What a Fool Believes

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Aretha Franklin is the Queen of Soul because, well, that's exactly what she is, and her legacy is built on the amazing late-'60s hits she had with Atlantic Records, a run of undisputed classics like "Respect," "I Never Loved a Man," "Chain of Fools," "Baby I Love You," and "Think." She had a few chart hits here and there most notably "Who's Zoomin' Who" and "Jump to It" after her contract with Atlantic ended in the late '70s, and she's never been less than a simply astounding singer, but her 1960s sides are easily the high-water mark of her long career, so it's disappointing to find none of those classic tracks here in this two-disc set, and one could therefore argue convincingly that this package isn't at all "the best of Aretha Franklin." What it is, actually, is a nice survey of the key tracks from her post-Atlantic years, and it's impressive, sure, but one still wants to hear those amazing Atlantic sides. They're that good, and truth be known, they eclipse most of what's presented here.