Aretha Franklin - Aretha Sings The Blues

A diva pre-soul, but still soulful

When Aretha exploded into the ’67 soul boom, the story was that Atlantic had found the “real” Aretha after six wasted “easy listening” years with Columbia. But with the CD reissue of most of her earlier work, it has slowly dawned on even the most Atlantic-biased fans (like me) that, hey, the stuff on Columbia was pretty amazing too. True, they ladled on those syrupy strings a bit, but that was par for the course in the early 60s (see Ray Charles). And the ballad-heavy choice of material was often more about presenting her as the new Dinah Washington than allowing her young gospel fire to let rip.

But listening to this great compilation (an expanded version of a 2002 Sony set), you can hear what inspired John Hammond (who also signed Dylan and Springsteen) to grab her for Columbia. Barely into her 20s, she has incredible majesty and power, an instinctive blend of gospel, blues and jazz that stretches way back beyond her years. She’s at her best here in a small group setting, rather than the orchestral sounds, and best of all when produced by Clyde Otis. Some of the songs here stretch the term “blues” a bit – it’s all a long way from Robert Johnson – but it’s moody, late-night listening par excellence.

4 stars 4 stars 4 stars 4 stars

SPV | 43092 CD

Reviewed by Alan Lewis
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