..the way I love you

Sweet Soul Music of the highest order from Aretha Franklin.  A beautiful piece of work, bookended by covers of Otis Redding’s ‘Respect’ and Sam Cooke’s ‘A change is going to come’.

Aretha Franklin produced her first piece of work for Atlantic in 1967 after recording nine albums of pop/soul music that did very little for her creatively.  Thankfully Atlantic Records gave her free rein to write and record and four of the tracks on the album were penned by Aretha Franklin.  The four tracks she has penned are not particularly stand-out but Dr Feelgood is a robust and slightly ‘racy’ record, especially coming from a female black artist in the 1960s.

When me and that man get to luv’in.
I tell you girls, I dig you, but I just don’t have time.
To sit and sit and sit and sit tight and smile.

Don’t send me no doctor.
Filling me up with all of those pills.
I got me a man name Dr. Feelgood.

But really it is the soul classics that stand out a mile on this album by Aretha Franklin.  The title track, ‘Soul seranade’, ‘Do right woman..’ and ‘Respect’ sound as good a you would hope with all the rhythm and excitement of Aretha’s voice.  At the end of the album ‘A change is going to come’, sadly lacks the energy, or rather emotion, of Sam Cooke’s original but it is still a great album of great songs.

Favourite Track – Do Right Woman – Do Right Man

My Rating – 8.6

Released – 1967