Customer Reviews

Aretha's Best

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a so-so collection of Arthea's Greatest Hits. The only virtue of this particular collection is that it's inexpensive. The double CD "30 Greatest Hits" is a far better snapshot of Aretha in her prime. If you really want a comprehensive collection of Aretha, the 4 CD "Queen of Soul" is the gold standard of Aretha's work. The problem with "Aretha's Best" and "30 Greatest Hits" is that they cover Aretha's radio hits, some of which have been played to death. Quite a few people are unaware of Aretha's jewels like underrated "Spirit In the Dark", the Curtis Mayfield collaboration, "Sparkle" or "Amazing Grace" a brilliant gospel album she did with the Southern California Community Choir. Indeed, much of Aretha's most heartfelt and soulful music is omitted from these less comprehensive collections. There are two buying strategies for obtaining a great Aretha collection: 1) Buy the 4 CD "Queen of Soul" collection or; 2) Buy a half a dozen or so orginal releases like, "Never Loved A Man", "Spirit In the Dark", "Amazing Grace", "Sparkle", "Aretha Arrives" and "Young Gifted and Black". If you purchase "Aretha's Best", you are cheating yourself of most of Aretha's Franklin's amazing legacy. She deserves a closer listening than this collection, because she is after all the first and the best of the so called "divas", and has more soul in her little finger than the whole lot of the bloodless, octave swooping singers of today. Hail to the Queen of Soul...

This is a good collection for the casual fan of Aretha, or new fans starting out. A better compilation is the 30 Greatest Hits CD, which spans most of her career. This album pays much attention to her 70's and 80's hits, where she still reigned as the Queen of Soul, but if you want the real deal about Aretha, check out 30 Greatest Hits or some of her Gospel albums, as well her live albums such as Live At The Fillmore West and Live In Paris, those are all golden albums by Aretha!

I am not what you would call a "huge" Aretha fan, but I must say I love all of her big hits!

Well when I found this collection and saw that all of her essentials were on here and also noticed that this was from Rhino, I went out and bought it. Well Rhino, for the first time, you have me really dissapointed.

This CD's main problem is sound quality; now I'm not a professional on dropouts and mono and stereo and things like that, but I know when something does not sound right. Is it just me or does the instrumental section on "The House That Jack Built" really sound very distorted? And "Chain of Fools" has seen better days.

An artist like Aretha deserves much better than this. I really must say from a great company like Rhino, I cannot believe they couldn't make a better collection.

This is great music, but not a great collection.

This is the best collection of Aretha. If you are a serious collector of soul, she deserves multiple purchases of her releases. If you are trying to give some depth to your CD collection, then this one will probably make you the happiest and give you a full range of what made her the best there will ever be.

Matching up Aretha's Eighties hits with her Sixties and Seventies work was a bad idea. The synths and fake-o drums that were the rage back in 1985 just sound soul-less next to "Bridge Over Trobled Water," "Chain of Fools," and the like. Not to say the Eighties were a bad decade for Aretha - her pop stands well above what some other soul icons were putting out at the time. Those years were recently anthologized in a greatest hits package some time back and are best kept separate. Buy that record, plus "30 Greatest Hits," and you've got the woman's best in a nutshell.

There are many Aretha Franklin collections out there. Some might say that the Queen Of Soul box set is the most comprehensive and detailed overview of the one and only Aretha Franklin, but when Aretha's Best was issued in 2001, it was turning out to be another affordable best-of collection. For some people, Aretha's Best is an afforable, all-bases covered collection, but there a couple of flaws here. First of all, the tracklisting is weak but, remember this is just the beginner. Songs like Respect, Rock Steady, & You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman is on this collection. This collection doesn't go that far, maybe from 1967 to 1984. Unlike this collection, the Queen Of Soul box set has a lot of songs for the total of 86 classics, which is the only collection I would invest in if I wanted one complete Aretha Franklin collection. So I would buy the 4-CD Queen Of Soul boxset or the double disc, 30 Greatest Hits collection for a more percise Aretha collection. You might not feel comfortable listening to this collection if you're a hardcore fan, but this is for the beginner. So, enjoy and listen to the Queen Of Soul- Aretha Franklin.

In my opinion, this collection was made only for the casual fan who only wants one CD of Aretha Franklin. This is the only CD you can have both the major highlights of her Atlantic years and Arista years. Maybe that was what the purpose is for this collection.

Having stated that, I only recommend this album to the casual fan. Aretha fans should get her box set or if you only want the hits, get the "Best Of..." 2 CDs or her "30 greatest hits".

Woe to the person in charge of picking the two dozen songs that would fill one compact disc of Aretha Franklin's "Best." I personally wouldn't know where to begin or end. Other reviewers here who say you really need to dig deeper and buy her full albums to really appreciate the depth of artistry that is the Queen of Soul aren't just saying that because they own stock in Atlantic Records. They're saying it because it's true. Absolutely, these songs are incredible ( although I'm still not convinced that "Jump To It" should be here.) But there is SO MUCH MORE, an embaressment of riches to be found in the recording career of Aretha Franklin. She is without a doubt the most important vocal artist of the last fifty years. She has been singing and recording albums since she was a teenager. There is more than the Aretha you hear on the radio. In other words, if all you want is a quick nostalgia fix, then by all means, get this cd and play it to your heart's content. But if you really want to know what SOUL is, do yourself a favor and dig a little deeper. Get Lady Soul, or Live at the Fillmore West, or Amazing Grace. Then come back and tell me I'm wrong.

Aretha's best work, showcased here, proves that she has justly earned her title as Queen of soul despite some ups downs in her long career. Aretha took a long time to establish herself but once signed to Atlantic, she found a producer (Jerry Wexler) who was able to make the most of her distinctive talents.

Aretha has had many major hits in America although she has not been particularly successful in the British singles charts - only four of her hits made the UK top ten, two of which were duets with Brits.

During her time with Atlantic, Aretha's classic songs included Respect, Think, You make me feel like a natural woman, I say a little prayer, Since you've been gone, Spanish Harlem, I never loved a man the way I love you, Do right woman do right man, Until you come back to me and a very distinctive cover of Bridge over troubled water.

Aretha eventually left Atlantic, joining Arista in 1980. This rejuvenated her career although she never quite achieved the level of success that she had in her early years with Atlantic. However, she had two major international hits via duets - Sisters are doing it for themselves (with the Eurythmics) and I knew you were waiting for me (with George Michael), the latter becoming a number one hit in Britain (where it remains her only number one hit) and America. She also just missed the UK top ten with Who's zooming who - but most of her UK hits in the eighties were minor hits, just as they had been in her Atlantic years.

This compilation, spanning several decades of Aretha's music, clearly shows why she is regarded as the Queen of soul. There are many Aretha compilations to choose from, but if you want one covering her whole career, this is a good choice although the British double CD (Respect) is a good alternative.

I've love Aretha franklin since I was very young child... My mother would play her music as she clean the house... Although I was to young to understand her talent at the time I have grown and learn to love and respect her as a greart taleted soul singer... As a singer now I reflex and study her soulfulness to learn from... This is a great CD because it has all of her greatest hits and anyone who loves and resepects soul music would enjoy this CD... The Queen Of Soul Title Is Well Deserve....;)