Widely regarded as one of the best female soul vocalists of all time, she is nicknamed the Queen of Soul or simply referred to as Aretha. In 1987 she was the first woman to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (Performer)…
30 Greatest Hits zeroes in on Aretha Franklin's prime recording period for Atlantic, from her breakout in 1967 with 'I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)' through the end of 1974, during which the Queen of Soul truly reigned over the charts she averaged over one pop hit every two months. This two-disc set delivers all of her classics ('Respect,' 'Do Right Woman, Do Right Man,' '(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,' 'Chain of Fools,' 'Think,' 'Spanish Harlem,' 'Rock Steady'), plus much more excellent material for those who won't recognize much more than the songs (and there are quite a few) that have entered the cultural consciousness ('I Say a Little Prayer,' 'The Weight,' 'Spirit in the Dark,' 'Day Dreaming'). It's a great foundation to any collection that has yet to be equaled by a pair of Rhino sets, the two-volume Very Best of Aretha Franklin from 1994 and Aretha's Best from 2001.
To say that Aretha Franklin was one of the greatest American artists of all time is an understatement. Her multi-octave voice moved millions around the world during an unrivaled career that spanned six decades and garnered the singer-songwriter every achievement and honor imaginable. Her reign as the Queen of Soul will play out across four discs on a new boxed set from Rhino that is the first to span her entire career, including songs from every label she recorded with.
"Yet another 5-album box by the great Queen of Soul, which brings together her very first works. A very young Aretha but with great talent she has become the sacred monster par excellence of black music. The albums reissued for the occasion are "The gospel soul of Aretha Franklin", "Aretha with the Ray Bryant Combo", "The tender, tha moving, the swinging", "The electrifying Aretha Franklin" (which I love!) and " Laughing on the outside". Even in this case I can only confirm 5 stars."