This is a tour de force which everyone should own, and one of my all-time favorite records.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dissapointing..., June 28, 2004

By 

Visa (Norway) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Amazing Grace: The Complete Recordings (Audio CD)

I brought this cd because i lost my copy of the original amazing grace cd. But when i got amazing grace: the complete recordings, i was very dissapointed, most because my favorite songs on the original recording; Old landmark and climbing higher mountain, have been replaced by different versions, which does not showcase Aretha`s vocal skills as they do on the original recording. Although the packaging and booklet are great, i would much rather reccomend the original cd, at lest if you want to hear Aretha at her very best:)