This Is Jazz, Vol. 34 (1998)

About this title: Before she lit up the pop and soul world while recording for Atlantic Records in the late '60s, Aretha Franklin spent several years at Columbia trying everything from adult pop to bluesy soul. The label compiled 17 tracks recorded from 1960-65 for her volume in the This Is Jazz series. Fans unfamiliar with her pre-Atlantic period might be surprised at the quality of the material and Aretha's voice, already belting out bluesy classics like "Today I Sing the Blues" and "Muddy Water" even while giving her own atmospheric gospel vision to "Skylark" and "Only the Lonely." Even while her backing ... read more

Tracks:

1. Evil Gal Blues [Feather/Hampton]
2. Today I Sing the Blues [Hamner/Lewis]
3. Skylark [Carmichael/Mercer]
4. Nobody Knows the Way I Feel This Morning [Delaney/Delaney]
5. Unforgettable [Gordon]
6. Love for Sale [Porter]
7. Only the Lonely [VanHeusen/Cahn]
8. Muddy Water [Trent/DeRose/Richma]
9. God Bless the Child [Herzog/Holiday]
10. All Night Long [Lewis]
11. It Ain't Necessarily So [Gershwin/Gershwin]
12. What a Diff'rence a Day Made [Adams/Grever]
13. Over the Rainbow [Harburg/Arlen]
14. Maybe I'm a Fool [McFarland]
15. Drinking Again [Tauber/Mercer]
16. Trouble in Mind [Jones]
17. This Bitter Earth [Otis]

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