2 important early Aretha Franklin albums – back to back on a single CD! Runnin Out Of Fools is the birth of Aretha Franklin's soulful sound – a real change from the
jazzier sound of her first two albums for Columbia, and a set that really shows some great sides of her talents! Arrangements are by Belford Hendricks, who creates an uptown-styled sort of sound – one that has fuller strings and a bit of backing vocals, but also a nice little groove at the bottom – territory that's somewhere between the country soul of the early 60s, and some of the tighter New York soul that was on the rise. Aretha's vocals are great – heartbreaking one minute, proud and righteous the next – and the album's proof that she was always a wonderful singer, no matter what the setting. Titles include "Mockingbird", "Walk On By", "How Glad I Am", "I Can't Wait Until I See My Baby's Face", "Runnin' Out Of Fools", and "One Room Paradise". Yeah is a hip little live date from Aretha Franklin – one that's got a very
jazzy feel, and some great small combo backings! The album's almost a distillation of the
jazzy styles on Aretha's first albums for Columbia – taken into even leaner territory here, in ways that really set Franklin loose on vocals – making for some of her most forceful moments on record at the time. The
quartet features pianist Teddy Harris, who steps back on a few tunes to let Franklin take over the
piano – and titles include "Once In A Lifetime", "Love For Sale", "Impossible", "Today I Love Everybody", and "Without The One You Love".
(Out of print.)