Aretha Franklin - The Queen In Waiting: The Columbia Years 1960-1965 [2CD] (2002) [Japan]
R&B, Soul, Soul-Jazz, Vocal | EAC Rip | FLAC, Img+CUE+LOG+Scans (JPEG) | 02:06:58 h. | 812,51 Mb
Label: Sony Music Japan International Inc. (Japan) | Cat.# SICP 8072~3 | Released: 2002-11-20 (2002-09-24)
Franklin's Columbia years are hard to summarize in compilations, even fairly extensive ones such as this two-CD set, which includes six previously unreleased tracks and one previously unavailable alternate take among its 40 songs. In part that's because she explored several different styles during this era without really finding a home in any of them, in part that's because the quality of the recordings themselves were so erratic, and in part it's because Sony keeps putting out compilations that duplicate each other to a fair extent. About half the songs on this anthology, for instance, also appear on the most comprehensive previous Franklin/Columbia retrospective, Jazz to Soul. On its own merits, this is a fair summation of some of her more notable Columbia recordings, slightly more pop-oriented in its track selection than Jazz to Soul, and at least including something new in the handful of unissued numbers.