Rolling Stone (10/31/02, p.135) - Ranked #1 in Rolling Stone's "Women In Rock: The 50 Essential Albums" - "...Nobody has ever sung with more intensity..."
Rolling Stone (12/11/03, p.116) - Ranked #83 in Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums Of All Time" - "...Franklin's Atlantic debut is the place where gospel music collided with R&B and rock & roll and became soul..."
Q (1/03, p.54) - Included in Q Magazine's "100 Greatest Albums Ever"
Q (7/93, p.106) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...[the album] came out in May 1967 and was Number 2 in America within weeks...now it stands untainted by time. She seemed so much a force of nature it's strange to recall that this was actually her tenth album..."
Personnel: Aretha Franklin (vocals, piano); Chips Moman, Jimmy Johnson (guitar); Charlie Chalmers, Joe Arnold (tenor saxophone); Willie Bridges (baritone saxophone); Melvin Lastie (trumpet, cornet); Ken Laxton, Ernie Royal (trumpet); David Hood (trombone); Spooner Oldham (electric piano, organ); Arif Mardin (vibraphone); Tommy Cogbill (bass); Gene Chrisman, Roger Hawkins (drums); Carolyn Franklin, Erma Franklin.
Recorded at Atlantic Recording Studios, New York, New York on February 8, 14 & 15, 1967; Fame Recording Studios, Muscle Shoals, Alabama on January 24, 1967. Includes liner notes by David Nathan and Jerry Wexler.
After the end of Aretha Franklin's five year stint on Columbia Records (who tried marketing her as a jazz vocalist), she signed on with Atlantic Records. Produced by music biz veteran Jerry Wexler, Franklin's Atlantic debut found her flexing creative muscle and making music that forever altered the course of pop and soul. Accompanying herself on piano throughout, Franklin's powerful and passionate vocals garnered comparisons to Ray Charles, while her blend of R&B, gospel and jazz rightfully earned her the moniker "Queen Of Soul."