Aretha in great form as artist

Found. Two albums that certainly make the case for the continued existence of CDs or better yet, the full scale written of luxurious vinyl albums.

One is a new album by the fabulous Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. And I am happy to say that it is hugely accessible for all types of music fans. It is Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics. It presents Aretha in great form as a song artist doing an excellent collection of timeless hits by other popular pop divas.

First off. Adele should feel very flattered. Aretha has included her song Rolling In The Deep in her new album This means that no less than Queen of Soul Aretha has lifted Adele and placed her alongside divas like Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross, Gladys Knight and others of the same level who have hits featured in the album. This must be the ultimate of compliments.

On the other hand though it did not really come as a surprise to those familiar with the story of how the album was born. Aretha sang Rolling In The Deep when she appeared in David Letterman’s show. The feedback her performance received was massive and most were requests for Aretha to cover other hits. Big music guy Clive Davis was probably also watching and decided that he must produce that album for Aretha.

If you love music then you must have already heard about Davis. He started out as a lawyer, then became an A&R guy, moved up the ranks to president of Columbia, then established Arista Records. Along the way he helped chart the route to the top for artists like Streisand, Simon & Garfunkel, Barry Manilow, Whitney Houston and many others. The recent past has seen him masterminding dramatic transformations for Rod Stewart, Manilow and other artists that brought them back to the top of the charts. I don’t think he was about to let Aretha escape that.

And so here it is Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics. It would have been nice if they had included a Whitney hit and a Beyonce solo but otherwise the song line-up is superb. At Last by Etta James; Midnight Train To Georgia by Gladys Knight; People by Barbra Streisand; Rolling In The Deep by Adele; No One by Alicia Keys; I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor; Teach Me Tonight by Nancy Wilson and the DeCastro Sisters; I Am Every Woman by Chaka Khan; Ain’t No Mountain High Enough by Diana Ross; You Keep Me Hangin’ On by The Supremes; Survivor by Destiny’s Child and Nothing Compares 2 U by Sinead O’Connor.

The legendary Aretha’s vocals have seen 72 years. I know the singing is not as perfect as it was during her prime. Then her over the top style has also always been an acquired taste. But even so, there are glorious moments in the album. At Last and Rolling In The Deep are beautiful and the use of mash-ups renders the package interesting. Best of all is the fact that she has recorded again. That is more than enough to set aside her sometimes contrived approach to the material and tendency to oversing. So no matter, I want more of the same and I am sure that the next one will be better.

Also found or maybe I should say rescued from the bargain bin. Just think, this CD would have been recycled into something else or worse, destroyed. We All Love Ella Celebrating The First Lady of Song. This is an all-star vocal tribute to a truly great diva, Ella Fitzgerald by today’s pop, jazz, blues and R&B greats. The line-up is not only star-studded. It is made up of names who do deserve to be in a tribute album to one of the greatest vocalists of all time.

I missed Our Love Is Here To Stay but a lot of songs associated with Ella are included. A-Tisket, A Tasket by Natalie Cole; Lullaby Of Birdland by Chaka Khan; The Lady Is A Tramp by Queen Latifah; Dream A Little Dream Of Me by Diana Krall and Hank Jones; If You Can’t Sing It You’ll Have To Swing It, also known as Mr. Paganini, a duet by Natalie and Chaka; Oh! Lady Be Good by Dianne Reeves; Reaching For The Moon by Lizz Wright; Blues In The Night by Ledisi; Miss Otis Regrets by Linda Ronstadt; Someone To Watch Over Me by Gladys Knight; Do Nothin’ Till You Hear From Me by Etta James; Angel Eyes by k.d. lang; Too Close For Comfort by Michael Buble; You Are The Sunshine Of My Life a live duet by Stevie Wonder with the lady herself, Ella. Then as bonus tracks, there are Cotton Tail by Dee Dee Bridgewater and Airmail Special by Nikki Yanofsky.