I won't fault you for forgetting, but the early weeks of this project were graced with many a diva strutting by—namely Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Helen Merrill, and Nina Simone. All incredibly talented musicians in their own right, but that particular assemblage of artists made for a musical Kanizsa triangle: amongst all those mid-century, jazz-adjacent vocalists, where's Aretha? Have no fear—the Queen of Soul herself is (finally) here.

The Electrifying Aretha Franklin comes from early in her career; it's only her sophomore album. Aretha's talent was recognized early—she inked this record deal with Columbia at age 18—but she didn't achieve breakout success until she left Columbia for Atlantic (roughly five years after this album). So: no chart-toppers to be found here ("Respect" was a few years out yet), but rather a smorgasbord of jazz standards, Tin Pan Alley hits, and gospel/R&B compositions. (If that leads you to question Franklin's place as a jazz singer, see this piece from WBGO that investigates those bona fides and reaches an approving conclusion.)

Despite this not being Franklin's most popular work, I find this album to be consistently very good, and occasionally great. Of course, the main appeal is Franklin's vocals, and those don't disappoint: I must confess that in isolation, I'd pick her over any of the other female singers we've heard. I love the range we hear from her on this album; on the upbeat side, I'm partial to both "I Surrender, Dear" (a fun take on the "playful love song" trope), as well as "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" (which syncopates a preacher's sermon to great effect, and features perhaps the jazziest solo of the album on trumpet). By contrast, "That Lucky Old Sun" is on the other end of the emotional spectrum, and it's my favourite of the lot: Franklin starts with a simple, beautiful phrase, but in three-and-a-half minutes she moves through pain, defiance, and anger before arriving at a kind of cathartic acceptance—nearly the full stages of grief in a single track.

All together, a solid album—and yet, I have one bone to pick with Franklin. Today, Franklin seems to be venerated as a minor saint of feminism, mostly on the basis of "Respect" (so far as I can discern). This CNN piece is a good example: the title (indirectly) links her to both the civil rights movement and feminism, only to walk back those associations in the first couple of lines. Mind you, I don't mean to deny or minimize the tremendous impact that "Respect" had on millions of listeners, but it did throw me for a loop to have that mental image of Franklin, then hear her sing this on "Rough Lover":

He’s gotta be sweet and gentle

Day and night

But mean enough to make me

Want to treat him right

I want a man, oh, yeah

Yes, cherry-picking one track from a largely-forgotten album is unlikely to give a representative view of Franklin's true views on the emancipation of women writ large. But still, it suggests a pretty funny parallel universe:

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

But also sometimes please neg me!

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Gimme toxic masculinity!

Favourite track: That Lucky Old Sun