50 years ago: Dusty Springfield released Dusty in Memphis

First posted 4/8/2008; updated 12/1/2020.

Dusty in Memphis Dusty Springfield

Released: January 18, 1969 Charted: March 15, 1969 Peak: 99 US Sales (in millions): -- Genre: blue-eyed soul

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Just a Little Lovin’ (Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil) [2:19] So Much Love (Gerry Goffin, Carole King) [3:33] Son of a Preacher Man (John Hurley, Ronnie Wilkins) [2:28] (11/30/68, 10 US, 9 UK) I Don’t Want to Hear It Anymore (Randy Newman) [3:12] Don’t Forget about Me (Goffin, King) [2:54] (3/1/69, 64 US) Breakfast in Bed (Eddie Hinton, Donnie Fritts) [2:59] (4/12/69, 91 US) Just One Smile (Newman) [2:44] The Windmills of Your Mind (Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, Michel Legrand) [3:54] (5/3/69, 31 US, 3 AC) In the Land of Make Believe (Burt Bacharach, Hal David) [2:34] (10/4/69, 27 AC) No Easy Way Down (Goffin, King) [3:11] I Can’t Make It Alone (Goffin, King) [4:01] Total Running Time: 33:31

Rating: 3.807 out of 5.00 (average of 14 ratings) Quotable: “The All-time rock-era torch record” – Robert Christgau Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “The idea of taking England’s reigning female soul queen to the home of the music she had mastered was an inspired one.” RW That “home” was specifically the American Sound Studio in Memphis where Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, and others had recorded. Although she’d self-produced her earlier albums, she went with outside producers this time around using Atlantic Records’ Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd, and Arif Mardin to create what critic Robert Christgau called “the perfect instance of how a production team should work.” WK Springfield had “very real anxiety about being compared with the soul greatest who had recorded in the same studios.” WK She had recorded R&B songs before, but this was the first time she committed to an entire album’s worth. WK The “production and engineering team picked mostly perfect songs, and those that weren’t so great were salvaged by Springfield’s marvelous delivery and technique.” RW She was backed by the house band, the Memphis Cats, who had worked with Elvis Presley, Wilson Pickett, and King Curtis. She covered songs written by the famed writing teams of Gerry Goffin and Carole King, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, and Burt Bacharach and Hal David. “This set has definitive numbers in So Much Love, Son of a Preacher Man, Breakfast in Bed, Just One Smile, I Don't Want to Hear About It Anymore, and Just a Little Lovin'.” RW The album didn’t perform well initially, peaking at #99 in the US and failing to reach the UK top 40. Music journalist Peter Robinson said the album stalled Springfield’s career, but eventually became “a popcultural milestone [and] timeless emotional reference point.” WK Entertainment Weekly’s Tony Scherman called it “one of the greatest pop records ever recorded.” WK Christgau called it “the all-time rock-era torch record.” WK “It’s truly a disc deserving of its classic status.” RW Notes: A reissue added three bonus tracks including a cover of Willie and Laura Mae Jones’ That Old Sweet Roll (Hi-De-Ho) and an unreleased version of What Do You Do When Love Dies from the original Memphis sessions. A 25-song Rhino reissue included those three songs as well as “songs left over from sessions for the unfairly underrated Gamble- and Huff-produced Brand New Me album, and the unissued 1971 Jeff Barry-produced sides for a never-released third Atlantic album.” BE Also featured are “covers of David Gates' Make It with You and Carole King’s You’ve Got a Friend, the gospel-flavored Love Shine Down, and the hard-rocking Natchez Trace.” BE

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Dusty Springfield BE All Music Guide review by Bruce Eder of Rhino reissue RW All Music Guide review by Ron Wynn WK Wikipedia

50 years ago: Aretha Franklin released Lady Soul

First posted 3/16/2008; updated 12/2/2020.

Lady Soul Aretha Franklin

Released: January 22, 1968 Charted: February 24, 1968 Peak: 2 US, 116 RB, 25 UK Sales (in millions): 0.5 US Genre: R&B

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Chain of Fools (12/9/67, 2 US, 43 UK, 1 RB, gold single) Money Won’t Change You People Get Ready Niki Hoeky You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman (9/30/67, 8 US, 2 RB) Since You’ve Been Gone (Sweet Sweet Baby) (3/2/68, 5 US, 47 UK, 1 RB, gold single) Good to Me As I Am to You Come Back Baby Groovin’ Ain’t No Way (3/2/68, 16 US, 9 RB) Total Running Time: 28:41

Rating: 4.500 out of 5.00 (average of 17 ratings) Quotable: -- Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “Appearing after a blockbuster debut and a sophomore set that was rather disappointing (in comparison), 1968's Lady Soul proved Aretha Franklin, the pop sensation, was no fluke. Her performances were more impassioned than on her debut, and the material just as strong, an inspired blend of covers and originals from the best songwriters in soul and pop music.” JB “The singing here isn’t technically perfect – the roots of what would become Franklin’s unwavering campaign of melody obliteration are evident – unless we're speaking emotionally, in which case there's not a wrong note.” TL This is a “master class in technique, power and pure feel. No filler – just 10 cuts of complete artistic control” BL and “ten steps to R&B perfection.” BL “The opener, Chain of Fools, became the biggest hit, driven by a chorus of cascading echoes by Franklin and her bedrock backing vocalists, the Sweet Impressions, plus the unforgettable, earthy guitar work of guest Joe South.” JB The song was “inspired by the lines of cotton pickers songwriter Don Covay saw growing up in the south.” TL “The album's showpiece, though, was You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman.” JB “the sexually liberating star turn.” BL It was “written expressly for her by Brill Building pop stalwarts Gerry Goffin and Carole King, based on a title coined by producer Jerry Wexler.” JB “One of the landmark performances in pop music” JB and “an enduring gender anthem,” TL the song floats serenely through the verses until, swept up by Ralph Burns' stirring string arrangement again and again, Franklin opens up on the choruses with one of the most transcendent vocals of her career.” JB “It’s a testament to Franklin that these songs sound unwritten, as if they didn't exist until she opened her mouth and gave them life.” TL “Just as she'd previously transformed a soul classic (Otis Redding’s ‘Respect’) into a signature piece of her own, Franklin courageously reimagined songs by heavyweights James Brown, Ray Charles, and the Impressions. Brown’s Money Won't Change You is smooth and kinetic, her testifying constantly reinforced by interjections from the Sweet Inspirations. Curtis Mayfield's People Get Ready, a 1965 civil-rights anthem and a hit for the Impressions, is taken at a slower pace than the original; after a quiet verse, Franklin lets loose amidst a magisterial brass arrangement by Arif Mardin.” JB “Even her cover of the Young Rascals’ throwaway Groovin’ is transcendent.” TL “Powered by three hit singles (each nested in the upper reaches of the pop Top Ten), Lady Soul became Aretha Franklin's second gold LP and remained on the charts for over a year.” JB Notes: A reissue of the album adds the singles remixes of “Chain of Fools,” “You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman,” “Since You’ve Been Gone (Sweet Sweet Baby),” and “Ain’t No Way.”

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Aretha Franklin BL Blender Magazine’s 100 Greatest American Albums (10/08) JB John Bush, All Music Guide TL Josh Tyrangiel and Alan Light, Time Magazine’s “All-TIME 100 Albums” (11/13/06)

50 years ago: Aretha released I Never Loved a Man album

First posted 3/16/2008; updated 12/1/2020.

I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You Aretha Franklin

Released: March 10, 1967 Peak: 2 US, 1 RB, 36 UK, 2 CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, -- UK, 0.5 world (includes US and UK) Genre: R&B

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Respect (Otis Redding) [2:29] (4/29/67, 1 US, 10 UK, 1 RB, sales: 1 million) Drown in My Own Tears (Henry Glover) [4:07] I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (Ronnie Shannon) [2:51] (3/4/67, 9 US, 1 RB, sales: 1 million) Soul Serenade (King Curtis, Luther Dixon) [2:39] Don’t Let Me Lose This Dream (Aretha Franklin, Ted White) [2:23] Baby, Baby, Baby (Aretha Franklin, Carolyn Franklin) [2:54] Dr. Feelgood (Love Is a Serious Business) (Aretha Franklin, Ted White) [3:23] Good Times (Sam Cooke) [2:10] Do Right Woman, Do Right Man (Dan Penn, Chips Moman) [3:16] (3/4/67, 37 RB) Save Me (Aretha Franklin, Carolyn Franklin, King Curtis) [2:21] A Change Is Gonna Come (Sam Cooke) [4:20] Total Running Time: 32:51

Rating: 4.691 out of 5.00 (average of 21 ratings) Quotable: “A soul landmark.” – Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “The centerpiece of Franklin's first album for Atlantic Records was her cover of Otis Redding’s Respect, the song that, released in the midst of the racial and sexual tumult of 1967, meant so much to so many people. It remains her signature anthem” TL and “one of the truly seminal singles in pop history.” JA While its “inclusion…is in and of itself sufficient to earn I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You classic status, Aretha Franklin's Atlantic label debut is an indisputable masterpiece from start to finish.” JA “Much of the credit is due to producer Jerry Wexler, who finally unleashed the soulful intensity so long kept under wraps during her Columbia tenure; assembling a crack Muscle Shoals backing band along with an abundance of impeccable material, Wexler creates the ideal setting to allow Aretha to ascend to the throne of Queen of Soul” JA as she “finds her voice” BL and “responds with the strongest performances of her career” JA on her way to becoming “the soul diva of her generation.” BL While the brilliant title track remains the album’s other best-known song, each cut on I Never Loved a Man is touched by greatness.” JA The “overexposure [of ‘Respect’] means that [Aretha’s] powerful versions of Ray Charles’ Drown in My Own Tears and Sam Cooke’s A Change Is Gonna Come, as well as her emotionally delicate performance of Do Right Woman, Do Right Man, are often underappreciated.” TL The latter “was a plea for love and dignity no listener couldn’t be moved by.” BL The covers, which also include “Sam Cooke's Good Times…are on par with the original recordings, while Aretha's own contributions – Don't Let Me Lose This Dream, Baby, Baby, Baby, Save Me, and Dr. Feelgood (Love Is a Serious Business) – are perfectly at home in such lofty company. A soul landmark.” JA Notes: A reissue of the album adds the singles remixes of “Respect,” “I Never Loved a Man,” and “Do Right Woman, Do Right Man.”

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Aretha Franklin JA Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide BL Blender Magazine’s 100 Greatest American Albums (10/08) TL Josh Tyrangiel and Alan Light, Time Magazine’s “All-TIME 100 Albums” (11/13/06)

Beyoncé’s Lemonade released

Lemonade Beyoncé

Released: April 23, 2016 Peak: 11 US, 110 RB, 11 UK, 11 CN, 11 AU Sales (in millions): 3.0 US, 0.4 UK, 5.9 world (includes US and UK) Genre: R&B

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Pray You Catch Me Hold Up (8/16/16, 13 US, 6 RB, 11 UK, 37 CN, 25 AU, platinum single) Don’t Hurt Yourself (with Jack White) Sorry (5/3/16, 11 US, 4 RB, 33 UK, 40 CN, 74 AU, platinum single) 6 Inch (with The Weeknd) Daddy Lessons Love Drought Sandcastles Forward (with James Blake) Freedom (with Kendrick Lamar) (9/6/16, 36 US, 21 RB, 40 UK, 60 CN, 62 AU) All Night (12/6/16, 38 US, 23 RB, 60 UK, 73 CN) Formation (2/6/16, 10 US, 6 RB, 31 UK, 32 CN, 17 AU, platinum single) Total Running Time: 45:42

Rating: 4.348 out of 5.00 (average of 15 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” The well-known proverb is spoken by Hattie White, Beyoncé’s grandmother-in-law, in the song “Freedom.” WK It serves as the the premise behind Beyoncé’s sixth studio album, a cathartic exploration of the emotional turmoil she endured after her husband, rapper and business mogul Jay-Z, cheated on her. In an interview with Elle magazine, she said, “Everyone experiences pain, but sometimes you need to be uncomfortable to transform.” WK She uses “her heartbreak masterpiece, Lemonade” RS500 “to demand contrition from her adulterous partner, assert her excellence, reflect upon the bonds with the men in her life, and their relationships with other women, and wonders if her trust can be earned back.” AMG She announces on the album, “Nine times out of 10 I’m in my feelings.” RS500 However, this album goes beyond the anger and hurt of a woman scorned. This is an “expansive and personal statement, tapping into marital breakdown and the state of the nation.” RS500 The song cycle explores “her husband’s infidelity in a generational and racial context.” WK “It was a different side than she’d shown before, raging over infidelity and jealousy, but reveling in the militant-feminist-funk strut of Formation.” RS500 Melina Matsoukas, who directed that song’s video, said Beyoncé “wanted to show the historical impact of slavery on black love, and what it has done to the black family, and black men and women – how we’re almost socialized not to be together.” WK Musically, Beyoncé is “claiming her place in all of America’s music traditions.” RS500 The album is rooted in R&B, but also incorporates Americana, blues, country, electronica, funk, gospel, hip-hop, reggae, rock, soul, and trap. WK She drew inspiration from female black singers including Bessie Smith, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Memphis Minnie, and Dionne Warwick. WK The album samples and interpolates a number of hip-hop and rock songs and also includes guest spots from James Blake, Kendrick Lamar, The Weeknd, and Jack White. WK There is “an apparent disregard for appealing to commercial radio that makes Lemonade a distinct addition to her catalog.” AMG It was, in fact, dropped “as a Saturday-night surprise, knocking the world sideways.” RS500 However, the album was not only commercially successful, but the most acclaimed of her career, WK landing a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year and winning for Best Urban Contemporary Album and Best Music Video. It was named Album of the Year by Rolling Stone and Dave’s Music Database. In 2020, Pitchfork’s Marc Hogan called oit one of the great art pop albums of the last 20 years. WK The Associated Press named it the album of the decade. WK “The cathartic and wounded moments here resonate in a manner matched by few, if any, of Beyoncé's contemporaries.” AMG “There’s more power in the few seconds she chokes back tears while singing ‘Come back’ – timed with the backing vocal in Isaac Hayes’ version of ‘Walk on By’ – than there is in most contemporary ballads.” AMG Lemonade can “be heard as the dark flipside of [previous album] Beyoncé. When ‘Dishes smashed on the counter’ is bleakly observed, just before ‘Pictures snatched out the frame/Bitch, I scratched out your name and face’ is delivered with seething wrath, it’s hard to not flash back to ‘Drunk in Love,’ in which the presumably same couple were revelrous in the same room.” AMG “She sometimes eclipses herself in terms of raw emotion, as on the throttling…Don’t Hurt Yourself,” AMG a “blues metal with Jack White.” RS500 He said, “she took just sort of a sketch of a lyrical outline and turned it into the most bodacious, vicious, incredible song.” WK The song uses an excerpt from a Malcolm X speech and samples Led Zeppelin’s “When the Levee Breaks,” a song originally performed by Memphis Minnie that referenced the displacement of hundreds of thousands of African Americans during the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. WK That song and Daddy Lessons, on which she goes “outlaw country,” RS500 illustrate how genres established by African Americans are now seen predominantly as white music. WK “After the first three-quarters play out in compelling if somewhat erratic fashion, Lemonade closes with a torrid stretch. Freedom is a marching anthem of resilience and preservation, produced by Just Blaze with a glowing guest verse from Kendrick Lamar.” AMG “All Night is a tangle of emotions and hints at reconciliation, facilitated by the horns from OutKast’s ‘Spottie Ottie Dopaliscious.’ And then, at last, there's the strutting ‘Formation,’ simultaneously a tack-on and an ideal finale, where Beyoncé delights in her blackness, femininity, and Southern origin with supreme wordplay.” AMG Notes: The streaming edition of the album included a demo of “Sorry.” A sixty-five minute film aired on HBO which featured 11 chapters which corresponded to the songs on the album. It was released as a second disc to Lemonade.

Resources and Related Links: AMG All Music Guide review by Andy Kellman RS500 Rolling Stone (9/22/2020). “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time” WK Wikipedia Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 9/24/2020; last updated 4/21/2022.