Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics

Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics
Studio album by Aretha Franklin
Released October 17, 2014
Recorded 2013–14
Genre
Label RCA Records
Producer
Aretha Franklin chronology
Aretha: A Woman Falling Out of Love
(2011)		 Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics
(2014)		 A Brand New Me
(2017)
Singles from Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics
  1. "Rolling in the Deep (The Aretha Version)"
    Released: September 29, 2014
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic66/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Billboard[3]
CuepointA–[4]
Financial Times[5]

Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics is the thirty-eighth and final studio album by American recording artist Aretha Franklin and was released on October 17, 2014.[6] It features ten covers of songs made famous by female recording artists.

This was Aretha's first recording for RCA Records, her first studio album to be released under a major label in 11 years (since the release of her 2003 studio album, So Damn Happy), and her first album since 1998 to be executive produced by Clive Davis, her boss at Arista Records, which has since folded into RCA. It is also her last studio album of entirely original recordings created prior to her death, as the subsequent 2017 album A Brand New Me features vintage vocal performances from the 1960s and 1970s paired with newer orchestral arrangements.

Clive Davis called the album "purely and simply sensational" and said of Aretha Franklin, "She's on fire and vocally in absolutely peak form. What a thrill to see this peerless artist still showing the way, still sending shivers up your spine, still demonstrating that all contemporary music needs right now is the voice. What a voice."[7] Production on the album includes R&B producers Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds and Harvey Mason, Jr., hip-hop musician André 3000, and house producers Terry Hunter and Eric Kupper among others.[8][9]

The first single released from the album is a cover of singer Adele's "Rolling in the Deep", subtitled as "The Aretha Version", which also includes an interpolation of the Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell hit, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough".[10] The single debuted at number 47 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Aretha Franklin thus becomes the first female, and fourth artist overall (following Lil Wayne, Jay Z and James Brown), to place 100 songs on the chart (with her first entry on the chart being "Today I Sing the Blues" in 1960).[11]

Commercial performance

Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics debuted at number 13 on the Billboard 200 in the United States, selling 23,000 copies in its first week.[12] The album is her 38th top 20 album. The album also debuted at number 3 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[12] and one on Billboard's R&B albums charts.

According to Nielsen SoundScan, this latest Aretha release has sold a total of 94,893 copies as of December, 2017.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."At Last" (originally performed by Glenn Miller; popularized by Etta James)
3:53
2."Rolling in the Deep (The Aretha Version)" (originally performed by Adele)
  • Edmonds
  • Dixon
  • Davis
  • Aretha Franklin
4:00
3."Midnight Train to Georgia" (originally performed by Cissy Houston; popularized by Gladys Knight & the Pips)Jim Weatherly
  • Edmonds
  • Dixon
  • Davis
  • Franklin
4:21
4."I Will Survive (The Aretha Version)" (originally performed by Gloria Gaynor)
4:31
5."People" (originally performed by Barbra Streisand)
  • Edmonds
  • Davis
4:04
6."No One" (originally performed by Alicia Keys)
The Underdogs4:01
7."I'm Every Woman" / "Respect" ("I'm Every Woman" originally performed by Chaka Khan)
Eric Kupper4:56
8."Teach Me Tonight" (originally performed by Dinah Washington)
2:41
9."You Keep Me Hangin' On" (originally performed by The Supremes)Holland–Dozier–Holland
  • Hunter
  • Williams
  • Mason, Jr.[a]
4:41
10."Nothing Compares 2 U" (originally performed by The Family; popularized by Sinéad O'Connor)PrinceAndré "3000" Benjamin4:17

Notes

Charts

Chart (2014) Peak
position
scope="row"Australian Albums (ARIA)[14] 30
scope="row"Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[15] 81
scope="row"Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[16] 46
scope="row"Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[17] 49
scope="row"French Albums (SNEP)[18] 44
scope="row"Italian Albums (FIMI)[19] 16
scope="row"Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[20] 26
scope="row"Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[21] 30
scope="row"UK Albums (OCC)[22] 32
scope="row"US Billboard 200[23] 13
scope="row"US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[24] 3

Notes

  1. ↑ "Reviews for Sings the Great Diva Classics by Aretha Franklin - Metacritic". Metacritic.
  2. ↑ Kellman, Andy. "Aretha Franklin – Sings the Great Diva Classics". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Aretha Franklin Album Review: 'Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics': - Billboard". Billboard.
  4. ↑ Christgau, Robert (December 5, 2014). "Robert Christgau: Expert Witness". Cuepoint. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Aretha Franklin: Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics – review". Financial Times.
  6. ↑ "iTunes - Music - Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics by Aretha Franklin". iTunes.
  7. ↑ "Aretha Franklin". Billboard.
  8. ↑ "Aretha Franklin says new cover album feels fresh". naplesnews.com. Naples Daily News. October 8, 2014. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Aretha Franklin To Release New Studio Album 'Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics' Out 10/21". The Official RCA Records Site.
  10. ↑ "Rolling In The Deep (The Aretha Version)". Qobuz.
  11. ↑ "Aretha Franklin". Billboard.
  12. 1 2 "Aretha Franklin". Billboard.
  13. ↑ "Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics: Dance Remixes". Amazon.com. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  14. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Aretha Franklin – Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics". Hung Medien.
  15. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Aretha Franklin – Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  16. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Aretha Franklin – Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics" (in French). Hung Medien.
  17. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Aretha Franklin – Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  18. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Aretha Franklin – Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics". Hung Medien.
  19. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Aretha Franklin – Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics". Hung Medien.
  20. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Aretha Franklin – Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics". Hung Medien.
  21. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Aretha Franklin – Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics". Hung Medien.
  22. ↑ "Aretha Franklin | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
  23. ↑ "Aretha Franklin Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  24. ↑ "Aretha Franklin Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard.
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