Aretha Franklin Vinyl Records

Franklin Named Best Singer in History by Rolling Stone: This is Her Debut! Originally released in 1967, this is Aretha Franklin's first album for Atlantic and possibly the greatest debut in the history of soul music. This soul landmark contains one of the truly seminal singles ever in "Respect," two killer tracks recorded at Fame Studio in Muscle Shoals ("Never Loved A Man the Way I Love You" and "Do Right Woman-Do Right Man"), puts lots of other great hard soul groovers. A masterpiece from start to finish!

Track Listing:
1. Respect
2. Drown In My Own Tears
3. I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)
4. Soul Serenade
5. Don't Let me Lose This Dream
6. Baby Baby Baby
7. Dr. Feelgood
8. Good Times
9. Do Right Woman-Do Right Man
10. Save Me
11. A Change Is Gonna Come

Lady Soul is an album by Aretha Franklin, released in 1968. The album was her second R&B chart-topper, the follow-up to "Aretha Arrives" and included some of her biggest hit singles, "Chain of Fools" (#2 Pop), and (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman (#8 Pop), and "(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone" (#5 Pop). It eventually sold over a million copies in the United States alone. The album was reissued on Rhino Records in a deluxe edition in 1995.

Lady Soul peaked at #1, #2 and #3 on Billboard's Black Albums, Pop Albums and Jazz Albums charts respectively. The single "Ain't No Way" (B-Side of "Since You've Been Gone (Sweet, Sweet, Baby)") peaked at #9 on the Black Singles chart, and #16 on the Pop Singles chart.

Track Listing:
1. Chain Of Fools
2. Money Won't Change You
3. People Get Ready
4. Niki Hoeky
5. (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman
6. Since You've Been Gone (Sweet Sweet Baby)
7. Good To Me As I Am To You
8. Come Back Baby
9. Groovin'
10. Ain't No Way

Just before she recorded her first records with them, Columbia released 'Soul Sister'; a collection of recordings from their vaults. Aretha may not have yet reached the heights she would in her later career, this collection shows an artist in the making, her raw talent budding with hope, grace and fire.

'Soul Sister' is now not only made available again for the first time since 1966, Music On Vinyl is also releasing it with completely re-mastered audio!

Track Listing:
1. Until You Were Gone
2. You Made Me Love You
3. Follow Your Heart
4. Ol' Man River
5. Sweet Bitter Love
6. A Mother's Love
7. Swanee
8. (No, No) I'm Losing You
9. Take A Look
10. Can't You Just See Me
11. Cry Like A Baby

In order to celebrate Aretha Franklin's 50th anniversary in Pop music, Music On Vinyl released a double album plus a bonus 10" with some of her best recordings for Columbia Records.
The remarkable recordings in this deluxe package make a convincing case that Aretha Franklin was already royalty by the time she made her first album for Columbia Records as an 18-year-old gospel singer brimming with hope, possibility and a glimpse of glory.

Electrifying electrified audiences when it was released in 1962, winning Aretha top honors in DownBeat magazine's prestigious listeners' poll.
Aretha's brief output for Columbia set the stage for her ascendance as the Queen of Soul at Atlantic Records. A Bit of Soul demonstrates how she found her voice at Columbia.

Presented for the first time in its original form, we can hear her divinely inspired soul fire, emerging interpretative grace and vocal sophistication. Indeed, we can hear the very evolution of her musical genius.

Track Listing:
LP 1 - The Electrifying Aretha
1. You Made Me Love You
2. I Told You So
3. Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody
4. Nobody Like You
5. Exactly Like You
6. It's So Heartbreakin' 7. Rough Lover
8. Blue Holiday
9. Just For You
10. That Lucky Old Sun
11. I Surrender, Dear
12. Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive

LP 2 - BONUS 10"
1. Introduction To Hard Times
2. Hard Times (No One Knows Better Than I) (Take 2)
3. When They Ask About You
4. Operation Heartbreak
5. I Surrender, Dear (Mono Mix)
6. Rough Lover (Mono Mix)
7. Kissin' By The Mistletoe (Mono Mix)

LP 3 - A Bit Of Soul (Previously unreleased album)
1. Follow Your Heart
2. Only The One You Love
3. One Step Ahead
4. Can't You Just See Me
5. How To Murder Your Wife
6. A Little Bit Of Soul
7. Cry Like A Baby
8. Her Little Heart Went To Loveland
9. Remember Me
10. Land Of Dreams
11. Little Miss Raggedy Ann

The Bonus Side
1. Deeper
2. I Still Can't Forget
3. Rose Of Washington Square
4. Take It Like You Give It (Mono Mix)
5. Follow Your Heart (Mono Mix)
6. Only The One You Love (Mono Mix)
7. One Step Ahead (Mono Mix)
8. How To Murder Your Wife (Mono Mix)
9. A Little Bit Of Soul (Mono Mix)
10. Cry Like A Baby (Mono Mix)
11. Her Little Heart Went To Loveland (Mono Mix)

The Electrifying Aretha Franklin indeed electrified audiences when it was released in 1962, winning Aretha top honors in DownBeat magazine's prestigious listeners' poll. Aretha's brief output for Columbia set the stage for her ascendance as the Queen of Soul at Atlantic Records. One can easily hear her divinely inspired soul fire, emerging interpretative grace and vocal sophistication.

Track Listing:
1. You Made Me Love You
2. I Told You So
3. Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody
4. Nobody Like You
5. Exactly Like You
6. It's So Heartbreakin'
7. Rough Lover
8. Blue Holiday
9. Just For You
10. That Lucky Old Sun
11. I Surrender, Dear
12. Ac-cent-tchu-ate The Positive

These recordings were made before Aretha Franklin was honoured with such names as 'Lady Soul' or 'Soul Sister No. 1'. That the young, talented singer already possessed one of the most outstanding voices was confirmed by the great Dinah Washington who stated concisely but decisively: "The girl has got soul."

The present tribute album was recorded just a few months after Washington’s death and presents her most important and successful numbers, sung by her 23-year-old successor, who obviously feels quite comfortable when treading in the great singer’s footsteps. In "Unforgettable", a laid-back number with a string background, Aretha captivates the listener with her ever-changing vocal colouring and gospel-like ballad feeling. In the second number, "Cold, Cold Heart", there is already evidence of a shimmering, subliminal blues nuance which is shot through with pointed harp phrases and the 'sucking' sound of the Hammond organ. While an old-fashioned bluesy style supported by a powerful bigband is characteristic of "Evil Gal Blues", unconventional arrangements using obbligato trombone ("Don’t Say You’re Sorry Again") are also found in this fascinating and highly varied line-up of numbers. Now, more than 40 years after its release, this album pays tribute to two unforgettable interpreters of black music.

Musicians:

• Aretha Franklin (piano, vocals)
• Buddy Lucas (harmonica, tenor saxophone)
• Ernie Royal (trumpet)
• Bob Asher
• Teddy Charles (vibraphone)
• Ernie Hayes (organ, piano)
• Paul Griffin (organ)
• George Duvivier (bass)
• Gary Chester (drums)

Recording: August 1964 in New York
Production: Robert Mersey

About Speakers Corner

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

Side 1

1. OH ME OH MY (I'm A Fool For You Baby)
2. DAY DREAMING
3. ROCK STEADY
4. YOUNG, GIFTED AND BLACK
5. ALL THE KING'S HORSES
6. A BRAND NEW ME

Side 2

1. APRIL FOOLS
2. I'VE BEEN LOVING YOU TOO LONG
3. FIRST SNOW IN KOKOMO
4. THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD
5. DIDN'T I (Blow Your Mind This Time)
6. BORDER SONG (Holy Moses)

Side 1:

1. OH ME OH MY (I'm A Fool For You Baby)
2. DAY DREAMING
3. ROCK STEADY
4. YOUNG, GIFTED AND BLACK
5. ALL THE KING'S HORSES
6. A BRAND NEW ME

Side 2:

1. APRIL FOOLS
2. I'VE BEEN LOVING YOU TOO LONG
3. FIRST SNOW IN KOKOMO
4. THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD
5. DIDN'T I (Blow Your Mind This Time)
6. BORDER SONG (Holy Moses)

Side 1:

1. OH ME OH MY (I'm A Fool For You Baby)
2. DAY DREAMING
3. ROCK STEADY
4. YOUNG, GIFTED AND BLACK
5. ALL THE KING'S HORSES
6. A BRAND NEW ME

Side 2:

1. APRIL FOOLS
2. I'VE BEEN LOVING YOU TOO LONG
3. FIRST SNOW IN KOKOMO
4. THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD
5. DIDN'T I (Blow Your Mind This Time)
6. BORDER SONG (Holy Moses)