The Best of Aretha Franklin

I bought this cd, along with another of one of Aretha's early Atlantic albums, because l still listen to cds and vinyl albums and didn't want to have to wade through a massive Aretha compilation packed with 'fillers' and later more commercial releases. (If you do also like the later duets and more poppy cover songs, then the double cd 'Respect - The Very Best Of' would be a better option for you.)The music on this 'Best Of' 12 track single cd is a fine selection of rhythm and blues (original meaning) based soul from the Muscle Shoals era. You can also hear Aretha's gospel influences in the vocals, especially on the slower numbers.However the down side of this Best Of release is the low sound levels, meaning you have to crank up the volume above your normal system settings to appreciate the dynamism of these recordings.This is annoying and a major corporation should be able to produce a cd capable of doing better justice to these classic cuts.I dont know if there are any later reissues of this particular cd compilation which address this issue, but the copy l received sounds fairly dull and lifeless on the settings l would normally use.Needless to say the music itself is great and in itself would easily merit five stars. If you are considering buying you will probably have heard some if not all the tracks anyway so you are likely to know what to expect.

Lovely collection of tracks , but sound quality seemed bit old fashioned

some of souls greatest tracks

Had this as an LP back in the 80s, but I wanted to enjoy it on my way to work - still love it now. Classic tracks.

Good Album. Well worth the price

Good value