Track Listing

1. Don't Play That Song (You Lied)
2. Thrill Is Gone
3. Pullin'
4. You And Me
5. Honest I Do
6. Spirit In The Dark
7. When The Battle Is Over
8. One Way Ticket
9. Try Matty's
10. That's All I Want From You
11. Oh No Not My Baby
12. Why I Sing The Blues

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #29479 in Music
• Released on: 1994-01-31
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
One of Aretha's most committed-sounding albums--which, of course, is really saying something--the 1970 Spirit in the Dark remains among the high points of her Atlantic work. The breakup of her marriage may be an unspoken theme, but just as striking is her reinvention of well-known songs and motifs, even more dramatic here than usual. Both dovetail in her take on "The Thrill Is Gone", which climaxes on a surprising interpolation of the phrase "free at last". --Rickey Wright

CD Description
SPIRIT IN THE DARK represents Aretha Franklin at the heightof her majestic vocal power. This is Southern, gospel-basedR&B/soul circa 1969/70, featuring the cream of the genre's players: the Dixie Flyers, the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section,the under-rated Cornell Dupree, and the late guitar wizard Duane Allman (of the Allman Brothers.). The then-unbeatable production team of Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd, and Arif Mardin (guys who were clearly concerned with the music, not just theway the balance sheet looked) manned the controls to achieve a clean, undeniably powerful sound.
The material is a nice mix of pop ("Oh No Not My Baby"), blues ("The Thrill is Gone"), and mid-tempo soul tunes that balance strut with hurt ("Don't Play That Song"). At the centre of each of these tracks, of course, are the Queen of Soul's powerhouse pipes. Here Franklin sings with passion tinged with vulnerability, and an authority that few contemporary singers--even decadesafter Franklin's heyday--can match. Though not as widely touted as I NEVER LOVED A MAN THE WAY I LOVE YOU or ARETHA NOW, SPIRIT IN THE DARK is among the most consistent and dynamic records of the singer's Atlantic tenure.

Customer Reviews

Recommended
This is a good, solid, Aretha Franklin album that doesn't quite reach the heights of her best work, but which nevertheless still contains some great tracks. Foremost among them is You And Me, written by Aretha herself in the classic mould of such titles as All The King's Horses and Day Dreaming. A beautiful song.Then, of course, you also have Don't Play That Song, and Spirit In The Dark, both of which were hit singles, a great little song called Pullin', and generally very good covers of material as diverse as The Thrill Is Gone and Oh No Not My Baby.

Why only four stars then? Well, for me, only You And Me really stands out as great. Everything else is very good, but not essential. Even so I'd recommend this album, and not just to fans. Just about everything on here is worth hearing. Lots of it is from the sessions for This Girl's In Love With You and seemingly just missed the cut. It confirms what I thought on hearing the double cd Rare & Unreleased - the songs that didn't make it on to her albums, particularly from the period '69 - '74, were better than most of the stuff that did make it onto other artists albums, and were worthy of an album in there own right. In a way, this is what you have here. Even so it's worth the price just for You & Me.