Record Reviews

ARETHA FRANKLIN ~ TAKE A LOOK - THE COMPLETE ON COLUMBIA SONY 886979313125 (Barcode: 886979313125) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 1960 - 1966 Released: 2011 American singer Aretha FranklinFind albums by this artist, one of the true divas of the music scene and the Queen of Soul, as she was crowned in the late 1960s, is mostly known for her legendary recordings on the AtlanticFind albums by this artist label, where the majority of her great hit singles and albums were released during her peak decade (1967-1976). However, before she signed with Atlantic, she spent seven years with ColumbiaFind albums by this artist records (1960-1966), where her initial career was shaped. She recorded eleven fabulous albums for Columbia, one of which was actually never released and sees the light of day for the first time in this Box Set. Columbia envisaged Franklin primarily as a Jazz singer, and the entire production, arrangements and choice of repertoire for her albums was aimed at that direction, at least initially blind to her potential as a Rhythm And Blues and Soul genius she truly was. But Franklin was always a superb singer with extraordinary sensitivity and amazing talent and the Columbia recordings are all absolute gems, which sound even better in retrospect. Accompanied by the best Jazz players of the period (the list of credits reads as the who´s who of the Jazz scene at the time), both in combo and orchestra formats, she performs beautifully singing Jazz, Blues, Gospel and some early (for her) Pop and Soul material, with the successive albums clearly showing the slow metamorphosis of her musical persona towards her true vocation. Produced by some of the most legendary music producers of the time, such as the John HammondFind albums by this artist, Clyde OtisFind albums by this artist and others, these are true gems, which prove to be absolutely timeless. This wonderful Box Set includes all the eleven albums Franklin recorded for Columbia, remastered and expanded with a plethora of bonus tracks. It also includes a DVD with Franklin´s 1964 TV show and a beautifully researched and designed booklet. It is an individually numbered limited edition release. This is a wonderful piece of music history, which should make any owner of a serious music collection proud. Hopefully all these sets will find good homes, as they surely don´t make music like this any more. Respect!

Updated: 08/05/2023Posted:

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