Customer Reviews

The Great American Songbook

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Aretha Franklin could sing the menu from your local Chinese takeaway and it would still be brilliant. This collection comprises 18 recordings from the 60s, interpretations of compositions by Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer, George and Ira Gershwin, and Irving Berlin to mention a few.

Sounding very young (she was in her twenties when these were recorded) with her vocals strong and expressive. Some of the songs have Jazzy arrangements (the bouncy "Love For Sale", the horn-driven "What A Diff'rence A Day Made"), some string-swathed Soul ("My Little Brown Book", "Try A Little Tenderness", the Gospel-tinged "Cold Cold Heart", the piano-sprinkled "God Bless The Child"), bouncy Jazz/Soul ("Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody"), and Gospel ("Are You Sure"). Her vocals are top notch, but special mention must be made of her fiery performance in "That Lucky Old Sun".

Die-hard fans will probably already own these tracks (from the various albums they were culled). For others like me, this is a superb overview of some of Ms Franklin's overlooked gems.

These tracks are hardly "overlooked gems"; they have been constantly re-issued (at least annually) by Columbia/Sony since Aretha hit the big time after her move to Atlantic in 1967. There is not one new track. From Aretha's eight excellent original Columbia lps the label has continuously milked her catalog to death, under dozens of new titles and concepts, all the while releasing precious few unrelased tracks from ths vaults. Any Aretha fan already has every track on this cd 5 times over.
Buy the original 8 Columbia albums (all available on cd, including 2 for 1 offers) becuase every Aretha fan needs each one! Skip all these shoddy compilations.

This collection is from an early time, before "Respect", which was my first contact with her. It shows off her vocal range and a great talent to interpret songs with style and class.

I thoroughly enjoyed this album,a lot of very early Aretha and some
tracks that I have not heard before.
It is a great album I would recommend to anybody.Not one of her best but good listening

These early Columbia cuts are interesting examples of the Queen when she was only a Princess. They are over produced but you catch hints of the greatness to come.