With Aretha's distinctive voice and delivery, her cover versions are always interesting. Surprisingly, Satisfaction (Rolling Stones) is omitted, but Bridge over troubled water (Simon and Garfunkel), Oh no not my baby (Maxine Brown) and Let it be (Beatles) are among those included.

Aretha eventually left Atlantic, joining Arista in 1980. This rejuvenated her career although she never quite achieved the level of success that she had in her early years with Atlantic. However, she had two major international hits via duets - Sisters are doing it for themselves (with the Eurythmics) and I knew you were waiting for me (with George Michael), the latter becoming a number one hit in Britain (where it remains her only number one hit) and America. She also just missed the UK top ten with Who's zooming who - but most of her UK hits in the eighties were minor hits, just as they had been in her Atlantic years.

This compilation, spanning several decades of Aretha's music, clearly shows why she is regarded as the Queen of soul. There are many Aretha compilations to choose from, but if you want one covering her whole career, this is as good as you are likely to find.
Peter Durward Harris

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