The Essential Aretha Franklin (CD)

Those who revere the Queen of Soul are skipping a step if they jump right to the Atlantic hits. Her first secular recordings were her sublime '60s Columbia sides, and here are 40 of 'em on 2 CDs. You'll find her early hits and many remarkable interpretations: Today I Sing the Blues; Won't Be Long; Take a Look; Cry Like a Baby; Lee Cross; Walk on By; Skylark; You'll Lose a Good Thing; Mockingbird; People; Try a Little Tenderness; Only the Lonely; God Bless the Child, and more!

This two-disc, 40-track anthology collects the key tracks from Aretha Franklin's stay with Columbia Records in the early '60s, and they catch the young singer and pianist in her first secular pop recordings -- they're not quite soul and they're not gospel and most of them fall to the jazz-pop side of things. Franklin was already too good a singer (and pianist) not to catch fire in a few of these selections, most notably "Lee Cross," where she lets in some gospel fervor, the elegant "Trouble in Mind," the romping "Soulville," and an almost majestic "Try a Little Tenderness," complete with lush strings, but the sheer emotional power of Franklin's voice feels held in check on most of these tracks. That doesn't make them bad performances -- Franklin is a force of nature when she sings no matter what the material is -- but listeners expecting the Queen of Soul will find a talented Princess in Waiting here instead. ~ Steve Leggett, Rovi

Performer	Aretha Franklin
Music genre	R&B / Soul, Traditional R&B / Soul
Media format	CD
Original release date	2010
Language	English
Number of tracks	40
Has parental advisory label	N
Number of discs	2
Track listing	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40
Record label	SONY CORP. (MUSIC)
Track name	Today I Sing the Blues
Music media format	CD
Is edited	N
Is enhanced	N