The Indispensable / Aretha Franklin
) | Label: Fremeaux (France) Catalog: FA5735 Format: CD Ray Bryant Combo; Franklin, ArethaAretha Franklin was the Queen of Soul and probably much more: the Queen of American singers, a much- disputed title her impressive discography can easily claim. This double album includes the first six years of her recordings, going forward from her beginnings as an exceptionally gifted gospel singer aged fourteen. She went on to become one of the most extraordinary vocalists in music history, thanks to the intensity of astounding recordings like “Today I Sing the Blues” or “Maybe I’m a Fool.” Bruno Blum tells her story. “Aretha helped define the American experience. In her voice, we could feel our history, all of it and in every shade — our power and our pain, our darkness and our light, our quest for redemption and our hard-won respect. May the Queen of Soul rest in eternal peace.” (Barack Obama)  Price: $42.98 |