Aretha Live at Fillmore West [Live, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Aretha Franklin | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 14, 1993)
• Original Release Date: 1971
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Atlantic / Wea
• ASIN: B00000335L
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #140,403 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Respect

2. Love the One You're With

3. Bridge over Troubled Water

4. Eleanor Rigby

5. Make It With You

6. Don't Play That Song

7. Dr. Feelgood (Love Is a Serious Business)

8. Spirit in the Dark

9. Spirit in the Dark [Reprise with Ray Charles]

10. Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)

Editorial Reviews

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: FRANKLIN,ARETHA
Title: LIVE AT FILLMORE WEST
Street Release Date: 12/14/1993
Domestic
Genre: SOUL/R & B

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars God's Jukebox, August 14, 2004

By 

John Stodder "a.k.a. Juan La Princi" (livin' just enough) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Aretha Live at Fillmore West (Audio CD)

This great album from 1971 reminds me of Elvis Presley's "On Stage February, 1970." What these disks have in common is rather than focusing on their own hits, Aretha and Elvis perform songs that were popular at the time, and almost regardless of the quality of the original, turn them into classics, purely by application of their unique artistry.

From Aretha's catalogue, this album features a zippy version of "Respect" that shows off the band; a sensual version of "Dr. Feelgood"; her hit at that time, "Don't Play That Song"; and an extended version (featuring Ray Charles!) of "Spirit in the Dark" that is soul royalty personified. The rest of the disk comprises versions of the treacly Bread song "Make it With You," the silly Stephen Stills song, "Love the One You're With," the Diana Ross diva exercise "Reach Out and Touch Somebody's Hand," and the classic Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel songs, "Eleanor Rigby" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water."

These covers are all genius. The lesser songs like "Make it With You," are lavished with the best that Lady Soul has to offer. She treats these dumb tunes as if they were revelations of the inner workings of the human soul--and in Aretha's hands they are. Meanwhile, she completely reconcieves the great McCartney and Simon tunes, making the original versions sound like underachievers by comparison--which is really saying something since these are two of the classic productions of the 60s.

The difference is the singing. God gave Aretha a voice that is possessed with all the power, pain and pleasure of the entire human experience. A simple, banal statement like "I want to make it with you," in her voice becomes the embodiment of a basic human urge to love. A promise like, "I will lay me down" in her voice becomes a covenant that transcends time and space. No one has ever been more ribald than Aretha in "Dr. Feelgood," no one has ever been more in awe of God's majesty than Aretha in "Spirit in the Dark," no one has ever been lonelier than Aretha as "Eleanor Rigby." These tracks, and the rest of her classic performances, take human emotions to their essence in a way that goes far beyond the words she sings.

As if that weren't enough, she's backed by a great band on this record, led by the sax wizard King Curtis, the Beatle organist Billy Preston, the great jazz/R&B drummer Bernard Purdie, and a large horn section that stays in the background until you need them most.

The liner notes suggest this concert was somewhat of a foray into the hippie audience in San Francisco, and perhaps that's why she chose some of these songs--white stoners could relate. But early on the disk, she makes a promise to them that by the end of the concert, they will be happy, and she surely delivered.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Her Best Live Album, November 4, 2001

By 

"gemini_j" (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Aretha Live at Fillmore West (Audio CD)

When Aretha Franklin recorded 1971's LIVE AT FILLMORE WEST, she was backed by a group of veteran session musicians on a mix that included interpretations of popular songs and some of her trademark numbers. Franklin makes Stephen Stills' "Love The One You're With" her own with the help of Billy Preston's joyous organ work, while Bread's saccharine "Make It With You" is injected with a healthy shot of sexy sassiness.

Franklin's underrated piano playing and a healthy display of her gospel roots make FILLMORE a special recording in Lady Soul's vast canon. Franklin's skill on the eighty-eights particularly shines on her swinging treatment of the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" and the jubilant "Don't Play That Song." Franklin also plays electric piano on "Dr. Feelgood," and from this point on she turns Bill Graham's hall into a Baptist church. The call-and-response of her background singers and King Curtis' skillful band-leading/saxophone playing lead up to the high point where she brings Ray Charles out for the reprise of the testimonial "Spirit In The Dark" followed by the uplifting "Reach Out And Touch (Somebody's Hand)."

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All the way LIVE, April 3, 2000

By 

Eric V. Moye - See all my reviews

This review is from: Aretha Live at Fillmore West (Audio CD)

What a live album ought to be. Great performances by the Queen and her courtiers (and what a group she assembled: Ray Charles, Billy Preston and the late great King Curtis (in his last recording).

One of the few live albums to capture the spirit of the performance. When she and Ray Charles cut loose on an extended "Spirit in the Dark", she burns down the Filmore West!

A must have.