Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Anything But This, January 20, 2006
Granted there are some terrific songs here. But the sound quality is atrocious. There are many other, newer Columbia Records compilations out there with most all these same songs on them. Case in point - the songs taken from "YEAH! ARETHA LIVE WITH HER QUARTET" ( Muddy Water, Trouble in Mind, Without the One You Love ) all have audience chatter and applause on them. We now know that these tracks were not recorded live, that this audience noise was dubbed in to give the album a intimate "supper club" type feel. It doesn't serve the songs well, and they just don't sound that good compared to the newer remastered versions widely available elsewhere. Also, the versions of Today I Sing the Blues and Evil Gal Blues are abominations. The original backing tracks were overdubbed after Aretha left Columbia Records with organs and vocals not found on the original versions. Again, I stress, these songs are great . Aretha Franklin began her professional recording career cutting lots of fabulous and funky Jazz and Blues sides, many of which are showcased here. But do yourself a favour, if you want to hear them, and buy The Queen in Waiting, or Jazz to Soul, or the Early Years. You'll thank me.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Album, June 1, 2005
I believe this album deserves to be taken more seriously than it is. It is generally believed that Aretha only found her sound when she started recording for Atlantic, but this album proves that not to be the case. This is generally a more subdued Aretha than the one who will sing, say, "Chain of Fools," but an Aretha who can be still powerful. One example is her cover of the Sinatra song, "Without the One You Love." When she sings, "those picnics at the beach, when love was new," you feel your heart break. The album also showcases Aretha displaying some of her vocal acrobatics in "Maybe I'm A Fool." Most of the tracks stand out in their own way. This is the type of CD that one wants to sit back and listen to with a glass of wine (even if you don't drink like me, at least hold the glass) during a rainy night with the lights turned off.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
After Hours with Aretha, April 21, 2001
This is definitely a DIFFERENT sounding Aretha; it's dissimilar to the one that emerged years later singing "Respect". To those who are open-minded to a "jazzy" Aretha, I urge you to give this CD a listen, you will be amply REWARDED, unless you prefer the more funked-up R&B Aretha. For me, the pleasure comes from hearing a more subdued but no less emotionally-charged Ree. Here, she sounds possessed by the spirit of Billie Holiday, wooing her listeners into a spell with somber torch songs delivered DELICIOUSLY. It is the perfect CD to play around midnight or after hours when you find yourself alone, wondering when or where the special someone is in your life. With songs such as "I Wonder Where You Are Tonight" and "Laughing on the Outside", the Big Ree will have you crying into your drink in no time. Call it blues or jazz or torch songs, this is a performance that deserves to be acknowledged by Ree's fans who are not familiar with her Columbia stuff. It is a stunner!
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~ Aretha Franklin
~ Aretha Franklin
~ Aretha Franklin
~ Aretha Franklin
~ Aretha Franklin
by Aretha Franklin 
