ALBUM REVIEW: Aretha Franklin - Young, Gifted and Black

    Franklin had already established herself as one of soul's leading figures by 1972, and in many ways she was the undisputed queen of the genre - ever since I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You, Franklin had been almost continuously racking up success after success in her own catalog, bolstered not only by a growing collection of winning singles, but a continuous chain of high quality albums, from the impressive variety of Spirit in the Dark to the affirming Lady Soul. It was in 1972, however, that Franklin may have hit two of her highest accomplishments in her recording catalog - this studio album was the first of them. Young, Gifted and Black, in many ways, feels like a culmination of everything fantastical and impressive about Franklin in her prime, from her musical diversity to her writing skills to her own soaring voice, which only seems to grow more powerful and resonant with time's passing. From gospel to soul to pop to funk, Franklin lets her musical talent get all the room it needs to soar on Young, Gifted and Black, and it may very well serve as her greatest studio album ever put to press.

    Aside from the album's most luminary element in Ms. Franklin's voice, there is a host of musical talents that decorate the entirety of Young, Gifted and Black, particularly in the musical makeup of the album's various songs, which bounce around anywhere from soulful pop on "Day Dreaming" to the driving disco of "Rock Steady" to the brilliant gospel influence of the title track. The most immediate element of this musical exceptionalism, at least to me, is in bassist Chuck Rainey and guitarist Cornell Dupree. The former's musical and melodic bass-playing beautifully decorates a number of the tracks, and his funky style is in perfect line with some of this album's fittingly diverse material. Rainey's name could already be found in the credits of Laura Nyro records, and in time he would find himself working with Steely Dan, Donald Byrd, Bobbi Humphrey, and Etta James - he is nothing short of an accomplished bassist, and his talents shine through. The same can be said for the evocative playing of Cornell Dupree, who's guitar work is just as malleable as Rainey's rhythm work. This is without mentioning the many other exceptional elements, ranging from the powerful work of Bernard Purdie on drums, or Franklin's sisters on backing vocals, or the occasional colorful organ playing of one Billy Preston who joins Franklin for a version of The Beatles' "The Long and Winding Road" - it wouldn't be hist first time with the song. All of it comes together into a brilliantly produced and arranged record, every bit as exciting and lush as her 60s highlights.

     There is more outside of musical excellence when it comes to the greatness of Young, Gifted and Black - Ms. Franklin has ample room on this record to showcase her voice and her range, emotionally, vocally, and musically. "Oh Me Oh My (I'm a Fool For You Baby)", the immediate kick-off point of the album, is the same kind of soaring soul ballad that would easily fit itself amongst the great songs of her golden age, up there with "I Never Loved a Man" and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman". The fact that she follows it up with a 1-2 punch of the immediately poppy "Day Dreaming" into the funk groove of "Rock Steady" helps to showcase both this album's versatility and the sharp performances on display - really, "Rock Steady" may be a highlight of the album, and it makes me long for a proper Aretha Franklin funk album that we seemingly were never gifted with. Just as present on this album, outside of her writing abilities (which shone through on the two previously mentioned songs) are her reinventions of already established numbers. Fellow high priestess of soul Nina Simone has her own "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" covered on this album, and it stacks up nicely against Simone's sultry and powerful version - Franklin's spin on the track almost sounds more upbeat, which I partially attribute to the bouncy and living playing of the rhythm section and organ. Franklin also puts a fittingly gospel-leaning spin on both The Beatles' "Long and Winding Road" and Elton John's "Border Song", both of which are well suited to Franklin's interpretations of the songs - admittedly, "Border Song" is much more similar to the original, but it still makes for a fantastic closing moment that Elton himself said he was greatly flattered by. "The Long and Winding Road" is quite a bit different from the original, however it works towards this version's benefit, and it makes for one of my absolute favorite Beatles covers - I'm pretty picky with my Beatles covers, too. These soaring highs also mesh well with the album's more mellow moments, such as the more somber "All the King's Horses" or the people portrait we're gifted with on the beautifully invocative "First Snow in Kokomo", one of the album's many emotional highlights - it may be one of my favorite songs with Aretha's name on it.

    It's an adventuring work, a victory lap, and an assertion of her abilities all at once. Young, Gifted and Black, even after a strong run of studio albums, Franklin had continuously found a way to keep one-upping herself again and again, and at the end of the road she came with her strongest album to date. Young, Gifted and Black is, quite fittingly, the ultimate work from this young, gifted, black musician - this was all made before she had even turned 30, mind you. While I'm not sure if it's her all-time accomplishment (a live album that I will be talking about in the near future may have that distinction), there lays very little doubt in my mind that this is her ultimate triumph in a studio setting. It is her greatest album, and should be seen as nothing short of essential more than 50 years later - surely there's some kind of mistake as to why this isn't on more "best-of" albums list. Maybe it's just that enough people haven't heard it yet - there's always time to change that.

RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

Listen to Young, Gifted and Black.