Who's Zoomin Who

Aretha Franklin | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Arista
• ASIN: B000002VD3
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #196,475 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Freeway of Love

2. Another Night

3. Sweet Bitter Love

4. Who's Zoomin' Who?

5. Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves

6. Until You Say You Love Me

7. Ain't Nobody Ever Loved You

8. Push

9. Integrity

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Queen's Best '80s Recording, December 30, 2001

By 

Peter (East of Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Who's Zoomin Who (Audio CD)

Much has been said of Aretha's somewhat disappointing post-Atlantic label output, when she left for Arista Records. This CD proves that notion wrong. The "Queen" sounds invigorated, sassy and in great voice on this outing. Like one of the songs, "Freeway of Love", she really steps on pedal in her pink Cadillac and ZOOMS her vocals. Compared with her other Arista CD's, she has rarely sounded better than on this recording. Of course having some great songs help too. There are the hits "Who's Zoomin Who" "Another Night" and the aforementioned.

But it is her rendition of "Sweet Bitter Love" that knocks the ball out of the park on a homerun. This is an old chestnut she recorded at Columbia Records in the mid-60s (pre-Atlantic days). She draws every emotional note from this blues-tinged song, it's almost like going to church, but Aretha is singing to hold on to an unfaithful lover. I wish she would do more songs in this vein, where she goes all out vocally. There's enough variety here to please almost any Aretha fan, the dance-floor hits and the gospel-flavored slow jams. She gets plenty of support from guests such as Annie Lennox, who only enhance this memorable CD. Producer Michael Narada should be credited with adding enough funk and juiced arrangements that don't get in the way of Aretha's remarkable vocals.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the Second Reign, September 5, 2005

By 

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

This review is from: Who's Zoomin Who (Audio CD)

Or Aretha, Part Two. By the end of the 1970's Aretha Franklin's relationship with Atlantic Records had soured and her commercial and critical clout had all but disappeared. Enter Arista Records, and the dawn of a new decade. Never having got caught up in the Disco craze, Aretha was able to wipe her slate clean and get on with her life and her career. A few mildly succesful albums followed, she was able to again get nominated for Grammy Awards, and get her name in the soul charts. But pop success alluded her, until "Who's Zoomin Who?" took the nation by storm in the mid 1980's. The single lead single "Freeway of Love" was a huge smash. It managed to do what none of her singles in the previous ten years did - attract a big mainstream audience without sounding compromised and without alienating her fan base. Part dance, part rock, part soul. It was a winning combination and an undeniable, unstoppable hit. She broke out in a big way, garnering a new, younger audience, and recapturing the momentum that was seemingly lost. A few more Top Ten hits followed, and the Queen was back on top. Looking back, twenty years after "Who's Zoomin' Who?" was released, I think this album stands up. It doesn't sound dated, like some of her other 80's releases. "Freeway of Love" is still exciting, and managed to get me on my feet when I saw her in a rare concert performance a few years ago. The title track is still as funky as anything she's ever recorded. The single "Another Night" still has sass, and a lyric that really bites hard ( "you were phasing out, my sweet, and I knew it...you didn't give a damn how I got through it" ) The album cuts are just as good. "Until You Say You Love Me" still sounds as sweet to my ears as it did coming out of my boombox in 1985. "Sweet Bitter Love" ( a song she had recorded in the early 1960's when she was still with Columbia Records ) has a vocal that is much more mature, much more worldy ( and world weary ) than the original. The hit "Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves" is a duet with Eurythmics' Annie Lennox, and is another deft blend of rock, dance and soul. And with all due respect to Annie, whom I love, Aretha really steals the show ( indeed, she has the Last Words on this cut, "Thank you I'll get it myself.") This album is a real winner. A great comeback, a must-have for fans, and a good introduction for the curious.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Doin' it with Integrity., October 24, 2003

By 

"at0mic0734" (Calgary, AB Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Who's Zoomin Who (Audio CD)

This is perhaps the most successful album she's done for Arista.. and for good reason, since it's one of the best. Her Arista years haven't necessarily lived up to her glory years on Atlantic, but she's released some great stuff nonetheless.. From the megahit "Freeway of Love" to the pure soul of Van McCoy's "Sweet Bitter Love".. and even the pop reggae of "Ain't Nobody Ever Loved You" (one of the few singers who managed to make a good song out of that pop-reggae trend in the mid 80s)..Every single track on this album is a gem...from start to finish...The title track, "Another Night" and "Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves" (with The Eurythmics) are pure pop perfection, as well as "Push" (with Peter Wolf and Carlos Santana) which is probably the best song that Michael Jackson never did.. Aretha and producer Narada Michael Walden had paired up several times throughout the 80s, but they never topped this one.. A great pop album from the Queen of Soul.. Definitely worth a listen..