Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You is way too long of a title. Aretha Franklin really likes to drag things out. Her tenth album is when she demands respect, but will she get it?
I have never liked her version of “Respect“. I think I hate when she spells it. Is she doing it for the illiterate people who listen to her music? The songs starts off okay, but by the end I wish it was over. It is like every Christina Aguilera song. Horrible!
Franklin has a lot of gospel flavour to her album. I read her up on her a bit and found out that she started singing in the Baptist church. Her father was a minister. It took her until this album to achieve success. She would soon become “The Queen of Soul“.
“Do Right Woman, Do Right Man” is the best song on the album. It is a gospel fueled burner. All of Franklin’s screaming is stripped away. This song is about fidelity. “She is flesh and blood just like her man.” She has created a simple song of respecting your woman and she respecting her man.
If you want a jam to move to, then “Save Me” is what you need to listen. Unfortunately it is too short. I need a remix of it.
“A Change Is Gonna Come” is a cover of the Sam Cooke song. She does an okay job of it, but she is not Sam Cooke and I do not feel the chills he can give from his voice.
This is a good album, except for some of the screaming she is known for throughout her career. I am surprised that there are few good songs to enjoy if you can tune out the over-singing. 7/10.
