Jazz to Soul (1992)

About this title: She's Billie Holiday. No, she's Ella Fitzgerald. No, wait, she's Dinah Washington. The conventional wisdom on Aretha Franklin's tenure at Columbia Records is that the label didn't know what to do with her, and that may be true, but you can't say they didn't try. On these 39 recordings, spread across two discs and cut between 1960 and 1965, Franklin and her producers look for ways to frame her obvious vocal talents, but always in terms of uptown jazz and non-pop/rock formats. Much of the result is appealing, and it's only in light of the transcendent soul music Franklin made from her first day ... read more

Tracks:

1. Today I Sing the Blues [Hamner/Lewis]
2. (Blue) By Myself [Bailey/McFarland]
3. Maybe I'm a Fool [McFarland]
4. All Night Long [Lewis]
5. Blue Holiday [Denson/Dixon]
6. Nobody Like You [Cleveland]
7. Sweet Lover [McFarland/Wyche]
8. Just for a Thrill [Armstrong/Raye]
9. If Ever I Would Leave You [Lerner/Loewe]
10. Once in a While [Cook]
11. This Bitter Earth [Otis]
12. God Bless the Child [Herzog/Holiday]
13. Skylark[Version] [Carmichael/Mercer]
14. Muddy Water [DeRose/Richman/Tren]
15. Drinking Again [Mercer/Tauber]
16. What a Diff'rence a Day Made [Adams/Grever]
17. Unforgettable [Gordon]
18. Love for Sale [Porter]
19. Misty [Burke/Garner]
20. Impossible [Alternate Take] [Allen]
21. This Could Be the Start of Something [Allen]
22. Won't Be Long [McFarland]
23. Operation Heartbreak [Kasha/Thomas/Willia]
24. Soulville [Glover/Levy/Turner/]
25. Runnin' Out of Fools [Ahlert/Rogers]
26. Trouble in Mind [Jones]
27. Walk on By [Bacharach/David]
28. Every Little Bit Hurts [Cobb/Seal]
29. Mockingbird [Foxx/Foxx]
30. You'll Lose a Good Thing [Meaux/Ozen]
31. Cry Like a Baby [Armstead/Ashford/Si]
32. Take It Like You Give It [Franklin/White]
33. Land of Dreams [White]
34. Can't You Just See Me [Hendricks/Otis]
35. (No, No) I'm Losing You [Byers]
36. Bit of Soul [Bland/Mitchell/Wilk]
37. Why Was I Born? [Hammerstein/Kern]
38. Until You Were Gone [Byers]
39. Lee Cross [White]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.