Essential Aretha Franklin: The Columbia Years

Personnel: Aretha Franklin (piano); Lord Westbrook, Keeter Best, Kenny Burrell (guitar); Al Sears, Buddy Lucas (tenor saxophone); Ernie Royal (trumpet); Bob Asher, Tyree Glenn (trombone); Ernie Hayes (piano, organ); Ellis Larkins, Teddy Harris, Ray Bryant (piano); Paul Griffin (organ); Teddy Charles (vibraphone); Gary Chester , Sticks Evans, Hindel Butts, Osie Johnson (drums).
Audio Mixers: Leo Sacks; Mark Wilder.
Liner Note Authors: David Ritz; Nikki Giovanni.
Recording information: Columbia Recording Studios, New York, NY (08/01/1960-10/12/1965).
Photographers: Don Hunstein; Hank Parker.
This two-disc, 40-track anthology collects the key tracks from Aretha Franklin's stay with Columbia Records in the early '60s, and they catch the young singer and pianist in her first secular pop recordings -- they're not quite soul and they're not gospel and most of them fall to the jazz-pop side of things. Franklin was already too good a singer (and pianist) not to catch fire in a few of these selections, most notably "Lee Cross," where she lets in some gospel fervor, the elegant "Trouble in Mind," the romping "Soulville," and an almost majestic "Try a Little Tenderness," complete with lush strings, but the sheer emotional power of Franklin's voice feels held in check on most of these tracks. That doesn't make them bad performances -- Franklin is a force of nature when she sings no matter what the material is -- but listeners expecting the Queen of Soul will find a talented Princess in Waiting here instead. ~ Steve Leggett