There are only two singers in the GOAT conversation for me— the incomparable Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin. And no matter where or when you get an opportunity to spin one of their records, it’s just simply a goddamn pleasure. 1972’s Young, Gifted and Black is no exception.
There’s something simply stunning listening to the way Aretha drives each song to its conclusion. One thing that always made Aretha unique was her ability to use inflection/tone to help tell a story over a four-minute period. A perfect example of this is in the opener “Oh Me Oh My” which starts low and intimate before slowly transforming into a full throated shout at the heavens before the 3:40 is over. No two parts or delivery is the same, no note out of place. It’s all so organic, so rich, so complex.
In short, it’s so perfectly human. That is always what has separated Aretha, the music of Motown, and quite frankly music recorded pre-1980’s in general. These are on tape, largely live, and capture a moment in time vs. a collection of the best moments spread out over the course of time (I.e. numerous vocal takes, extensive overdubs, pitch correction digitally manipulated etc.).
Get past the nostalgia and that’s where I think the magic of the “oldies” are. Not just in the incredible one-take performances delivered by a group of human beings playing something together in a room filled with microphones, but that through those microphones we can feel the energy that lived in that room for a fleeting moment. 50 years on, they still feel as alive as they likely did then.
Hats off to the GOAT.
Standout Songs: “Oh Me Oh My (I’m a Fool for Your Baby)”, “All The King’s Horses”, “Rock Steady”
