Casual Fans Only

In my opinion, this collection was made only for the casual fan who only wants one CD of Aretha Franklin. This is the only CD you can have both the major highlights of her Atlantic years and Arista years. Maybe that was what the purpose is for this collection.

Having stated that, I only recommend this album to the casual fan. Aretha fans should get her box set or if you only want the hits, get the "Best Of..." 2 CDs or her "30 greatest hits".

Queen of soul from the sixties to the eighties

Aretha's best work, showcased here, proves that she has justly earned her title as Queen of soul despite some ups downs in her long career. Aretha took a long time to establish herself but once signed to Atlantic, she found a producer (Jerry Wexler) who was able to make the most of her distinctive talents.



Aretha has had many major hits in America although she has not been particularly successful in the British singles charts - only four of her hits made the UK top ten, two of which were duets with Brits.



During her time with Atlantic, Aretha's classic songs included Respect, Think, You make me feel like a natural woman, I say a little prayer, Since you've been gone, Spanish Harlem, I never loved a man the way I love you, Do right woman do right man, Until you come back to me and a very distinctive cover of Bridge over troubled water.



Aretha eventually left Atlantic, joining Arista in 1980. This rejuvenated her career although she never quite achieved the level of success that she had in her early years with Atlantic. However, she had two major international hits via duets - Sisters are doing it for themselves (with the Eurythmics) and I knew you were waiting for me (with George Michael), the latter becoming a number one hit in Britain (where it remains her only number one hit) and America. She also just missed the UK top ten with Who's zooming who - but most of her UK hits in the eighties were minor hits, just as they had been in her Atlantic years.



This compilation, spanning several decades of Aretha's music, clearly shows why she is regarded as the Queen of soul. There are many Aretha compilations to choose from, but if you want one covering her whole career, this is a good choice although the British double CD (Respect) is a good alternative.

The Aretha Franklin Beginner

There are many Aretha Franklin collections out there. Some might say that the Queen Of Soul box set is the most comprehensive and detailed overview of the one and only Aretha Franklin, but when Aretha's Best was issued in 2001, it was turning out to be another affordable best-of collection. For some people, Aretha's Best is a very inexpensive collection, but there a couple of flaws here. First of all, the tracklisting is weak but, remember this is just the beginner. Songs like Respect, Rock Steady, & You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman is on this collection. This collection doesn't go that far, maybe from 1967 to 1984. Unlike this collection, the Queen Of Soul box set has a lot of songs for the total of 86 classics, which is way too much for the beginner, like me. So I would buy Aretha's Best or 30 Greatest Hits because I'm not a casual Aretha Franklin collector or fan. You might not feel comfortable listening to this collection if you're a hardcore fan, but this is for the beginner. So, enjoy and listen to the Queen Of Soul- Aretha Franklin.