Review: Aretha keeps it real singing 'Diva Classics'
Who wouldn't want to hear Aretha Franklin sing Midnight Train to Georgia, or People, or Rolling In the Deep? The idea of pairing one of the greatest voices of the past century with songs made famous by other distinctive female singers — including some who were directly influenced by her — must have been thrilling.
It was probably inevitable, though, that Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics (*** out of four), out Oct. 21 and streaming now at Amazon, would be less than that. To her credit, and that of her collaborators — among them, co-album producer Clive Davis, Babyface and André 3000 — Franklin doesn't try to reproduce the perfect singles just mentioned, or other classic recordings. Georgia acquires a throbbing hip-hop beat, while Nothing Compares 2 U gets a jazzy twist and Alicia Keys' No One a lilting reggae groove.
Several songs nod playfully to other favorites. The rousing Rolling (subtitled The Aretha Version) segues exuberantly into Ain't No Mountain High Enough; the '70s self-empowerment anthem I Will Survive is mashed up with Destiny's Child's Survivor, and I'm Every Woman becomes a medley with Respect.
The vocals also show imagination, if not as much discretion. As interpretive artists, the best singers improve with age, but most — most sopranos, certainly — have to make technical concessions. At 72, Franklin's instrument no longer has the astonishing fluidity it once did; her abundant melisma can seem shaky, her top notes strained or shrill.
She fares better with tracks that stress her sultry lower register: a warm, elegant Teach Me Tonight, or a disco-licious You Keep Me Hangin' On, which actually shows her upper range to better effect than other tracks that tax it more.
Then again, at a time when so many younger divas, even gifted ones, are Auto-Tuned nearly beyond recognition, there is something deeply satisfying about hearing a palpably weathered and still-great voice pour forth without hesitation or doubt. Franklin is indeed a survivor, and let's be grateful for that.
Download: Teach Me Tonight, You Keep Me Hangin' On, No One