You Grow Closer

Long out of print or unavailable except in dodgy releases, this important document of soul queen Aretha Franklin's earliest gospel recordings clearly shows where she got all her chops: in church. The recording quality isn't the best fidelity even in this official release, but the tunes show the young singer truly wrapped inside a devotional ecstasy. The infamous "Precious Lord" single is included in its entirety, as are several recordings made with her father, the great preacher Reverend C.L. Franklin. "You Grow Closer" is a fairly essential recording for fans of gospel soul everywhere. But for Aretha acolytes, the disc is a must; Franklin's pipes open up with full-bore intensity on "Precious Lord," in anticipation of greatness to come. It's difficult to believe she was just a teenager when she sang these hymns. --Mike McGonigal

Long out of print or unavailable except in dodgy releases, this important document of soul queen Aretha Franklin's earliest gospel recordings clearly shows where she got all her chops: in church. The recording quality isn't the best fidelity even in this official release, but the tunes show the young singer truly wrapped inside a devotional ecstasy. The infamous "Precious Lord" single is included in its entirety, as are several recordings made with her father, the great preacher Reverend C.L. Franklin. "You Grow Closer" is a fairly essential recording for fans of gospel soul everywhere. But for Aretha acolytes, the disc is a must; Franklin's pipes open up with full-bore intensity on "Precious Lord," in anticipation of greatness to come. It's difficult to believe she was just a teenager when she sang these hymns. --Mike McGonigal