Aretha Franklin Aretha And The Genius

Queen of soul, Aretha Franklin, released a monster recording in 1970, with her album, "Spirit In The Dark". The album often under appreciated thunders with Franklin’s musical genius and boasts her ravishing piano playing. The album peaked at #2 on Billboard’s Top R&B Albums and includes the hit singles, “The Thrill Is Gone” and “You and Me.” Franklin also won the GRAMMY Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for the smash tune, “Don’t Play That Song.” Experience the power of one of music’s greatest legends as a pristine hi-res download.

To say that Aretha Franklin was one of the greatest American artists of all time is an understatement.

This anthology has a distinct purpose-to demonstrate that while at Columbia Records, Aretha Franklin did some exceptionally fine, even memorable, ballad singing. Aretha's early pop career has been consistently denigrated. The conventional line has it that while at Columbia, she was drowned in a sea of strings, her sensibility withered by a steady diet of Tin Pan Alley material more suitable for Nancy Wilson or Diahann Carroll. Lord knows there were many bloated, catastrophic recordings during those years. And even some of her most sensitive ballad readings were hindered by arrangements and orchestrations that were far from sympathetic-either too lush and overblown, or prosaicly simple. For these reasons, this album is more an anthology of great moments than of fully realized productions. But these tentative excursions by a former gospel singer into a strange new world possess a rare delicacy and fervor.

Queen of soul, Aretha Franklin has had an illustrious career, with 18 GRAMMY Awards, 2 lifetime achievement awards, and countless chart-topping hits, "Hey Now Hey" is one of Franklin’s finest releases. Produced by music genius, Quincy Jones, this experimental work features the powerhouse’s gospel-driven vocals producing a jazz/soul masterpiece. The album peaked at #2 on Billboard’s Top R&B charts and includes the gem “Angel”. Franklin, the first female to be inducted into the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame can now be experienced like never before.

Stevie Wonder is one of America's most beloved icons and an undeniable genius, not only of R&B, but of pop music in general. Blind practically since birth, Wonder created vibrant, colorful music bursting with life and ambition thanks to his keen sonic awareness. Almost everything he recorded bore the stamp of his sunny, cheerful positivity; even when he addressed serious topics like racism or social and spiritual issues (which he did quite often in his heyday) or sang about heartbreak and romantic uncertainty, there always seemed to be an underlying sense of optimism and hope.
In The Many Faces of Stevie Wonder, we'll explore both his early work (featuring collaborations with Marvin Gaye and Clarence Paul) and the vibrant soul and R&B scene from which he emerged triumphant, including songs by The Four Tops, The Temptations, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Otis Redding and others. With fantastic artwork and remastered sound, The Many Faces of Stevie Wonder is the latest addition to our Many Faces collection. The album will not be available on streaming platforms!

This series highlights the visual style & musical impact of individual artists with each episode dedicated to a particular Artist, the Video Directors and Stylists who gave the World visual statements.

My Soul Looks Back: The Genius of Marion Williams 1962-1992 is an outstanding 25-track portrait of the legendary gospel singer in all of her glory. Listening to early sides like "Packin' Up" and "Surely God Is Able," it's easy to understand her influence on the likes of Little Richard and Aretha Franklin. These powerful songs are primal blasts of energy with all the cathartic transcendence more commonly attributed to rock & roll. Closer to R&B than any of her contemporaries, Williams also flirts playfully with the blues on cuts like "Dead Cat on the Line" and "It's Your Time Now But My Time After Awhile," and even dabbles in country on a cover of Roy Acuff's "The Great Speckled Bird." Whatever the setting, however, her voice is a marvel of improvisatory brilliance, her soprano never less than devastating. This is gospel at its finest.

Allan Harris is the outstanding and internationally renowned vocalist, guitarist and composer. With his gruff, gravelly voice, his penchant for hep cat diction, and the serpentine bebop turns of his vocalese creations, the late Eddie Jefferson might not seem the ideal match for a classic romantic crooner like Allan Harris. The Brooklyn-born singer has previously paid homage to the songs of Billy Strayhorn and Nat King Cole, repertoire that seems like a more ideal fit.