The life and soul

Aretha’s essential albums

Unforgettable: A Tribute to Dinah Washington

The best of Aretha’s nine studio albums for Columbia Records,

Unforgettable finds the future Queen Of Soul paying tribute to the dearly departed Queen Of The Blues, who died of an overdose in 1963. By celebrating the songs of her hero, Aretha offers an early glimpse of the R&B force she would become.

I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You

After signing with Atlantic Records, Aretha trekked down to Muscle Shoals to work with the Swampers at FAME Studios. Her debut for the label remains one of the finest R&B records of the era – hell, one of the finest records period – and the tensions that defined those infamous sessions have not diminished the revolutionary power of “Respect” or the sexual pique of “Dr Feelgood”.

Amazing Grace

For this double live album, Aretha returned to church – not her father’s church in Detroit, but the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church, where she was joined by some of her gospel heroes for a set of gospel standards as intense and as transcendent as any of her secular albums. For many years it was her best-selling release.

Sparkle

After a string of lacklustre albums in the early 1970s, Aretha scored a huge hit with this soundtrack produced by Curtis Mayfield. The film itself may be forgettable, but Aretha’s powerful performances, especially on “Something He Can Feel”, make

a highlight of her career.

Who’s Zoomin’ Who?

Who could have predicted that Aretha would not only survive, but thrive in the 1980s? This album, produced by Narada Michael Walden, produced some of the biggest hits of her career, including “Freeway Of Love” and “Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves”, a duet with the Eurythmics’ Annie Lennox.