Queen of Soul: The Atlantic Recordings

Features Aretha's greatest Atlantic singles and classic album tracks. Described as \the first definitive history of the queen of soul's golden decade

Queen of Soul trumps all other collections of Aretha's recordings for Atlantic by adding dozens of album tracks to a selection of epochal singles ranging from "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" and "Respect" to "Spanish Harlem" and "Rock Steady." Over three CDs and change--the fourth runs out of steam, as did her creative energy during the mid-to-late-'70s period it chronicles--we hear many emotional shifts: impassioned, triumphant, wistful, and always truthful about her condition and our own. --Rickey Wright