First Listen: Aretha Franklin, “Somewhere” (Alternate Version)
It’s been just over two years since the world said goodbye to the Queen of Soul, but Aretha Franklin’s absence has only made our hearts grow even more fond of her music than they already were...and trust us, that’s saying something! To celebrate Aretha’s life and career in a manner which befits an artist of her stature, Rhino is releasing a four-disc box set which will be the first to span her entire career, including songs representing every label she recorded with.
Appropriately titled ARETHA, this set includes 81 tracks, all of which are newly remastered, and 19 of them are making their CD and digital debuts. This includes a number of alternate versions of familiar favorites, demos, live tracks, and other rarities, including the version of “(You Make Me Feel) Like a Natural Woman” that she performed at the 38th Annual Kennedy Center Honors in 2015. If you’re concerned that a four-disc set might be out of your price range, don’t worry: we’ll also releasing a single-CD version and a 2-LP version, both of which offer 20 highlights from the larger set.
As ever, we’ll be closing with the full track listing for these impending releases, but since we know that November 20th is still quite some time away yet, we thought we’d give you a little something to make the wait easier: an alternate version of her take on the Sondheim and Bernstein classic “Somewhere,” from West Side Story.
Once you’ve picked yourself up from off the floor and dusted yourself off, because it’s just that jaw-dropping a performance, check out the track listing and then circle November 20th on the calendar!
ARETHA
Track Listing
Disc One
1. “Never Grow Old”
2. “You Grow Closer”
3. “Today I Sing The Blues”
4. “Won’t Be Long”
5. “Are You Sure”
6. “Operation Heartbreak”
7. “Skylark”
8. “Runnin’ Out Of Fools”
9. “One Step Ahead”
10. “(No, No) I’m Losing You”
11. “Cry Like A Baby”
12. “A Little Bit Of Soul”
13. “My Kind Of Town (Detroit Is)” – Demo *
14. “Try A Little Tenderness” – Demo *
15. “I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)”
16. “Do Right Woman – Do Right Man”
17. “Respect”
18. “A Change Is Gonna Come”
19. “Chain Of Fools” – Alternate Version
20. “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” – UK Single Version
21. “(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone”
22. “Ain’t No Way”
23. “My Song”
24. “You Send Me”
25. “The House That Jack Built”
26. “Tracks Of My Tears”
Disc Two
1. “Baby I Love You” – Live
2. “Son Of A Preacher Man”
3. “Call Me” – Alternate Version *
4. “Let It Be”
5. “Young, Gifted And Black” – Alternate Longer Take *
6. “Bridge Over Troubled Water” – Long Version
7. “It’s Not Unusual/See Saw” – with Tom Jones *
(Originally Broadcast On This Is Tom Jones, October, 9, 1970)
8. “You're All I Need To Get By” – Work Tape *
9. “Brand New Me” – Work Tape *
10. “Spanish Harlem” – Alternate Mix *
11. “Rock Steady” – Alternate Mix/Take
12. “Day Dreaming”
13. “Share Your Love With Me” – Live
14. “Don’t Play That Song” – Live
15. “Dr. Feelgood” – Live
16. “Spirit In The Dark” (Reprise with Ray Charles) – Live
17. “How I Got Over” (Single Edit) – Live
18. “Master Of Eyes (The Deepness Of Your Eyes)”
Disc Three
1. “Somewhere” – Alternate Version *
2. “Angel” – Work Tape *
3. “The Boy From Bombay” *
4. “Til It's Over” – Demo *
5. “Oh Baby” (a.k.a. “There’s Something Magic About You”) – Demo *
6. “Until You Come Back To Me” – Work Tape *
7. “I’m In Love” – Alternate Vocal
8. “Without Love”
9. “Mr. D.J. (5 For The D.J.)”
10. “You”
11. “Something He Can Feel”
12. “Look Into Your Heart”
13. “Break It To Me Gently”
14. “When I Think About You”
15. “Almighty Fire (Woman Of The Future)”
16. “Ladies Only” – Short Version
17. “You Light Up My Life” *
18. “Ooo Baby Baby” – with Smokey Robinson *
(Originally Broadcast On Soul Train, December 1, 1979)
19. “Amazing Grace”
(Originally Broadcast On Royal Variety Performance, November 23, 1980)
Disc Four
1. “Think”
2. “I Say A Little Prayer” – with Dionne Warwick *
3. “United Together”
4. “Jump To It”
5. “The Wind”
6. “Freeway Of Love”
7. “Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves” – Eurythmics & Aretha Franklin
8. “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) – Aretha Franklin and George Michael
9. “Oh Happy Day” – with Mavis Staples (Live at New Bethel Baptist Church, Detroit, MI - July 1987)
10. “A Rose Is Still A Rose”
11. “Someday We'll All Be Free”
12. “The Makings Of You”
13. “Nessun Dorma” – Live
14. “At Last” – with Lou Rawls *
(Originally Broadcast On American Soundtrack: Rhythm, Love And Soul, March 2003)
15. “You’ve Got A Friend” – Ronald Isley featuring Aretha Franklin
16. “Rolling In The Deep” – The Aretha Version
17. “My Country ’Tis Of Thee”
18. “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” – Live *
(Originally Broadcast On The 38th Annual Kennedy Center Honors, December 19. 2015)
ARETHA (HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE BOXED SET)
2-LP Track Listing (Also Available As Single CD)
Side One
1. “Never Grow Old”
2. “Today I Sing The Blues”
3. “One Step Ahead”
4. “I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)”
5. “A Change Is Gonna Come”
Side Two
6. “Respect”
7. “Chain Of Fools” – Alternate Version
8. “Call Me” – Alternate Version *
9. “Rock Steady” – Alternate Mix/Take
10. “How I Got Over” (Single Edit) – Live
Side Three
11. “Master Of Eyes (The Deepness Of Your Eyes)”
12. “Until You Come Back To Me” – Work Tape *
13. “Something He Can Feel”
14. “You Light Up My Life” *
15. “Think”
Side Four
16. “Freeway Of Love”
17. “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) – Aretha Franklin and George Michael
18. “Someday We'll All Be Free”
19. “A Rose Is Still A Rose”
20. “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” – Live* (Originally Broadcast On The 38th Annual Kennedy Center Honors 12/19/15)
*Previously Unreleased Audio
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