Why is Aretha Franklin’s Aretha Now on my best 1,000 albums ever list?
Let your mind go, let yourself be free.
What does Aretha Franklin’s Aretha Now mean to me? What does it make me feel? Why is it exciting or compelling?
I think “Think” is my favorite Aretha Franklin song. It has boundless energy, Aretha Franklin’s amazing voice, and a piano and horn-driven beat that absolutely demands that you get moving.
You also have to love that the titular Blues Brothers (Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi) sit back for the entirety of Franklin’s show stopping scene in which she performed “Think” at a midwestern diner.
My favorite Aretha is when the music has that kind of ebullient vibe. And thankfully, Aretha Now doesn’t disappoint. “A Change” is an incredible deep cut that (along with the album in full) sounds amazingly fresh and vibrant.
“I Say A Little Prayer” is simply gorgeous. Nothing else to add there!
Pop culture things that have something to do with Aretha Franklin’s Aretha Now
Okay, since we’ve already started going down the road of iconic Aretha Franklin songs being featured in classic early 1980s comedies, I’m compelled to provide you with this clip from Airplane!
And here’s the full original version of “Respect,” which is simply stunning.
Some stats & info about Aretha Franklin – Aretha Now
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Soul, R&B, Southern Soul
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 4.5 out of 5 stars
- When was Aretha Now released? 1968
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #818 out of 1,000
Aretha Franklin’s Aretha Now on Spotify
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective take on what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.