Aretha Franklin - Live At Fillmore West
Vocals - Aretha Franklin (all tracks) [click here to see more vinyl featuring Aretha Franklin]
Vocals - Ray Charles (B3) [click here to see more vinyl featuring Ray Charles]
Backing Vocals : Brenda Bryant, Margaret Branch, Pat Smith
Electric Piano : Aretha Franklin (A4, A6, B1, B2), Ray Charles (B3)
Piano : Truman Thomas (A1, A2, A3, A5, B4)
Jerry Jemmott (Bass), Pancho Morales (Congas), Bernard Purdie (Drums), Cornell Dupree (Guitar), King Curtis (Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone), Billy Preston (Organ)
Written by Aretha Franklin (B1, B2, B3), Otis Redding (A1), Stephen Stills (A2), Paul Simon (A3), John Lennon (A4), Paul McCartney (A4), David Gates (A5), Ahmet Ertegun (A6), Betty Nelson (A6), Nickolas Ashford (B4), Valerie Simpson (B4)
Horns by The Memphis Horns arranged by Arif Mardin, except A5 arranged by Larry Wilcox
1 LP, gatefold sleeve, insert
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 33 RPM
Size : 12'’
Stereo
Live
Record Press : Pallas
Label : Speakers Corner
Original Label : Atlantic
Recording: February 1975 live at Fillmore West, San Francisco, by Ray Thompson
Production: Jerry Wexler and Arif Mardin
Originally released in 1971
Reissued in August 2013
Tracks :
Side A :
1. Respect
2. Love the One You're With
3. Bridge Over Troubled Water
4. Eleanor Rigby
5. Make It With You
6. Don't Play That Song
Side B :
1. Dr. Feelgood
2. Spirit in the Dark
3. Spirit in the Dark (Reprise with Ray Charles)
4. Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)
Reviews :
« The original LP was a double, and for good reason. Franklin used King Curtis' band, the Kingpins, for these dates -- after being persuaded by producer Jerry Wexler -- in lieu of her regular road band. It was a solid call on Wexler's part. The music here sparkles and crackles with the energy of a top-flight rhythm section -- Cornell Dupree on guitar, Bernard Purdie on drums, and Jerry Jemmott on bass, with Billy Preston on organ, Curtis on saxophone, and the Memphis Horns. The backing vocals were provided by Franklin's own crew, the Sweethearts of Soul (Brenda Bryant, Margaret Branch, and Pat Smith). Whew! Franklin also plays a Fender Rhodes on four cuts, including "Eleanor Rigby," "Spirit in the Dark," "Don't Play That Song," and "Dr. Feelgood." In addition, there is a guest duet vocal by Ray Charles on "Spirit in the Dark." Beginning with "Respect" (a house-burning tear-up read), Franklin then digs deep into her pop song bag of tricks for "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and Stephen Stills' "Love the One You're With," and also redeems Bread's saccharine "Make It with You" -- all of them in the first set! The second set contains the originals "Spirit in the Dark," including a long reprise with Charles, and "Dr. Feelgood." The album-ending "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)," written by Ashford & Simpson, is a scorched-earth soul ballad that unites the entire crowd. The bonus material is just as righteous, with unused cuts such as "Call Me," "Mixed-Up Girl," "Share Your Love with Me," and "You're All I Need to Get By." The disc is filled out with alternate takes of nine album cuts that easily could have been included on the released version. In sum, it makes for the most dramatic and deeply satisfying of Aretha Franklin's live recordings, and is a historical document that every soul fan should own -- especially as a new and much improved package with great liner notes by David Nathan. » AllMusic Review by Thom Jurek
Live recordings come up with extremely different results: most of them land in the rubbish bin, some of them are available as bootleg copies when a star’s career has ended and are passed on conspiratorially from one excited collector to another. Only a very few conserve real spirit and sheer enthusiasm, which no arranger or sound mixer can conjure up in the studio.
But even more sensational was Aretha Franklin’s guest appearance at the Fillmore West, the legendary concert hall in San Francisco, which closed down shortly afterwards. Everyone knew who was going to perform, and yet everything was quite different on these three nights in the spring of 1971: her usual show band was left behind in Detroit and she appeared with King Curtis And The Kingpins – one of the most impressive bands around – accompanied by the trailblazers Cornel Dupree (g) and Bernard Purdie (dr).
The Memphis Horns, a fantastic horn section, blast away in the background, their keen as a razor backings rising up to soaring heights. From Billy Preston’s fingertips on the organ flows an aura of spiritual energy and Ray Charles, who by chance (but how fortuitous!) was among the audience also got his appearance in the telling title "Spirit In The Dark". No words need be lost about the queen on the cover. For without the superb albums of the late Sixties, Aretha Franklin would never have become the USA’s first sister of soul nor would she have appeared in the Fillmore West.
Ratings :
AllMusic : 4.5 / 5 , Discogs : Rate Your Music :