Spirit in the Dark | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | August 24, 1970 [1] | |||
Recorded | May 26–27, 1969 [2] October 3, 1969 [3] -March 10, 1970 [4] | |||
Genre | Soul, R&B | |||
Length | 40:28 | |||
Label | Atlantic (#8265), Rhino (1993 Re-release) | |||
Producer | Tom Dowd, Arif Mardin, Jerry Wexler | |||
Aretha Franklin chronology | ||||
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Singles from Spirit in the Dark | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [5] |
Christgau's Record Guide | A [6] |
Pitchfork | 9.0/10 [7] |
Rolling Stone | (favorable) [8] |
Spirit in the Dark is the seventeenth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin, released on August 24, 1970, by Atlantic Records. It received critical acclaim, but was met with middling sales, despite having two hit singles, "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)", which peaked at #1 R&B, #11 on the Hot 100, and "Spirit in the Dark", peaking at #3 R&B and #23 Hot 100, in Billboard magazine. It was Aretha's first Atlantic album to fall short of Billboard's Top 20, but it is now seen as one of Aretha's classic Atlantic LPs.
In 1993, Rhino Records re-issued the album on compact disc. [1] "Try Matty's" is used as the jingle for radio host Matt Siegel's Boston Kiss 108 show. [9]
Unless otherwise indicated, Information is based on the album's liner notes [1] [10]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Don't Play That Song" | Ahmet Ertegün, Betty Nelson | 3:02 |
2. | "The Thrill Is Gone (From Yesterday's Kiss)" | Rick Darnell, Roy Hawkins, [11] Art Benson, Dale Petite | 4:41 |
3. | "Pullin'" | Jimmy Radcliffe, Carolyn Franklin, [12] Aretha Franklin | 3:38 |
4. | "You and Me" | Aretha Franklin | 3:34 |
5. | "Honest I Do" | Jimmy Reed, Ewart Abner Jr. | 3:19 |
6. | "Spirit in the Dark" | Aretha Franklin | 4:03 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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7. | "When the Battle Is Over" | Jessie Hill, Mac Rebennack | 2:43 |
8. | "One Way Ticket" | Aretha Franklin | 2:52 |
9. | "Try Matty's" | Aretha Franklin | 2:32 |
10. | "That's All I Want from You" | Fritz Rotter | 2:44 |
11. | "Oh No Not My Baby" | Gerry Goffin, Carole King | 2:55 |
12. | "Why I Sing the Blues" | B.B. King, Dave Clark | 3:05 |
Information is based on the album's liner notes. [1] [10]
Chart (1970) | Peak position |
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U.S. Billboard Pop Albums | 25 |
U.S. Top R&B Albums | 2 |
I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You is the tenth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin, released on March 10, 1967 by Atlantic Records. It was Franklin's first release under her contract with the label, following her departure from Columbia Records after nine unsuccessful jazz standard albums, and marked a commercial breakthrough for her, becoming her first top 10 album in the United States, reaching number 2 on the Billboard 200. Two singles were released to promote the album: "Respect" and "I Never Loved a Man ". The former topped the Billboard Hot 100, while latter reached the top 10.
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James Luther Dickinson was an American record producer, pianist, and singer who fronted, among others, the band Mud Boy and the Neutrons, based in Memphis, Tennessee.
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"I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" is a 1967 single released by American soul singer Aretha Franklin. Released on Atlantic Records as the first big hit of her career and the lead single from her tenth studio album of the same name, it became a defining song for Franklin, peaking at number one on the rhythm and blues charts and number nine on the pop charts. The B-side was "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man". Before this Franklin had placed only two Top 40 singles on the pop chart during her modest tenure with Columbia Records.
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Aretha Live at Fillmore West is a live album by American singer Aretha Franklin. Released on May 19, 1971, by Atlantic Records. It was reissued on compact disc in 1993 through Rhino Records. An expanded, limited edition 4-CD box set entitled, Don't Fight the Feeling: The Complete Aretha Franklin & King Curtis Live at Fillmore West was released by Rhino in 2005. This was limited to 5000 numbered copies. In addition, there is a guest duet vocal by Ray Charles on "Spirit in the Dark".
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This Christmas is the first Christmas album and thirty-sixth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin. Produced by Franklin and Tena Clark, it was originally released on October 14, 2008, as a Borders Bookstore exclusive, consisting of eleven cover versions of Christmas standards and carols. In 2009, the album was reissued in 2009 on DMI Records. This Christmas peaked at number 102 on the US Billboard 200.
Sammy Lee Creason was an American session drummer who played with Tony Joe White, Kris Kristofferson and Bob Dylan amongst others.
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"Spirit in the Dark" is a song written and performed by Aretha Franklin. The song was produced by Arif Mardin, Jerry Wexler, and Tom Dowd.
Just a Little Lovin' is a 1970 studio album by Carmen McRae directed and produced by Arif Mardin. The recording in a studio of Atlantic Records in Miami was set up with a horn section, an occasional string section and The Sweet Inspirations as backing vocals on some tracks. The studio's own Dixie Flyers, a rhythm section founded by Sammy Creason, provided the contemporary electrified sound for a repertoire that derived mainly from only recently written pop songs, three alone by the Beatles, two by the Muscle Shoal crew like "Breakfast in Bed", written in 1968 for Dusty Springfield, and a Laura Nyro original. The electrified orchestral sound is advanced twice, on "Something" with the use of a cimbalom, and with a Mellotron on "What'cha Gonna Do" that harmonizes with the strings. Slightly out of the pop vein are a straightforwardly played blues shuffle, "I Love the Life I Live" by Willie Dixon, and "Didn't We", an intimate duet with guitarist Al Gafa. There were several singles issued before and alongside the album's release, although the songs chosen for the most part didn't make it on the final album. They were reissued in 1991 as additional tracks on a Japanese digital re-release. "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know" and "Just a Dream" were recorded already in September 1969 and Mardin had not thought of a horn section yet, instead the strings are emphasized.
A Brand New Me is a compilation album by American recording artist Aretha Franklin. It was released on November 10, 2017, by Rhino Records and Atlantic Records. The album features archival vocal performances that Franklin recorded for Atlantic Records accompanied by new orchestral arrangements by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and newly recorded backing vocals, in addition to the original (archived) background vocal and instrumental accompaniments. Producer Nick Patrick said of the album: "There is a reason that Aretha Franklin is called the 'Queen of Soul.' There is nothing more exciting than that incredible voice taking you on an emotional roller coaster ride through her amazing repertoire of songs. To have the opportunity to work with that voice on this project has been the greatest honor and to hear a symphony orchestra wrapped around those performances is breathtaking." Franklin died in August 2018, nine months after the album's release.
The Atlantic Singles Collection 1967–1970 is a compilation album of singer Aretha Franklin, released by Rhino Records in September 2018. The album contains her first 17 singles for Atlantic Records released in the United States from her debut for the label "I Never Loved a Man " of February 1967 through "Border Song " of October 1970. The Amazon sales website identifies these as digitally remastered versions of the original mono issues, although that is not indicated in the set's liner notes or packaging. The original recordings were produced by Jerry Wexler, at times in collaboration with Tom Dowd and Arif Mardin.