Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Queen Aretha at the top of her game; my favorite Atlantic album, June 24, 2001
This album is a masterpiece, and is my personal favorite of Aretha's secular Atlantic releases. It is absolute proof that when Aretha is "on," no one could (or can) touch her. TGILWY has some supernatural vocals -- all of the acrobatics, uncanny phrasing/timing, subtle interpretations, squalls, and different shadings of her late 60's/early 70's work are here, with a range that can at times just leave you dumbfounded. You can't help but wonder what kind of faces she made when she hit some of those notes.
With the sole exception of The Weight, each cut here is absolute perfection from a soul/blues perspective, seasoned with heavy doses of gospel influences. The Weight, while not awful, is certainly out of place in this set and some feel it doesn't belong in Aretha's catalog at all (although it was a moderate hit for her at the time).
But Aretha's interpretations of the two Beatles' songs are priceless, as is her cover of Son Of A Preacher Man. And the blues songs, Sit Down And Cry & It Ain't Fair are better heard than written about. Her own Call Me is southern soul at its finest, topped off by a beautifully understated string arrangement.
Sonically, this album is one of Atlantic's worst, with lots of airy "hiss." It's time for a true remastering, not what Rhino sometimes passes off as such. This is even more of a pity considering that this is one of Aretha's best efforts ever, and that's really saying something.
Aretha is a highly underrated blues/gospel pianist. TGILWY marks the final time when she would accompany herself on each and every song of an album.
As a hardcore Aretha fan that owns virtually everything she released, I've learned to tell it like it is when it comes to her music. Like any artist, she's had a few moments that don't do her justice but this album is NOT one of them. Sonic quality aside, I would highly recommend this album to anyone that wants more exposure to 'Ree beyond the endless greatest hits packages, or anyone that wants a sample of what the epitome of soul was back in early 1970.
Long live Queen Ree. May Rhino soon properly remaster this set AND release some outtakes from this time period that remain in the vaults.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Call me the moment you get there, January 6, 2006
This is Aretha's first album released in the 1970's. Then, she was not any longer as hot as her early days at Atlantic in 1967-1968 but she still managed to get TOP 20 albums and singles now and then.
THIS GIRL'S IN LOVE WITH YOU, released in January 1970, was mainly composed of remakes of other artists's hits: SON OF A PREACHER MAN, LET IT BE, DARK END,...
In my opinion, the best tracks here are the hit single from the album (CALL ME) and the superb ELEANOR RIGBY, which sounds even better than the original, with its R&B arrangement.
It's not Aretha's best work but it's close. Not enough original material maybe. The LET IT BE remake is awful, SON OF A PREACHER MAN is not as good as the original but all these songs together with a few good songs and the two great tracks make this collection a rather good one.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Moving assuredly into the 70s, March 16, 2004
Firstly, with March 25th looming, let's all wish the queen a very happy 62nd birthday. Certainly within the baby-boomer generation she was and still is the greatest female singer to arrive. We perhaps might allow Streisand to stand at Aretha's right hand, but all others are at least a step behind. You don't have to take my word for it; look among her work offered here on Amazon and just start counting how many of her albums average a full, filled-in five stars.Aretha and her fans beheld a new decade as this one, originally Atlantic LP 8248 was released on January 15, 1970. It carried many sides that had already gained popularity as singles in '69: "The Weight" (Atlantic 2603 in February), "Share Your Love With Me" (Atlantic 2650 in July) and "Eleanor Rigby" & "It Ain't Fair" (Atlantic 2683 in October). Six days after the album came out "Call Me" & "Son Of A Preacher Man" made the two sides of another single (Atlantic 2706). Aretha had had first dibs on "Preacher Man" and initially took a pass, but then Dusty Springfield grabbed it and took her version into the Pop top 10 in late 1968; Aretha changed her mind about that one. Both versions are quite enjoyable. Later, in July, "Let It Be" would ride the b-side of "Don't Play That Song" (Atlantic 2751). Speaking of remakes, with the title song, Aretha does again here what she managed with another song that had been a Dionne Warwick hit first, just like "I Say A Little Prayer." In each instance, she so magically recast the songs that I think if she'd sung them in a different language, you'd have difficulty convincing someone (even yourself!) that they were the same songs. Only the lyrics are your clue. I've read that when Aretha takes someone else's song, they can't take it back again. I don't know that I agree to the point of saying Warwick's versions of the two songs were no longer enjoyable - they are. But I do agree to the point that when Aretha recasts any song for her own interpretation, that version then becomes uniquely hers, and no one else can do it like her. If that's not genius, folks, what is?
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