A beautiful album that perfectly mixes both sides of Aretha Franklin's talents – the hard-edged soul singer who first flourished at Atlantic records in the late 60s, and the artist who was growing even more as a vocalist – really reaching out her wings to more sophisticated material! There's a balance here that makes the record one of the deepest that Franklin ever recorded for Atlantic – lots of larger Arif Mardin touches, but also some raw moments that really round things out – on titles that include Aretha's classic take on the Weldon Irvine/Nina Simone tune "Young Gifted & Black", the funky classic "Rock Steady", the wonderful mellow groover "Day Dreaming", the hit "Brand New Me", and the strangely compelling "First Snow In Kokomo" – plus other titles that include "All The King's Horses", "Oh Me Oh My", "Border Song", "Didn't I Blow Your Mind", "April Fools", "I've Been Loving You Too Long", and "The Long & Winding Road". LP, Vinyl record album

A really fantastic career-spanning collection of work from Aretha Franklin – the first we've ever seen to start with her earliest years, then follow the greatness of her voice and spirit as it blossomed strongly over the decades! Sure, most folks know Franklin's classic work on Atlantic – but this package features earlier sides for Chess and Columbia, later work from Arista – and a whole host of rare and unreleased material – plus special tracks from side projects that worked together to form a crucial part of Aretha's legacy over the years! This 4CD package is beautiful – a book-style cover, with loads of vintage and rare photos, essays on Aretha by David Nathan and Rochelle Riley, and track-by track notes on the 81 tracks included in the lavish set. In addition to the rare tracks, there's some other great surprises here – and titles include "Until You Come Back To Me (work tape)", "Chain Of Fools (alt version)", "Rock Steady (alternate mix)", "Call Me (alt version)", "How I Got Over (live single edit)", "Chain Of Fools (alt)", "My Kind Of Town (Detroit Is) (demo)", "Try A Little Tenderness (demo)", "Oh Baby (demo)", "Til It's Over (demo)", "Angel (work tape)", "Somewhere (alt version)", "Mr DJ", "Ooo Baby Baby (with Smokey Robinson)", "Share Your Love With Me (live)", "Spanish Harlem (alt mix)", "Bridge Over Troubled Water (long version)", "Young Gifted & Black (alt long version)", "It's Not Unusual/See Saw (with Tom Jones)", "You're All I Need To Get By (work tape)", "Don't Play That Song (live)", "Spirit In The Dark (live reprise with Ray Charles)", "Oh Happy Day (with Mavis Staples)", "Someday We'll All Be Free", "A Rose Is Still A Rose", "Master Of Eyes", "A Change Is Gonna Come (mono)", "One Step Ahead", "Never Grow Old", "Today I Sing The Blues", "You Light Up My Life (unissued)", "Think", "I Knew You Were Waiting (with George Michael)", "Respect", and her version of "Natural Woman" from the 2015 Kennedy Honors ceremony. CD

An insane collection of music – filled with rare tracks, classics, and unreleased material – one that brings together so many different modes of the mighty Aretha Franklin – all of them great! And sure, you definitely know Aretha's sound on Atlantic Records – but do you know every moment of genius she cut for the label? Because Franklin on Atlantic has a lot more to offer than the hits (although there's plenty of those here in this package too) – as she kept evolving her style over the course of the 70s – really coming up with some compelling, sophisticated modes that aren't always fully given their due! Albums here include early classics – like I Never Loved A Man, Aretha Arrives, Aretha Now, Lady Soul, and Soul 69 – but there's loads more gems, including This Girl's In Love With You, Aretha In Paris, Spirit In The Dark, Young Gifted & Black, Hey Now Hey (The Other Side Of The Sky), Let Me In Your Life, and the Sparkle soundtrack with Curtis Mayfield. The collection also features two massive live recordings – 2CDs of Live At The Filmore West, and OH Me Oh My Aretha Live In Philly 1972 – plus the 2CD version of Amazing Grace, with lots of bonus tracks. And the collection even features a rare 2CD set – Rare & Unreleased Recordings Fromn The Golden Reign Of The Queen Of Soul – a huge amount of obscure cuts, even if you already own some albums by Aretha. With 19CDs, all in original artwork, this is a hell of a collection for the price! CD