I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You

Meh, just some R and B Album.

good but not really my taste, 2-3/5 prob

Nothing really stood out honestly. Aside from the last song I suppose. Low 2/5.

Early albums that are all cuts, no sides, no throughline, make it hard to get to know an artist. It's easy to grasp that Arethra Franklin is a great singer of songs. It is maybe possible to understand that she is a great interpreter of songs – when she's not making big mistakes: A Change Is Gonna Come. But it is difficult to get any further, when each song stands staunchly by itself. What sets apart Sam Cooke's Live at the Harlem Square among early 60s soul album is that a live album has narrative – they're all part of the same performance and the performance of each song relates to every other performance. Even if the songs don't relate thematically, they connect temporally – all played in the same place, played by the same musicians, rather than jammed together from one studio session here and another studio day there. The problem doesn't go away. The Britney Spears album we already reviewed was a collection of stand-alones jostling for prominence on a single record. Arethra Franklin isn't like that, of course. I know she's an artist, rather than a studio and executive confection, but I don't know what kind of artist from this collection of songs. She sounds like a queen – how could anyone treat her like the subject of the title track does? She sounds so dignified – how does she not command unspoken RESPECT? Who is she? I need a fuller picture. 2 The opening three tracks of this album are so good that the album could never have been anything but lopsided. If the rest is too classy in execution (and production - love the horn sounds on Dr Feelgood) to deserve the tag ‘procedural’ - it is still mostly forgettable. Then the cover version of A Change is Gonna Come is bizarre and ill-judged. The minor lyrical changes aren’t half as damaging as the musical sanitising of the harmony; goofy dominant sevenths helping take the bitter edge off the verses and turning tragedy into Sunday brunch. The outro is needless showboating. A rotten way to close a record. 2/5

Listened to before: No Before this album I only knew the song respect. And while I knew it is considered a classic I never really enjoyed it. Not that I didn't like it, it just did not click with me. I could never say why that was. Guess what, for the album: It has the smae effect for me. Obviously Aretha Franklin is a fantastic singer, but somehow her music does not reach my feelings. Probably my fault, not hers. I enjoy some parts here, like the beginning of Drowning in my tears or the brass in Soul Serenade. But as a whole I get nothing out of this album. Things I can point out: The singing is a bit much for me, I like a more toned down approach. Also the recording could be more polished and clear. But still, it is probably just the style of music that is preventing me from liking this album. As sorry as I am: Rating 2.5

Not my cuppatea

Lots of screaming, the songs were boring

when you know the you couldnt get more than 3 interesting songs on the album so you just replay your singles again

:/ Demasiado largo, se me ha hecho un poco pesado

I feel like maybe my mood when listening to an album affects everything - or maybe this album is one I've heard too many times before and it just becomes background noises of the kind I would hear in a shop on high street or on american idol. So sorry to Aretha I just felt today when listening to it that it was all background noise.

Good music but this kinda vibe just appears rarely to me 2,5/5 💜

What can I say, I think its really boring Instrumentals are bland and interchangeable, yeah the singing and vocal work is good but it's not enough to carry a whole album (imo)

I can see the appeal but not for me

Obv respect is a classic and a hell of a leadoff song. I recognized a few others. Good album, wouldn’t be in my regular rotation

Good but sounds old

Just ok. Never liked her voice.

Não é mau, mas não é o meu estilo.

Kinda groovy, powerful vocals. But the music does not speak to me. Perhaps it's the age or genre but the musicality is not that interesting for me.

Obviously respect is a stone cold classic and i also like the title track but this just feels so old fashioned to me. and the backing vocals on most tracks are distracting, not adding much. doesn’t do much for me as an album 2/5

41 minute and 26 seconds of yelling! The only plus is the Chubbchubbs beginning, that's why there's second star.

She's good, but I don't find it interesting 2/5

I rate my albums based on many things, but mostly being its replayability. The album itself is highly replayable for those who are truly invested into soul (especially early soul) music. For me, personally, it is not my taste. Not to say it's bad. I went into this album without any knowledge of soul music, but came out with a new appreciation for it. "Respect" is one of the strongest starts to an album I've heard, following with the emotionally packed "Drown in my own tears". But, the following songs after "Drown in my own tears", without any good breaks, sound extremely same-y. If "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" were put in the early middle of the album, rather than the near end, it'd benefit the album a lot. Aretha pioneered the soul genre with this smash hit, and I'm glad to have been blessed with the opportunity to listen to it. Overall though, I think as the genre has evolved past what Aretha pioneered, there are many better choices for when you need a soul session. I do not rate solely on the importance an album had, which is why I'm giving it a 2/5. It's just not what I look for in music, and I would never replay it.

strong! but also quite a bit of schmaltzy...

Respect +2

Not my type of music at all. But that woman can sing. So it gets a couple starts for that

No argument that Aretha can sing and sing well. But with the exception of “Respect” I found these songs mostly bland. And they all kind of feel the same. It’s not awful but I was pretty bored while listening. 2.5/5

Just a little bit! Just a little bit! Even just a litle bit was a bit too much...

Mother of soul. Enough said.

I feel like I don’t really get this album. Aretha Franklin is undoubtedly a top vocalist, her talent is impressive and non-negociable. The songs, however, seem bland at best. Apart from Respect, of course. But then again I am not really a fan of soul, so who am I to judge? 2.4/5 just because of Aretha’s vocals.

i could listen to her sing all day but i actually couldn’t because the songs were lame

great voice, but not my music

BOOOOOOORING. Voice may be the main appeal but I don't like the phrasing and the melodies are boring. Mostly rhythmically and harmonically the same in every song. I have little to say about this really- just very boring. When you're doing loop music like this it helps a lot to have arrangements that contrast with the leading voice because of the lack of variation, which this doesn't do at all. Likw the backing vocals and guitars for example dont really counterpoint the rest of the instrumentation even if they have different rhythms. Blah. The Flamingos are better.

Il y a des albums, dans cette liste interminable, qui se présentent avec le poids de l'Histoire sur leurs sillons. Des disques qui, avant même que le diamant ne touche le vinyle, vous murmurent à l'oreille : "Attention, gamin, tu pénètres en terre sacrée." Et "I Never Loved A Man the Way I Love You" d'Aretha Franklin est de cette trempe, c'est plus qu'un album, c'est un putain de jalon culturel. Un acte de naissance, la pierre angulaire sur laquelle une partie de la musique populaire du 20ème siècle s'est construite. Le contexte, on le connaît. Aretha, jeune prodige à la voix d'or, se morfond chez Columbia qui essaie de la transformer en chanteuse de jazz proprette pour cocktails mondains. Et en 1966, le couperet tombe, la maison de disques la lâche. C'est alors que le flair de Jerry Wexler, ponte d'Atlantic, entre en jeu, il la signe et l'envoie direct à la source, au studio FAME de Muscle Shoals, en Alabama, pour l'entourer de la crème des musiciens du coin. La suite, c'est la légende, une alchimie se crée. La session donne naissance au titre éponyme, et même si une embrouille entre le mari d'Aretha et un des musiciens fout le bordel et force le rapatriement des sessions à New York, la fusée est lancée. Le résultat ? Cet album fut un tournant majeur dans sa carrière. Mené par deux titres devenus des hymnes planétaires, l'album s'est carapaté dans le Top 10 américain à la vitesse de la lumière. "Respect", cette reprise d'Otis Redding qu'elle s'est appropriée avec une telle force qu'elle en a fait un manifeste féministe et un cri de ralliement pour les droits civiques. Et bien sûr, la chanson-titre, complainte bluesy d'une puissance émotionnelle terrassante. D'un coup, la "Lady Soul" n'était plus une promesse, elle était LA reine. Elle a, sans conteste, révolutionné la soul et est devenue l'une des artistes les plus importantes de son temps. La messe est dite, l'analyse historique est faite, tout le monde est d'accord... C'est un chef-d'oeuvre. Alors pourquoi, mais POURQUOI, je me retrouve à devoir justifier un médiocre 2/5 ? Eh bien, asseyez-vous, parce que c'est là qu'on va arrêter de parler d'Histoire avec un grand H et qu'on va commencer à parler de musique avec mes oreilles de mec né en 1970. J'ai grandi avec le brouillard de Manchester, pas avec la chaleur de l'Alabama. Ma trinité à moi, c'était plutôt The Cure, The Smiths et The The. C'est le son qui a forgé mon ADN. Alors, quand je mets ce disque d'Aretha, j'entends la perfection, j'entends des musiciens au sommet de leur art, un groove implacable, une production chaude et enveloppante. Et puis j'entends la Voix, cette putain de voix. Une force de la nature, un miracle, un instrument capable de passer de la caresse la plus douce à la colère la plus rugissante en une fraction de seconde. Objectivement, c'est inattaquable, c'est un 5/5 technique, un 10/10 historique. Mais subjectivement, mes amis, qu'est-ce que je me fais chier. Pardonnez mon langage, mais il faut que ça sorte. Passés les deux-trois titres phares qui sont de toute façon gravés dans l'inconscient collectif, l'album s'installe dans un confort qui me laisse totalement de marbre. C'est de la soul de manuel, exécutée à la perfection, certes, mais sans la moindre aspérité, sans le moindre dérapage qui pourrait retenir mon attention. C'est un album qui semble avoir été conçu pour plaire au plus grand nombre, et il y est parvenu admirablement. Mais moi, le "plus grand nombre", ça a toujours eu tendance à me faire fuir. J'écoute "Drown in My Own Tears" ou "A Change Is Gonna Come" et je respecte la performance, je comprends l'émotion, mais je ne la ressens pas. Ça glisse sur moi. C'est comme regarder un film en noir et blanc acclamé par la critique : tu vois bien que c'est un chef-d'oeuvre, mais tu n'arrives pas à te sentir concerné. L'émotion est codifiée, les arrangements de cuivres sont attendus, le piano est élégant. C'est trop propre c'est trop américain, dans un sens qui m'est complètement étranger. La soul d'Aretha, même dans la douleur, porte en elle une sorte de foi, de résilience, une connexion au gospel qui me passe à dix mille pieds au-dessus de la tête. Moi, j'ai besoin de la crasse, j'ai besoin du doute, j'ai besoin de sentir que l'artiste est au bord du gouffre, pas qu'il va s'en sortir en chantant plus fort. C'est une question de culture, de sensibilité. Je suis un européen cynique, que voulez-vous. Alors voilà. I Never Loved A Man the Way I Love You est un album que je suis content d'avoir dans ma discothèque, au même titre qu'un livre d'histoire. Je le sortirai pour expliquer à quelqu'un ce qu'était la soul en 1967. Je lui dirai "écoute ça, c'est le sommet, la référence". Mais est-ce que je le mettrai un soir, seul, pour me laisser transporter ? Jamais de la vie. Je préfère encore me fader un bon vieux disque de Godflesh pour me rappeler que la vie, c'est avant tout du bruit et de la fureur. Un 2/5, pour le monument, pour la reine, pour le cours d'histoire. Mais pour l'émotion, je repasserai. Pardon, Majesté, ce n'est pas vous, c'est moi.

Correcto

It's fine, and Respect is a classic, and there is no doubting the voice ... but it's not my thing. I don't dislike it, but I don't like it either.

- der Hördurchgang war in Ordnung, nochmal würde ich es aber wohl nicht hören

I don't get it.

Respect is a timeless classic for a reason. But honestly, I didn't much enjoy the rest of the album.

2nd Aretha album for me so far. Similar feeling for this one as with 'Lady Soul'. I much prefer the upbeat songs to the slower ones. I Also much prefer the cover songs to the original ones. A solid 2 stars.

Nothing standing out to me

Belle voix, mais les morceaux n'accrochent pas.

A couple classics not a big fan of soul

Aretha is a great performer and Respect is an all time cover, but nearly nothing else in this entire album even interested me slightly compared to the first song. But, this isn't a 1, because Respect and Aretha had a singer is just that good

Vet inte om jag någonsin lyssnat på Aretha Franklin. Men vet ju definitivt vem det är. 2 / 5

Well composed but not my style

Het is ontzettend goed, maar ik hou er totaal niet van. Veel herhalingen en steeds luidere uithalen. De opname (met name van de stemmen) is ook wel aardig schel en dan word ik altijd een beetje boos zoals jullie inmiddels misschien weten. Daarnaast krijg je ook een handvol covers, wat ook niet per se heel knap is, ook al zingt ze ze technisch goed. Qua cijfer ontzettend lastig. Het zit qua irritatie niet op het niveau dat ik de afgelopen dagen vaker heb gehad en het is ook niet Mariah-niveau irritant, dus voor een 1 hoeft Aretha niet te vrezen. Ik denk dat het ergens tussen de 2 en 3 zit. Een 2 voor het album in z'n geheel en een 3 voor het hitje.

its alright not for me tho Significant 38/120 Liked 17/120 Added 4/120 NNN

Kinda boring honestly

It’s fine. Some songs I inow

Aretha is no doubt talented. Fantastic voice, just not my music of choice.

2.3

It's good but just not for me

Not my type of music, but some good songs

Aretha I love you girl but this album needs a remaster bad

Respect. Other than that pretty mid cap

Jazzy album Vibrato type voice Catchy piano melodies Impressive vocal range Kind of repetitive and boring after a while Still got some bangers tho for sure tho at the start

not my kind of music

Greit detta og

2.5

5/10.The R-E-S-P-E-C-T album. Aretha has a great voice, but it's not enough to overcome the samey sound of this album for me. If you like the style and genre you will enjoy this, similar to The Strokes album Is This It, where you either love it or it's not for you. This wasn't for me.

Beautiful voice (I mean obviously) and overall a nice project to listen to. Not really something I'd willingly purchase for myself, but still pleasant to listen to her raw talent and this classic style

lol @ the absolutely gushing reviews here. Suuuuure guys, suuuuure. Realistically? She can sing but it's a covers album, painfully dated, and only has one song anyone recognises. It's a 2/5.

Dit is een heel goede zangers. Ik ga me wel storen aan de adlibs, maar desondanks goed te luisteren als je van heel rustige soul houdt. De paar uptempo nummers vind ik geweldig. **

She can sing. But it’s not a great album

mmmmmmmmmm

Klassikko

Another very classic album that I don’t really get. This is more a genre that I don’t like much (soul) than some of the others that I have rated, however. There’s just not really anything there that I feel strongly about.

I can’t pick any song out because it fell on a Friday and I’ve not been able to review for two days. There is a new album today, so I’m not listening again. No pun intended, respect what she does, but I was a bit bored listening to this one.

Listened to it on Friday. Can’t remember the songs really so I’m not doing the format. No Respect

Sept 19/20

Aretha has an amazing voice, hands down. But I'm not that into this album. I find it a bit boring.

Still a bit slow for me. If I'm longing for this feeling or this era, I would grab something else

a little old for my taste

Respect is a jam but otherwise there's not much else here that appeals to me. :(

average

I appreciate the musicality but it didn't really interest me.

Das gab mir mal so gar nichts, ich kannte den ersten Song aber boah, das war mir soo egal ich glaub das ist dem Genre geschuldet

not my thing

Das hat irgendwie so weichgespült nebenher geplätscher, no hate. Aber war auch mehr so ein nebenbei listen.

Eu fui meio apático com ele, não me foi muito marcante, lembro de trechos de uma música apenas.

Wow! Started off really strong. It does slow down pretty significantly in the middle.

OK

музика із заставок серіалів 70-90их

she had nice voice but no thank you

Rip Aretha

not my thing. sorry

Soul and Southern R&B built from gospel-tinged piano, tight rhythm sections, warm horns, and powerful vocals feels like sitting in an early evening bar lounge where the music is perfectly pleasant but slowly dissolves into background ambience—tasteful, smooth, and for me ultimately too distant to truly engage. The album’s emotional power is undeniable in theory, but in practice I experienced it more as atmosphere than presence.

awful.

Not my shit

Did not like at all

Was not a fan of this album. It was too slow and did not go well with my style.

Expired shite

Not great

My least favourite music genre.

Vey influential.

Beetje schreeuwerig. Wel swingende muziek. Zang vind ik iets te schel

Just not a personal preference. Only knew 1 song, Respect. Didn't like any others.

I can definitely appreciate her talent and contribution to music. Respect will always be a great song. However, I am rating on personal enjoyment and this album is just simply not aligned with my taste. I will probably not listen again.

Oh, ich find das stimmlich gekonnt aber sowas von weit weg davon, warum ich Musik gerne höre. Mit-ach-und-Krach 1.4