1. Chain of Fools*
2. Money Won't Change You
3. People Get Ready
4. Niki Hoeky
5. (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman)*
6. (Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone*
7. Good to Me As I Am to You
8. Come Back Baby
9. Groovin'
10. Ain't No Way
B+
So I'm on record as disliking Aretha Franklin. I can explain that dislike perfectly by using one of the songs here as an example. Franklin's cover of the Impressions' "People Get Ready" starts out as a very well-performed, if a little fiery, rendition of the song, only to devolve into a lot of aimless testifying that completely misses the point of the original's understated charm. I get it, Aretha Franklin - you had an amazing voice. Maybe just tone it the fuck down a little.
That said, I mostly found myself enjoying this album. A lot of that has to do with Franklin's backing band, who provide a drum-tight, almost dirty, and rhythmically propulsive background for Franklin and the Sweet Inspirations to wail over. "Niki Hoeky" rocks like few songs we've had at this point. "Chain of Fools" hits like a hammer. It's pretty great.
But, ultimately, this is not the sort of music I like. I do like R&B, but I prefer mellower, more understated stuff like Curtis Mayfield or Erykah Badu. When I think about this sort of bold, brassy stuff, I have to admit that I kind of feel like a voyager in a foreign land. Everyone else seems to love this shit, and I'm, just like "What the hell is the fuss about?". Then I go and listen to Belinda Carlisle. None of us are perfect.
So, this is a very good album for what it is, but what it is is something I don't give a shit about. So probably listen to it, because you will probably think it's great.
Also, let's just look at the lyrics for "Ain't No Way" for a moment:
"I know that a woman's duty
Is to help and love a man
And that's the way it was planned"
Yeah, score one for Women's Lib, Aretha. Still, The Blues Brothers was pretty cool.
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