The Great Aretha Franklin: The First 12 Sides (1973)

About this title: This overlooked classic, a compilation of Aretha Franklin's first singles, is often overshadowed by her parade of late-'60s hits on Atlantic. Only the rollicking first cut ("Won't Be Long") was chartbound, but on purely musical terms, this set stands up to anything she has done since. The program is solidly bluesy, and it's obvious that she didn't get ALL her schooling in Rev. C.L. Franklin's church. Her earliest gospel recordings were done there for Chess, but by 1960 she had come fully into her own, sounding every bit as sassy as Nina Simone or Esther Phillips, and playing that seductive ... read more

Tracks:

1. Won't Be Long [McFarland]
2. Over the Rainbow [Arlen/Harburg]
3. Love Is the Only Thing [McFarland]
4. Sweet Lover [McFarland/Wyche]
5. All Night Long [Lewis]
6. Who Needs You? [Burns/Holiday]
7. Right Now [McFarland]
8. Are You Sure? [Willson]
9. Maybe I'm a Fool [McFarland]
10. It Ain't Necessarily So [Gershwin/Gershwin]
11. (Blue) By Myself [Bailey/McFarland]
12. Today I Sing the Blues [Hamner/Lewis]

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