Alex Henderson

Aretha Franklin
Aretha  [Expanded Edition) 

Many of the great soul singers who made their mark in the 1960s and 1970s had a hard time adapting to the high-tech, hip-hop-influenced R&B world of the 1980s and disappeared from the charts, but Aretha Franklin was not one of them. The Queen of Soul enjoyed some major hits during the 1980s: Franklin soared to #1 on Billboard’s R&B singles chart in the U.S. with “Jump to It” (produced and co-written by Luther Vandross) in 1982, “Get It Right” in 1983 and “Freeway of Love” in 1985. And her commercial winning streak continued when Arista Records released Aretha in 1986.

Aretha wasn’t the first time the Queen of Soul had recorded an album with that title: a 1980 album that was also titled Aretha included her #3 R&B single “United Together” and a hit cover of the Doobie Brothers’ “What a Fool Believes.” But while 1980’s Aretha had a 1970s-like approach, this album favors much more of an urban contemporary sound. From the uptempo synth-funk of “Rock-A-Lott” (a #25 R&B/#4 dance hit in Billboard in the U.S.) to the mid-tempo “An Angel Cries” to the quiet storm ballads “If You Need My Love Tonight” (a male/female duet with Larry Graham) and “Do You Still Remember,” Franklin is clearly making an effort to change with the times on this album.

Most of Aretha was produced by Narada Michael Walden, who also did a lot of work on her million-selling Who’s Zoomin’ Who album of 1985. However, Franklin herself produced “He’ll Come Along” (a Franklin original) and a soaring performance of the Burton Lane/Yip Harburg standard “Look to the Rainbow,” while a gutsy remake of the Rolling Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” was produced by Stones guitarist Keith Richard and takes the Queen of Soul into rock & roll territory. Franklin’s version of the Stones classic reached #21 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S., but the singles that this album is best known for are the vibrant “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)”—a male/female duet with British pop-rock star George Michael that was a #1 pop smash in both the U.S. and the U.K.—and the #2 R&B hit “Jimmy Lee,” which combines an 1980s production style with elements of 1960s soul.

Back in 1986, Arista released Aretha as a nine-song LP. But this deluxe reissue expands Aretha to a two-CD set with the addition of 19 bonus tracks, which include a variety of mixes of “Rock-A-Lott,” “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)” and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.”

Two of the people who wrote “Jimmy Lee” and “If You Need My Love Tonight,” Walden and his ally Preston Glass, had written the hit title track of Who’s Zoomin’ Who with Franklin. Given how successful Who’s Zoomin’ Who had been in 1985, Arista founder/president Clive Davis was more than happy to see Walden and Glass’ names associated with Aretha the following year. During an October 2014 interview, Glass explained that a few of the songs on Aretha were left over from the Who’s Zoomin’ Who sessions.

 “When Narada Michael Walden got the call to work with Aretha Franklin in 1984, he was very excited,” Glass recalls. “So we just started writing up a storm, and there were many leftover songs. Clive Davis narrowed it down to the songs that he wanted for the Who’s Zoomin’ Who album, but the basic tracks for ‘Jimmy Lee’ and ‘If You Need My Love Tonight’ were cut for Who’s Zoomin’ Who—which is kind of an interesting fact.”

Glass recalls that even before Graham was hired, Davis and Walden envisioned “If You Need My Love Tonight” as a male/female duet. Glass explains: “They had thought about a lot of different people. Jeffrey Osborne was somebody Narada and Clive were talking to. Howard Hewett also. But for some reason, none of those came through. Larry Graham is my brother-in law, and my wife suggested, ‘How about Larry Graham?’ It turned out that Aretha liked that idea because of their differences in vocal tone.”

Glass continues: “I admire the fact that Aretha wanted to stay current and stay on top of what was happening in the 1980s. Being the Queen of Soul, Aretha could have continued to do what she did before. But she wanted to try working with new producers, and when Narada worked on the Who’s Zoomin’ Who and Aretha albums, he was kind of looked at as a new guy.”

The illustration that appears on Aretha’s front cover was created by Andy Warhol, and it was Warhol’s last album design before his death on February 22, 1987. Glass comments: “They didn’t have any photos taken for the front cover of the Aretha album, but I think that using Andy Warhol was brilliant.”

Interviewed separately in October 2014, the 62-year-old Walden also praised Franklin’s willingness to experiment and try different things during the 1980s. “Aretha Franklin ruled the 1960s,” Walden asserts. “Aretha Franklin was the Queen of Soul in the 1960s. Then she got a little quiet. But Who’s Zoomin’ Who in 1985 was a platinum album. It was a million seller. And the second album I did with her, Aretha, was a continuation of Who’s Zoomin’ Who.”

The London-born Michael was among the biggest stars of the 1980s, burning up the charts as lead singer for Wham! before launching a successful solo career. Michael is primarily a pop-rock singer, but he has been greatly influenced by classic soul—and Franklin was among his idols. Walden remembers: “George Michael was a major fan of Aretha, and Aretha really dug him. It was a match made in heaven. When we did ‘I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me),’ I could tell that George wasn’t used to being produced—he was used to producing. But it worked out, and George and the Queen of Soul were both on top of their game.”

Franklin, as Walden says, ruled the 1960s. And Aretha demonstrates that the Queen of Soul had a lot to say in the 1980s as well.

—Alex Henderson, October 2014

Alex Henderson’s work has appeared in Billboard, Spin, Salon.com, Creem, The L.A. Weekly, AlterNet, JazzTimes, Jazziz, Cash Box, HITS, CD Review, Skin Two, Black Beat, The Pasadena Weekly, Black Radio Exclusive (BRE), Music Connection, The New York City Jazz Record, Jazz Inside Magazine and many other well-known publications. Henderson (alexvhenderson.com) also contributed several thousand CD reviews to the popular Allmusic.com website and The All Music Guide’s series of music reference books.