Aretha's 'Lady Soul' is 50

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by whisperinwind21, Jan 22, 2018.

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  1. whisperinwind21

    whisperinwind21 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    [​IMG]

    Aretha Franklin's third release on Atlantic Records, Lady Soul was released 50 years ago (January 22, 1968). A giant in the soul pantheon.

    Singles released:

    "(You Make Me Feel Like) a Natural Woman" - Released: September 1967 (US pop #8, R&B #2)

    "Chain of Fools" - Released November 1967 (US pop #2, R&B #1)

    "Sweet Sweet Baby" b/w "Ain't No Way" - Released March 1968 (US pop #5, R&B #1)
     
    Last edited: Jan 22, 2018
  2. whisperinwind21

    whisperinwind21 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Mook, DeRosa and Greenalishi like this.
  3. Luvtemps

    Luvtemps Forum Resident

    Location:
    P.G.County,Md.
    A great soul classic LP.
     
  4. Purple Jim

    Purple Jim Senior Member

    Location:
    Bretagne
    Great album (like all her others from that 60s to early 70s period).
     
    troggy likes this.
  5. ruben lopez

    ruben lopez Nunc Est Bibendum

    Location:
    Barcelona Spain
    What a great record!
    Maybe Aretha's finest hour.
    And Clapton as guest,hell yes!
     
    Rickchick and Almost Simon like this.
  6. nikosvault

    nikosvault Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denmark
    Still not released in mono!

    [​IMG]
     
    Peter Marchesi and ando here like this.
  7. MikeP5877

    MikeP5877 V/VIII/MCMLXXVII

    Location:
    OH
    My favorite Aretha album. Someday I will run across an original mono pressing.
     
    ernie11 and art like this.
  8. hi_watt

    hi_watt The Road Warrior

    Location:
    San Diego, CA
    What is the preferred lp/CD pressing?
     
  9. Paul b

    Paul b Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    Always gotta give it up for the classic Atlantic-period Re.
     
  10. Guy E

    Guy E Senior Member

    Location:
    Antalya, Turkey
    They don't come much better than Lady Soul. 5-Stars+
     
  11. Mook

    Mook Forum Resident

    I absolutely adore this album, Ain't No Way is one of the most heartbreaking songs ever written (& one of the best backing vocals of all time).

    Aside from that, her renditions of Niki Hoeky, People Get Ready & Groovin' are all amazing & don't get enough recognition.
     
  12. spaulding

    spaulding Hoi Polloi

    Location:
    The Windy City
    Celebrated by listening to the new Chris Bellman cut lp last night -
    a wonderful way to spend 40 minutes.

    Particularly when it's followed by the Kevin Gray mono cut of Aretha Arrives.
     
  13. Almost Simon

    Almost Simon Forum Resident

    Just dug my tatty second hand copy out for a play. £1 sticker on the front, green and blue label. Love the bass sound. And a bit of Eric too. Not too shabby this LP. :cool:
     
  14. audiomixer

    audiomixer As Bald As The Beatles

    At first glance at the thread title:
    Aretha 'Lady Soul' is 50 :laugh:
     
  15. whisperinwind21

    whisperinwind21 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    The original stereo pressing doesn't sound too shabby at all. I cranked it last night and it was mightily forceful, albeit some distortion in the highs. I wonder why the now hard-to-find mono mix hasn't been repressed yet.

    The Rhino CD is solid, but I hate some of the distortion on several tracks.
     
    Almost Simon likes this.
  16. carlo

    carlo Forum Resident

    Location:
    germany
    You should listen to the Japanese vinyl of the 70s
    The Japan CD of 2013 is nice but too loud (loudness war)
    The best sounding CD is from the rhino complete Atlantic albums box. I think it was released in 2016 and it sounds much better than the 1995 rhino CD.
     
    whisperinwind21 likes this.
  17. carlo

    carlo Forum Resident

    Location:
    germany
    I love my first German pressing of 1968 and the Japanese vinyl of the early 70s.
     
    hi_watt likes this.
  18. carlo

    carlo Forum Resident

    Location:
    germany
    Oh yeah, I never heard this album in mono. This must be the holy grail!!!
     
  19. WillieDaPimp

    WillieDaPimp Good bad, not evil

    Location:
    Columbus, OH
    I picked up a Mono pressing a couple of years ago, it does sound nice. Does anyone know if it’s a fold or dedicated mix?
     
    Peter Marchesi likes this.
  20. KevinP

    KevinP Forum introvert

    Location:
    Daejeon
    Then how come there isn't a super deluxe box with stereo LP, mono LP, stereo CD, mono CD, a CD of outtakes, a concert CD, a quad BR, reproductions of the tour booklet and concert balloons and lenticular cover?
     
  21. whisperinwind21

    whisperinwind21 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Not to mention a DVD/Blu-Ray release of her legendary Amsterdam shows from this period. Amazing performances.

     
    Mook likes this.
  22. whisperinwind21

    whisperinwind21 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    So it must've been remastered again, as I thought many folks here concluded that the Complete Atlantic box used the same masters as the '92-'95 Rhino reissues? Interesting.
     
  23. Mook

    Mook Forum Resident

    A DVD/Blu Ray of her performance at Montreux in 1971 would also make my year.
     
    whisperinwind21 likes this.
  24. C6H12O6

    C6H12O6 Senior Member

    Location:
    My lab
    The MFSL gold CD is the best I've heard in stereo, but this should be heard in mono, and the whole album has yet to be issued that way on CD.

    At least the mono 45 mixes of "Chain of Fools" and "(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman" are available in excellent sound on the 1992 Queen of Soul box set from Rhino. (I'm not 100% sure if the mono LP mixes are the same.) Compare them, much better than the stereo mixes. The box set went for stereo on the rest of the LP tracks. The later Rhino CD reissue of Queen of Soul included the mono singles as bonus tracks but they're mastered very differently: compressed with a upper midrange or top end boost.
     
    hi_watt likes this.
  25. SITKOL'76

    SITKOL'76 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Colombia, SC
    Ain't No Way is one of the most perfectly executed soul singles of all time and Cissy Houston's background soprano vocals work so well on the track.


    She was only 25 when she put this out BTW, she'll be 76 this march!!!
     
    whisperinwind21 and Mook like this.
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