A huge amount of gems from the key Atlantic Records years of Aretha Franklin – titles that include "Call Me", "I Never Loved A Man", "Respect", "Chain Of Fools", "Do Right Woman", "Dr Feel Good", "Save Me", "Think", "Ain't No Way", "Share Your Love With Me", "The House That Jack Built", "Rock Steady", "Spanish Harlem", "Angel", "Until You Come Back To Me", "Day Dreaming", "Oh Me Oh My", and "Wholly Holy". CD

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! 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)", "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

Classy later soul from Aretha Franklin – a set that's free from some of the too-commercial modes of other 80s work, but which still pushes the envelope nicely from her years at Atlantic! Production is both by Arif Mardin and Chuck Jackson – the former one of Franklin's best collaborators in earlier years, the latter a great help here on songwriting as well! At its best, the record's got some of the smoother, jazzier inflections that Aretha was picking up at Atlantic in the 70s – and titles include "Come To Me", "Love Me Forever", "Can't Turn You Loose", "United Together", "Whatever It Is", "School Days", and "Together Again". LP, Vinyl record album

A long-overdue look at the 45rpm legacy of Aretha Franklin at Atlantic Records – a set that brings together all the great singles she cut during her early years at the label – some of which you'll know as the cornerstones of her albums from the time, others that are maybe a bit more obscure! Jerry Wexler is at the production helm on all these numbers – as the man who really helped Aretha find her special style at the label – and the cuts also feature arrangements from Arif Mardin and Tom Dowd, both studio talents who'd really help Franklin open up with a new sense of power and majesty as the 60s moved on! All tracks are presented in their tight 45rpm single mixes – and titles include "Call Me", "Spirit In The Dark", "Don't Play That Song", "Border Song", "Share Your Love With Me", "My Song", "The Weight", "See Saw", "Ain't No Way", "Think", "The House That Jack Built", "I Say A Little Prayer", "Since You've Been Gone", "Baby I Love You", "Respect", "I Never Loved A Man", "Do Right Woman", "Chain Of Fools", "Don't Play That Song", "Eleanor Rigby", "Natural Woman", "You Send Me", "Tracks Of My Tears", and "I Can't See Myself Leaving You". LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Drinking Again", "Trouble In Mind", "Without The One You Love", "Take A Look", "Evil Gal Blues", "Muddy Water", "What A Difference A Day Made", "Maybe I'm A Fool", and "Only The Lonely". CD

It's hard to believe that after just a few short years of recording for Atlantic records, Aretha Franklin could come up with enough gold records to warrant a full album of hits for the label – but that's definitely the case with this classic collection from 1969! The fantastic evolution of Franklin's genius is very much on display here – with arrangements by Arif Mardin and Tom Dowd – on tunes written by Otis Redding, Dan Penn, Steve Cropper, Don Covay, and even Aretha herself! Titles include "I Never Loved A Man", "Do Right Woman", "Respect", "Dr Feelgood", "Think", "Chain Of Fools", "Natural Woman", "Ain't No Way", "Since You've Been Gone", "The House That Jack Built", "See Saw", "Baby I Love You", and "I Say A Little Prayer". LP, Vinyl record album

It's hard to believe that after just a few short years of recording for Atlantic records, Aretha Franklin could come up with enough gold records to warrant a full album of hits for the label – but that's definitely the case with this classic collection from 1969! The fantastic evolution of Franklin's genius is very much on display here – with arrangements by Arif Mardin and Tom Dowd – on tunes written by Otis Redding, Dan Penn, Steve Cropper, Don Covay, and even Aretha herself! Titles include "I Never Loved A Man", "Do Right Woman", "Respect", "Dr Feelgood", "Think", "Chain Of Fools", "Natural Woman", "Ain't No Way", "Since You've Been Gone", "The House That Jack Built", "See Saw", "Baby I Love You", and "I Say A Little Prayer". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Aretha Franklin's undisputed classics from her late 60s run on Atlantic Records – a seminal session that furthered her deep soul agenda with key backings from Arif Mardin and Tom Dowd – both of whom handle the mix of rawness and polish that made Aretha so great at the time! The Sweet Inspirations provide sublime backing vocals behind Franklin's maturing delivery of the lyrics – and the music is by an all-star group of players that includes Spooner Oldham, Bobby Womack, Jimmy Johnson, King Curtis, Tommy Cogbill, Roger Hawkins, and even Eric Clapton – clearly the cream of the crop, more than willing to be part of such an amazing set! Cuts include "You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman", "Chain Of Fools", "Money Won't Change You", "Come Back Baby", and "Ain't No Way". CD includes 4 bonus tracks "Chain of Fools (unedited version)", "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman (mono single version)", "Since You've Never Been Gone (Sweet Sweet Baby) (mono single version)", and "Ain't No Way (mono single version)"! CD

One of Aretha Franklin's undisputed classics from her late 60s run on Atlantic Records – a seminal session that furthered her deep soul agenda with key backings from Arif Mardin and Tom Dowd – both of whom handle the mix of rawness and polish that made Aretha so great at the time! The Sweet Inspirations provide sublime backing vocals behind Franklin's maturing delivery of the lyrics – and the music is by an all-star group of players that includes Spooner Oldham, Bobby Womack, Jimmy Johnson, King Curtis, Tommy Cogbill, Roger Hawkins, and even Eric Clapton – clearly the cream of the crop, more than willing to be part of such an amazing set! Cuts include "You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman", "Chain Of Fools", "Money Won't Change You", "Come Back Baby", and "Ain't No Way". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Aretha Franklin's undisputed classics from her late 60s run on Atlantic Records – a seminal session that furthered her deep soul agenda with key backings from Arif Mardin and Tom Dowd – both of whom handle the mix of rawness and polish that made Aretha so great at the time! The Sweet Inspirations provide sublime backing vocals behind Franklin's maturing delivery of the lyrics – and the music is by an all-star group of players that includes Spooner Oldham, Bobby Womack, Jimmy Johnson, King Curtis, Tommy Cogbill, Roger Hawkins, and even Eric Clapton – clearly the cream of the crop, more than willing to be part of such an amazing set! Cuts include "You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman", "Chain Of Fools", "Money Won't Change You", "Come Back Baby", and "Ain't No Way". LP, Vinyl record album

Aretha Franklin and electric piano – a really great combination that makes for a whole new level of soulfulness in the 70s! The album's one of Franklin's greatest of the decade – a deepening of the sound she first brought to Atlantic in the 60s, and a maturation of that groove – in a way that pushes Aretha strongly past cliches, and into some really great new territory! Arrangements here are by Arif Mardin and William Eaton – and most numbers feature small combo instrumentation at the core, with electric piano played by Aretha, Richard Tee, and Donny Hathaway. Titles include "If You Don't Think", "Oh Baby", "With Pen In Hand", "Let Me In Your Life", "I'm In Love", and "Every Natural Thing". LP, Vinyl record album

An early 80s gem from Aretha Franklin – one of the best of her years at Arista Records, thanks to solid help in the studio from the mighty Arif Mardin! Mardin's in perfect form here – the same blend of older soul and jazzier, more sophisticated styles that he was also bringing to Chaka Khan at the time – although Franklin's arguably more deserving of his talents, given her long relationship with the producer! There's a full, mature feel here – one that really gets Aretha back in gear as a singer, and shows off her talents to a new generation in new ways – yet all without trying too hard for a crossover hit. Tunes include a few originals by Franklin, and titles include "Kind Of Man", "Whole Lot Of Me", "Love All The Hurt Away", "You Can't Always Get What You Want", "It's My Turn", "There's A Star For Everyone", and "Hold On I'm Coming". CD features bonus tracks – "Hold On I'm Comin (12" ext)", "Livin In The Streets (12" ext)", and "It's My Turn (single)". CD

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'69 was certainly Aretha's year – as the success of her initial round of Atlantic recordings had pushed her fully into the limelight, making her one of the most exposed, most reported-on artists in soul music! This album was cut during the height of that time, with Arif Mardin handling all of the arrangements, and Aretha singing a mix of soul, blues, and pop tunes, all nicely reworked in her own famous style. Titles include "Tracks Of My Tears", "So Long", "I'll Never Be Free", "Gentle On My Mind", "Bring It On Home To Me", and "Crazy He Calls Me". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic 70s soul soundtrack – and a dream of a combination! Curtis Mayfield wrote the soundtrack and produced the album – and the result is a killer batch of 70s soul tracks that matches Aretha's strong vocals with the hip Curtom sound of Chicago! Aretha was still doing pretty well at this point, but the album really gave her a push – and the super-hip setting let her record some of her best work of the 70s. If you own only one Aretha Franklin album from the 70s, it should probably be this one – as the mixture of soul, funk, and soundtrack grooves is great, and a refreshing change from some of the cliches that could show up on other records. Features the sublime "Something He Can Feel", plus "Loving You Baby", "Look Into Your Heart", "Sparkle", and Jump". LP, Vinyl record album

Aretha's tour of the south continues – recording here at Atlantic's new home in Miami, with studio work from The Dixie Flyers, Dave Crawford, Roger Hawkins, Duane Allman, and Eddie Hinton – all very much in the tradition of the Muscle Shoals work that supported Aretha on earlier recordings. Aretha's playing piano on all tracks – and titles include her remake of "Don't Play That Song", plus "You & Me", "Pullin", "Spirit In The Dark", "Try Matty's", "Oh No Not My Baby", and "One Way Ticket". LP, Vinyl record album

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Aretha Franklin at the end of the 80s – capping off a big run of records for Arista with another successful collaboration with Narada Michael Walden! There's a bit more of a groove here than before – a nice bounce on many cuts that almost brings in a slight new jack flavor – but handled with a bit more class, given Walden's legacy – and the album's got a lot of collaborative moments, including appearances from James Brown, Whitney Houston, Elton John, The Four Tops, and Kenny G. Titles include "Gimme Your Love", "Mercy", "It Isn't It Wasn't It Ain't Never Gonna Be", "Through The Storm", "If Ever A Love There Was", "Think 1989", and "Come To Me". LP, Vinyl record album

An early moment of vocal strength from Aretha Franklin – a set in which she takes on the music of the recently-departed Dinah Washington, and really transforms it into her own! If you know other Aretha records on Columbia, you'll know that the label did a great job of opening up the jazzier side of her style – served up here with arrangements by Robert Mersey that are definitely different than Franklin's later music for Atlantic, but which also does a great job of bridging the worlds of postwar jazz and 60s soul! Titles include "Evil Gal Blues", "Soulville", "Unforgettable", "Cold Cold Heart", "Drinking Again", and "This Bitter Earth". CD

An early moment of vocal strength from Aretha Franklin – a set in which she takes on the music of the recently-departed Dinah Washington, and really transforms it into her own! If you know other Aretha records on Columbia, you'll know that the label did a great job of opening up the jazzier side of her style – served up here with arrangements by Robert Mersey that are definitely different than Franklin's later music for Atlantic, but which also does a great job of bridging the worlds of postwar jazz and 60s soul! Titles include "Evil Gal Blues", "Soulville", "Unforgettable", "Cold Cold Heart", "Drinking Again", and "This Bitter Earth". LP, Vinyl record album

Sock-hard soul from Aretha Franklin's funky sister! By the time of this album, Carolyn had spent quite a bit of time working as sort of an "understudy" to Aretha – and according to the notes on the album, written by the girls father, Reverend CL Franklin, Carolyn was being groomed for a very similar career to Aretha. This album shines with the best of Aretha's late 60s work for Atlantic – with a hard soul approach that shares both elements of Aretha's mellow southern soulful numbers, plus an added bonus of a good Northern soul groove on the best tracks! Horace Ott arranged the record, and titles include "What Cha Donna Do", "Reality", "I Don't Want To Lose You", "Boxer", "On A Back Street", and "I Can't Love Without You". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic photographs of the Queen Of Soul – images that start from her early years in Detroit, then move to her rise to fame on Atlantic Records in the 60s – and continue with images that follow Aretha well into her later years too! The book mixes together color and black and white, famous and obscure – and often includes images that are a great sidebar to some better-known photos of Franklin – all supported by text from author Meredith Ochs. This is hardly a comprehensive look at Aretha Franklin, but the photos are more than enough – great shots of Aretha on stage, in the studio, on the TV screen, and just kicking back on her own – 138 pages, hardcover, with images throughout. Book

"Piece Of My Heart" is a killer – Erma's lasting hit, a sublime deep soul number with a catchy chorus that was covered by many, and done here in a version that blows Aretha away any time! "Baby" is possibly even better – chuggingly funky with a really snapping groove, deep soul vocals, and a nice horn bit in the middle! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Massive work from Aretha Franklin's ultra-hip sister – singer Carolyn Franklin, a soul artist that we'd gladly trade for Aretha any time! Carolyn got her start in deep soul modes that were somewhat similar to Aretha's work on Atlantic – but she also worked with production that was a bit looser, freer, and more open to righteous influences than some of her sister's hit-bound sessions – and over the course of 4 albums for RCA she recorded some tremendously hip and funky tunes! This package is one of the first times that Carolyn's material has ever officially made it into the reissue years – and it brings together some of the best cuts from her RCA albums, including work arranged by Horace Ott, Wade Marcus, Bert De Coteaux, and other soul legends. There's a good deal of funk in the mix here – heavy bottoms on the tunes that really make them snap alongside the righteous vocals – and the package is easily one of the hardest-hitting sets of female soul you could ever hope to buy! 22 tracks in all – including "If You Want Me", "There I Go", "Ain't That Groovy", "Boxer", "Reality", "Chain Reaction", "Don't Wake Me Up In The Morning Michael", "Not On The Outside", "Boy I Love You", "You Are Everything", "Shattered Pride", "I Can't Help My Feeling So Blue", "As Long As You Are There", and "You Can Have My Soul". CD

With that whip in her hand, we're not gonna argue with Fontella Bass about her New Look in the photo – and we can definitely say that the whole classic album definitely lives up to her hip, powerful stance on the cover! Fontella's a singer who started in gospel, later sung jazz, but who really comes into her stride here – mixing St Louis roots with Chicago 60s soul in a completely sublime batch of tracks all the way through! To most folks, Fontella's remembered for a few reasons – her Aretha Franklin-styled hit "Rescue Me" (often mistaken for Aretha herself), or the fact that she married Art Ensemble member Lester Bowie. But back at the start, Fontella was a heck of a great little soul singer – capable of a wide variety of modes, all of which are included here! Some tracks are as sophisticated and classy as Marlena Shaw at the time, others are downright rootsy – with more of a deep soul southern mode – and in addition to the seminal hit "Rescue Me", other titles include "Come & Get These Memories", "Soul Of The Man", "Oh No Not My Baby", "How Glad I Am", "Our Day Will Come", and "I'm A Woman". LP, Vinyl record album

Maxine Brown on Wand Records is really something amazing – not just because she began her recording career at the label, but also because she never again hit the heights of these recordings! Brown was a really important singer with these sides – still partly in the class and poise of some of the jazz-tinged vocalists that came before her – but also able to open up with a deeper soul vibe that paved the way for Aretha Franklin and so many other singers to come in the second half of the 60s! The production and presentation of these tracks is wonderful, too – great songwriting, and top-shelf studio charts that only lift, and never drown the brilliance of Maxine's unique voice. Titles include "One In A Million", "It's Torture", "Let Me Give You My Lovin", "Yesterday's Kisses", "Oh No, Not My Baby", "Gotta Find A Way", "Baby Cakes", "Why Did I Choose You", "Misty Morning Eyes", "Since I Found You", "Losing My Touch", "If I Had Known", "It's Gonna Be Alright", and the completely fantastic "If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody". CD

The complete recordings of a crucially overlooked deep soul singer – the amazing Rozetta Johnson, a voice that should have been as big as Aretha Franklin or Gladys Knight, if there were any justice in the world! And Johnson isn't just a great singer on her own – she gets incredible help here from Sam Dees – a hell of a songwriter, and a great producer that puts Rozetta in perfect territory – a mode that's often more righteous than traditional southern soul, with some funky currents at the bottom – and an overall badass vibe that fits her vocals perfectly! There was a previous collection of Rozetta's music about a decade ago – but this set supercedes that with excellent sound and some unreleased alternate tracks, too – plus the usual top-shelf Ace/Kent presentation, which makes the collection as much of a joy to hold as it is to hear. Titles include "Mama Was A Bad Seed (alt)", "You Better Keep What You Got (alt)", "I Can Feel My Love Coming Down", "It's Been So Nice", "Personal Woman", "Chained & Bound", "Holding The Losing Hand", "Who Are You Gonna Love (Your Woman Or Your Wife)", "Mine Was Real", "A Woman's Way", "Willow Weep For Me", "That Hurts", "For That Man Of Mind", "How Can You Lose Something You Never Had", and "To Love Somebody". CD

Chaka Khan on Warner Brothers – a fantastic second chapter in the career of the singer who already took the 70s by storm with her work in Rufus! Here, Chaka emerges as an even more powerful solo singer on her own – often getting treatment from Arif Mardin in the studio, who elevates Chaka in the same way he did Aretha Franklin during the generation before – with modes that are at once sophisticated and soulful, and instantly classic in a way that few other soul singers in the 80s would ever sound. Titles include "I'm Every Woman", "Papillon", "Hot Butterfly", "I Know You I Live You", "I Feel For You", "Tell Me Something Good (live)", "Through The Fire", "And The Melody Still Lingers On", and "What Cha Gonna Do For Me". CD

Fantastic work from Ledisi – an artist we've loved for almost 25 years, and who maybe sounds better here than she has in the last decade! There's this back to basics approach that maybe recalls some of her self-released albums at the start – but mixed with the maturity in all the years she's learned as both a songwriter and a singer – the sort of vocalist who should be right up there in the soul music pantheon right next to Aretha Franklin and Chaka Khan! Robert Glasper helped a bit on the record – but as usual, Ledisi is the key driving force behind the set – making her equally skilled in the studio as she is on record. Titles include "WKND", "Without You", "Stone", "Wake Up", "What Kinda Love Is That", "Now Or Never", "Stay Gone", "Anything For You", and "Next Time". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful treatise on the lasting power of classic soul music – yet a book that also goes way beyond the simple readings and overdone cliches that are often attached to accounts of the music! Instead, author Emily J Lordi looks at not just the source recordings, but also the evolving theories about their role within black culture, and the larger American story – tracing shifts over time, while still focusing on the core contributions of artists like Aretha Franklin, Donny Hathaway, Isaac Hayes, and Marvin Gaye! The writing is smart, but never too academic – and Lordi does a great job of tying together the strands of her different arguments throughout. 217 pages, softcover. Book

Features work with Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Aaron Neville, and Jimmy Scott. Tracks include "Blues Waltz", "Fathead", "That's Enough", "For Buster", "Ramblin", "Day By Day", and "Chained No More" – 27 tracks in all. CD

A great litle early album from Ann Peebles – rawer than most of her more familiar stuff, with a gutbuckety soul quality that really keeps things fresh! We always love Ann's work, but in these early years she has a deep soul vibe that few other singers can touch – a level that easily rivals Aretha Franklin, but has more real southern roots – and which is handled here by the Hi Records sound. Willie Mitchell produced and arranged (of course!), and the record's got some sweet backing vocals by Rhodes, Chalmers, & Rhodes – very much in a Sweet Inspirations mode, but again maybe a bit deeper too. Tracks include a funky remake of The Isleys' "It's Your Thing", plus "Solid Foundation", "Crazy About You Baby", "Give Me Some Credit", and "Generation Gap Between Us". CD

A great litle early album from Ann Peebles – rawer than most of her more familiar stuff, with a gutbuckety soul quality that really keeps things fresh! We always love Ann's work, but in these early years she has a deep soul vibe that few other singers can touch – a level that easily rivals Aretha Franklin, but has more real southern roots – and which is handled here by the Hi Records sound. Willie Mitchell produced and arranged (of course!), and the record's got some sweet backing vocals by Rhodes, Chalmers, & Rhodes – very much in a Sweet Inspirations mode, but again maybe a bit deeper too. Tracks include a funky remake of The Isleys' "It's Your Thing", plus "Solid Foundation", "Crazy About You Baby", "Give Me Some Credit", and "Generation Gap Between Us". LP, Vinyl record album

A breakout record that forever put Wilson Pickett at the top of the heap for mainstream 60s soul – thanks to the oft-covered, endlessly played "Mustang Sally" single that leads off the set! And although the groove established by that track helped Pickett establish an audience on both sides of the fence, the full album itself is much deeper stuff – a searing album of southern-styled soul recorded with some great Muscle Shoals production – Rick Hall and Tom Dowd at the helm – and key session players who include Charlie Chalmers, Chips Moman, Tommy Cogbill, Spooner Oldham, and Roger Hawkins – all of whom help give the record the intimate, earthy feeling that helped Pickett step out with a stronger sound than earlier recordings. (And in fact, this album's perhaps a key pre-Aretha Franklin example of the way that Atlantic's vision could majestically change the sound of an already-known soul artist – bringing them far deeper than ever before.) Titles include "Mustang Sally", "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love", "Nothing You Can Do", "Three Time Loser", "Sunny", "She Ain't Gonna Do Right", "Knock On Wood", "Time Is On My Side", and "You Left The Water Running". LP, Vinyl record album

Dianne Reeves – as lovely as ever, perhaps even more so – as the set's a nicely stripped-down session that really showcases her best side! The tunes are spare and simple small combo numbers – mostly with piano trio backing, but also including a bit of occasional trumpet and guitar. Dianne performs wonderfully on a mix of standards served up with a heck of a lot more soul and expression than we're used to hearing from the tunes – and production on the set is by Arif Mardin, showing the same simple elegance that he brought to classic work by Aretha Franklin and Chaka Khan. Titles include "I'm All Smiles", "Loads Of Love", "Skylark", "We'll Be Together Again", "What A Little Moonlight Can Do", and "Reflections". CD

Genius early work from Candi Staton – one of her first few gems recorded at Fame Studios with producer Rick Hall – and a set that packs the punch of some of the best female soul of the time! The groove here is stripped-down, raw, and ready – at a level that even Aretha Franklin's classic work for Atlantic in the late 60s couldn't even match. And unlike Aretha, Candi's work here is largely undiscovered – not nearly as filled with cliched, and stepping out nicely on a fresh set of tracks written by George Jackson, Clarence Carter, and others – all sung by Staton in a heartbreaking voice that should have been one of the biggest forces in 70s soul. Titles include "Evidence", "Get It When I Want It", "Another Man's Woman, Another Woman's Man", "I'm Just A Prisoner", and "I'd Rather Be An Old Man's Sweetheart". LP, Vinyl record album

Heavenly soul from the lovely Sweet Inspirations! The record was the group's first secular album for Atlantic – after recording one gospel album, and doing the backings on a number of fine Aretha Franklin sessions – and it's a gem of a female soul record, with the same classic sound you'd hear on Aretha's Atlantic late 60s LPs, but a different twist because of the girls' amazing talent for harmony vocals. Tom Dowd produced the record with a sweet southern-ish sound, and Arif Mardin provides some lofty string arrangements that take the girls' voices to the heavens! Includes some fine numbers written by Cissy Drinkhard Houston – like "I Could Leave You Alone", "You Really Didn't Mean It", and "Where Did It Go" – plus pop numbers like "Alfie", "What The World Needs Now Is Love", and "To Love Somebody", all completely transformed by the group's style! LP, Vinyl record album

The record that proved to the world that Vanessa Williams wasn't going to be let down after an unfortunate detour in the press – one that she answered with this classic album of crossover soul! Williams' isn't out to make anyone believe she's the next Aretha Franklin, but she's right at home in the upbeat arrangements of these tunes – stepping along with a bright and bouncy feel that more than matches the backings – and the feel of late 80s mainstream soul of the time. Titles include "The Right Stuff", "He's Got The Look", "Dreamin", "I'll Be The One", "Am I Too Much", "Be A Man", "Whatever Happens", and "Security". CD

Includes 53 tracks by Otis Redding, Eddie Floyd, Aretha Franklin, The Bar-Kays, Ben E King, Sam & Dave, Brook Benton, The Coasters, Carla Thomas, Wilson Pickett, Solomon Burke, Arthur Conley, and more. CD

With selections by Aretha Franklin, Lee Dorsey, The Impressions, The Poets, Gene Chandler, The Olympics, Five Stairsteps, Barbara Mason, Aaron Neville, The Volcanos, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, The Capitols, Intruders, Bar Kays, Mad Lads, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Esquires, and Freddie Scott. LP, Vinyl record album