Sings the Great Diva Classics

by Aretha Franklin

Overview

Clive Davis signed Aretha Franklin to Arista in 1980 and helped pull the queen of soul out of a commercial slump. Through timely collaborations with the likes of Arif Mardin, Luther Vandross, and Narada Michael Walden, Aretha scored six consecutive Top Ten R&B albums, all as part of Davis' roster. Davis left Arista in 2000. Aretha followed shortly thereafter, released a Christmas album, and had difficulty finding a distributor for her self-released A Woman Falling Out of Love, most likely her least popular studio album. In 2014, Aretha and Davis reunited for this all-covers affair. The latter once again rolled out the red carpet. Babyface and Antonio Dixon produced most of the songs, while the list of background vocalists and instrumentalists, including Cissy Houston, Tawatha Agee, Fonzi Thornton, and Greg Phillinganes, is bound to excite old heads. Aretha sounds like she had a ball. The energy she put into these versions helps make up for the vocal shortcomings and audible use of Auto-Tune. She could have played it simple and straight, yet she clearly enjoyed the recording process, from melismatic accents to an abundance of personalized touches, such as the "raggedy hooptie" added to "Midnight Train to Georgia," and the "ham hocks and greens" thrown into a swinging Andre 3000-produced "Nothing Compares 2 U." Highlighted by a reggae makeover of Alicia Keys' "No One," this is high on star power and exuberance. ~ Andy Kellman

Product Details

Release Date:	10/28/2014
Label:	Sony Music
UPC:	0888750348814
Rank:	88994

Tracks

1. People
2. Rolling in the Deep [The Aretha Version]
3. Midnight Train to Georgia
4. I Will Survive [The Aretha Version]
5. At Last
6. I'm Every Woman/R.E.S.P.E.C.T.
7. No One
8. Nothing Compares 2 U
9. Teach Me Tonight
10. You Keep Me Hangin' On

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Aretha Franklin   Primary Artist,Piano
Tawatha Agee   Vocals (Background)
Keith Henderson   Guitar
Steve Wolf   Drums
Kirk Whalum   Soloist,Saxophone
Cissy Houston   Vocals (Background)
Larry Gold   Conductor
Greg Phillinganes   Piano,Strings,Fender Rhodes
Debra Killings   Vocals (Background)
Joi   Vocals (Background)
Vaneese Thomas   Vocals (Background)
Eric Kupper   Keyboards
Reggie Hamilton   Bass
Michael Ripoll   Guitar
Tim Gant   Keyboards
Carmen Reece   Vocals (Background)
Ethan Farmer   Bass
Emma Kummrow   Violin
James "Big Jim" Wright   Piano
Kenneth Edmonds   Guitar
Fonzi Thornton   Vocals (Background)
Keisha Jackson   Vocals (Background)
Jason Freeman   Horn
Antonio Dixon   Percussion
Brenda White-King   Vocals (Background)
Phil Seed   Guitar
Andrew Hey   Guitar
Jerry Freeman   Horn
Darian Emory   Horn
Erik "Bluetooth" Griggs   Keyboards
Glenn Fischbach   Cello
David Barnett   Viola
Steve Tirpak   Trumpet
Jorel "J-Fly" Flynn   Drums
Charles Parker   Violin
James "Jigga" Edwards   Keyboards
Jonathan Kim   Viola
Kevin Hendricks   Piano,Keyboards
Jonathan Shaw   Trumpet
"Big" John Sherrell   Bass
LaTrelle Simmons   Vocals (Background)
Guillame Combet   Violin
Jennifer Lee   Violin
Blake Epsy   Violin
Dayne Anderson   Violin
Jarred Antonocci   Trombone

Technical Credits

Serban Ghenea   Mixing
Alicia Keys   Composer
Tony Maserati   Mixing
Paul Boutin   Engineer
Terisa Griffin   Vocal Arrangement
Terry Hunter   Arranger,Producer
Beyonce Knowles   Composer
Gene DePaul   Composer
Lamont Dozier   Composer
Larry Mah   Digital Recording
Larry Gold   Horn Arrangements,String Arrangements
Eddie Holland   Composer
David Nathan   Liner Notes
Demonte Posey   String Programming
Jeff Chestek   Engineer
John Hanes   Engineer
Valerie Simpson   Composer
Dino Fekaris   Composer
Jule Styne   Composer
Mathew Knowles   Composer
Jim Weatherly   Composer
Prince   Composer
Otis Redding   Composer
Eric Kupper   Mixing,Producer,Programming
Brian Holland   Composer
Dave Rowland   Engineer
Harvey Mason, Jr.   Producer,Vocal Producer
Todd Fairall   Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Tommy Vicari   Engineer
William Ross   Orchestral Arrangements
Kenneth Edmonds   Producer,Drum Programming,Keyboard Programming
Andre Benjamin   Producer
Bob Merrill   Composer
Paul Epworth   Composer
Clive Davis   Producer
Freddie Perren   Composer
Fonzi Thornton   Vocal Contractor
Mack Gordon   Composer
Joey Fernandez   Engineer
Nickolas Ashford   Composer
Aretha Franklin   Arranger,Producer,Vocal Contractor,Vocal Arrangement
Fabian Marasciullo   Mixing
Chandler Harrod   Assistant
Adele Adkins   Composer
Harry Warren   Composer
Antonio Dixon   Producer,Drum Programming,Keyboard Programming
Sammy Cahn   Composer
Dapo Torimiro   Arranger,Engineer,Producer,Drum Programming
Jezreel Santos   Assistant
Andrew Hey   Engineer,Vocal Engineer
David Kutch   Mastering
Erwin Gorostiza   Creative Director
Anthony Dent   Composer
Matthew Jordan Smith   Photography
Jo Ann Kane   Music Preparation
Mark Graham   Music Preparation
Gina Zimmitti   Music Contractor
Josh Cheuse   Design,Art Direction
Alice Butts   Design,Art Direction
Carla Prather   Vocal Arrangement
Kory Aaron   Assistant Engineer
Leonard Part Sixx   Assistant
DJ Wayne Williams   A&R,Arranger,Producer
George M. Harry   Composer
Alex Kovacs   Music Preparation
Jake Gorski   Assistant
The Underdogs   Producer,Instrumentation
Kenta Yonesaka   Assistant
Ken Oriole   Engineer
Neal H. Pogue   Mixing
Karl Petersen   Assistant Engineer
Dave Boyd   Assistant
Trina Bowman   Production Coordination
Whitney Martin   Assistant Contractor
Brendan Morawski   Assistant
James Krausse   Mixing Assistant
Kerry Brothers Jr.   Composer
Rob Sizwe Price-Guma   Assistant
Mary Webster   Coordination
Jason Staniulis   Assistant
Leo Sibilly   Assistant Engineer