The world lost one of the most important, influential and iconic voices of all time in the summer of 2018 when Aretha Franklin passed away. To celebrate her musical legacy, Rhino is offering a trio of releases honoring the Queen Of Soul.
Dec. 7 saw the release of the Atlantic Records 1960’s Collection, a six-LP boxed set that includes Franklin’s first five studio albums with Atlantic, plus an LP with 11 demos and outtakes that are making their vinyl debut. Limited to 5,000 copies, the set features each album pressed on 140-gram vinyl and presented in sleeves that faithfully re-create the original releases. Atlantic Records 1960’s Collection includes the five studio albums that Aretha released between 1967 and 1969: I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (mono), Aretha Arrives (mono), Lady Soul (stereo), Aretha Now (stereo) and Soul ’69 (stereo).
Related: Tributes to Lady Soul poured in after her death
Prior to that, on Nov. 16, the Franklin holiday album This Christmas was released on vinyl for the first time. The nine-track album, pared down from original length to fit on LP, features the Queen Of Soul’s distinctive take on holiday standards such as “Angels We Have Heard On High” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” along with some newer yuletide tunes like “This Christmas” and “My Grown-Up Christmas List.”
Also available is a digital single is the “Solo Piano Version” of “Silent Night,” a new mix of the holiday classic that was originally included on Franklin’s 2008 holiday album This Christmas. This new version features only Franklin on piano and voice.
Rarities From The 1960s Track Listing
Side One
1. “I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)” – Demo
2. “Dr. Feelgood (Love Is A Serious Business)” – Demo
3. “It Was You” – Outtake
4. “The Letter” – Outtake
5. “So Soon” – Outtake
Side Two
1. “Mr. Big” – Outtake
2. “Talk To Me, Talk To Me” – Outtake
3. “The Fool on the Hill” – Outtake
4. “You’re Taking Up Another Man’s Place” – Outtake
5. “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” – Outtake
6. “I’m Trying To Overcome” – Outtake
This Christmas LP Track Listing
Side One
1. “Angels We Have Heard On High”
2. “This Christmas”
3. “My Grown-Up Christmas List”
4. “The Lord Will Make A Way”
Side Two
1. “Ave Maria”
2. “Christmas Ain’t Christmas (Without The One You Love)”
3. “14 Angels”
4. “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”
5. “Silent Night”
Watch Aretha sing “I Never Loved a Man” live in 1967
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