Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics

Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics is the thirty-eighth and final studio album by American recording artist Aretha Franklin and was released on October 17, 2014.[1] It features ten covers of songs made famous by female recording artists.

Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics
Studio album by
Aretha Franklin
ReleasedOctober 17, 2014
Recorded2013–14
Genre
LabelRCA Records
Producer
Aretha Franklin chronology
A Woman Falling Out of Love
(2011)		 Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics
(2014)		 A Brand New Me
(2017)
Singles from Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics
  1. "Rolling in the Deep (The Aretha Version)"
    Released: September 29, 2014

This was Aretha's first and only recording for RCA Records, her first studio album to be released under a major label in 11 years (since the release of her 2003 studio album, So Damn Happy), and her first album since 1998 to be executive produced by Clive Davis, her boss at Arista Records, which has since folded into RCA. It is also her last studio album of entirely original recordings created prior to her death, as the subsequent 2017 album A Brand New Me features vintage vocal performances from the 1960s and 1970s paired with newer orchestral arrangements.

Clive Davis called the album "purely and simply sensational" and said of Aretha Franklin, "She's on fire and vocally in absolutely peak form. What a thrill to see this peerless artist still showing the way, still sending shivers up your spine, still demonstrating that all contemporary music needs right now is the voice. What a voice."[2] Production on the album includes R&B producers Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds and Harvey Mason, Jr., hip-hop musician André 3000, and house producers Terry Hunter and Eric Kupper among others.[3][4]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic66/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[6]
Billboard[7]
Cuepoint (Expert Witness)A–[8]
Entertainment WeeklyB–[9]
Financial Times[10]
Rolling Stone[11]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics has an average score of 66 based on 9 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[5] Rolling Stone journalist Will Hermes called the album a "delightful covers set" that showed that "Aretha can still step into the pop world at whim with total authority."[11] Steve Morse, writing for The Boston Globe, noted that "Divas are everywhere these days, but there’s still only one Aretha. At age 72, Franklin can still shut down the competition with a breathtaking, gospel-trained grace and power."[12]

Entertainment Weekly critic Tim Stack found that while Franklin "delivers a rollicking take on Adele's "Rolling in the Deep," the "covers of other lady icons — Chaka, Barbra, Etta — feel dated or ill-conceived. It all plays like the official soundtrack to Gay Pride 1977.[9] Allmusic editor Andy Kellman wrote that "if there's one positive thing that can be said about the results, it's that Aretha sounds like she had a ball. The energy she put into these versions helps make up for the vocal shortcomings and audible use of Auto-Tune. She could have played it simple and straight, yet she clearly enjoyed the recording process, from melismatic accents to an abundance of personalized touches [...] Some of the creative moves are very questionable."[6]

Commercial performance

Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics debuted at number 13 on the Billboard 200 in the United States, selling 23,000 copies in its first week.[13] The album is her 38th top 20 album. The album also debuted at number 3 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[13] and one on Billboard's R&B albums charts.

The first single released from the album was a cover of singer Adele's "Rolling in the Deep", subtitled as "The Aretha Version", which also includes an interpolation of the Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell hit, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough".[14] The single debuted at number 47 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Aretha Franklin thus became the first woman, and fourth artist overall (following Lil Wayne, Jay-Z and James Brown), to place 100 songs on the chart (with her first entry on the chart being "Today I Sing the Blues" in 1960).[15]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."At Last" (originally performed by Glenn Miller; popularized by Etta James)
3:53
2."Rolling in the Deep (The Aretha Version)" (originally performed by Adele)
  • Edmonds
  • Dixon
  • Davis
  • Aretha Franklin
4:00
3."Midnight Train to Georgia" (originally performed by Cissy Houston; popularized by Gladys Knight & the Pips)Jim Weatherly
  • Edmonds
  • Dixon
  • Davis
  • Franklin
4:21
4."I Will Survive (The Aretha Version)" (originally performed by Gloria Gaynor)
4:31
5."People" (originally performed by Barbra Streisand)
  • Edmonds
  • Davis
4:04
6."No One" (originally performed by Alicia Keys)
The Underdogs4:01
7."I'm Every Woman" / "Respect" ("I'm Every Woman" originally performed by Chaka Khan)
Eric Kupper4:56
8."Teach Me Tonight" (originally performed by Dinah Washington)
2:41
9."You Keep Me Hangin' On" (originally performed by The Supremes)Holland–Dozier–Holland
  • Hunter
  • Williams
  • Mason, Jr.[a]
4:41
10."Nothing Compares 2 U" (originally performed by The Family; popularized by Sinéad O'Connor)PrinceAndré "3000" Benjamin4:17
Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics: Dance Remixes[16]
No.TitleLength
1."Rolling in the Deep (The Aretha Version)" (Papercha$er remix)5:16
2."Rolling in the Deep (The Aretha Version)" (Marc Stout & Tony Svejda remix)6:10
3."Rolling in the Deep (The Aretha Version)" (Rosario & Cappo house mix)7:13
4."Rolling in the Deep (The Aretha Version)" (Ralphi's Rolling in the Dub)8:20
5."Rolling in the Deep (The Aretha Version)" (Wideboys club mix)6:03
6."Rolling in the Deep (The Aretha Version)" (Mario Winans remix)3:40
7."I Will Survive (The Aretha Version)" (Terry Hunter extended remix)6:44
8."You Keep Me Hangin' On" (Terry Hunter extended remix)6:56
9."I'm Every Woman" / "Respect" (Eric Kupper club mix)8:24

Notes

Charts

Notes
  1. "iTunes - Music - Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics by Aretha Franklin". iTunes.
  2. "Aretha Franklin". Billboard.
  3. "Aretha Franklin says new cover album feels fresh". naplesnews.com. Naples Daily News. October 8, 2014. Archived from the original on December 21, 2014. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  4. "Aretha Franklin To Release New Studio Album 'Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics' Out 10/21". The Official RCA Records Site.
  5. "Reviews for Sings the Great Diva Classics by Aretha Franklin – Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  6. Kellman, Andy. "Aretha Franklin – Sings the Great Diva Classics". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  7. "Aretha Franklin Album Review: 'Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics': - Billboard". Billboard.
  8. Christgau, Robert (December 5, 2014). "Robert Christgau: Expert Witness". Cuepoint. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  9. Stack, Tim (October 17, 2014). "Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  10. "Aretha Franklin: Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics – review". Financial Times.
  11. Hermes, Will (October 21, 2014). "Sings the Great Diva Classics". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  12. Morse, Steve (October 20, 2014). "Aretha Franklin, 'Sings the Great Diva Classics'". Boston Globe. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  13. "Aretha Franklin". Billboard.
  14. "Rolling In The Deep (The Aretha Version)". Qobuz.
  15. "Aretha Franklin". Billboard.
  16. "Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics: Dance Remixes". Amazon.com. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  17. "Australiancharts.com – Aretha Franklin – Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics". Hung Medien.
  18. "Ultratop.be – Aretha Franklin – Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  19. "Ultratop.be – Aretha Franklin – Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics" (in French). Hung Medien.
  20. "Dutchcharts.nl – Aretha Franklin – Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  21. "Lescharts.com – Aretha Franklin – Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics". Hung Medien.
  22. "Italiancharts.com – Aretha Franklin – Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics". Hung Medien.
  23. "Spanishcharts.com – Aretha Franklin – Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics". Hung Medien.
  24. "Swisscharts.com – Aretha Franklin – Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics". Hung Medien.
  25. "Aretha Franklin | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
  26. "Aretha Franklin Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  27. "Aretha Franklin Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard.
  28. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
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