Spirit in the Dark

Spirit in the Dark
Studio album by Aretha Franklin
Released August 24, 1970
Recorded May 27, 1969
October 3, 1969-March 10, 1970
Genre Soul, R&B
Length 40:28
Label Atlantic (#8265),
Rhino (1994 Re-release)
Producer Tom Dowd, Arif Mardin, Jerry Wexler
Aretha Franklin chronology
This Girl's in Love with You
(1970)This Girl's in Love with You1970		 Spirit in the Dark
(1970)		 Aretha Live at Fillmore West
(1971)Aretha Live at Fillmore West1971
Singles from Spirit in the Dark
  1. "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)"
    Released: May, 1970
  2. "Spirit in the Dark"/"The Thrill Is Gone"
    Released: August, 1970
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Robert ChristgauA[2]
Pitchfork9.0/10[3]
Rolling Stone(favorable) [4]

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 considered to be one of Aretha's classic Atlantic LPs. In 1994, Rhino Records re-issued this recording on compact disc. Kanye West has sampled the album title song in his "School Spirit", found on the album The College Dropout. Despite not released as a single, her song "Try Matty's" is best known as the jingle for radio host Matt Siegel to Boston's Kiss 108.

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Don't Play That Song"Ahmet Ertegün, Betty Nelson3:02
2."The Thrill Is Gone (From Yesterday's Kiss)"Rick Darnell, Roy Hawkins4:41
3."Pullin'"Carolyn Franklin, Jimmy Radcliffe3:38
4."You and Me"Aretha Franklin3:34
5."Honest I Do"Jimmy Reed, Ewart Abner3:19
6."Spirit in the Dark"Aretha Franklin4:03
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."When the Battle Is Over"Jessie Hill, Dr. John2:43
8."One Way Ticket"Aretha Franklin2:52
9."Try Matty's"Aretha Franklin2:32
10."That's All I Want from You"Fritz Rotter2:44
11."Oh No Not My Baby"Gerry Goffin, Carole King2:55
12."Why I Sing the Blues"B.B. King, Dave Clark3:05

Personnel

  • Aretha Franklin - lead vocals (All tracks), piano (tracks 1-6, 8-12)
  • Dave Crawford - organ (tracks 8-9, 12)
  • Buzz Feiten - guitar
  • Jimmy Johnson - guitar (tracks 3, 5, 7, 11)
  • Jimmy O'Rourke - guitar (track 9)
  • The Sweet Inspirations - background vocals (tracks 4, 6)
  • Wylene Ivy - background vocals (tracks 3, 9-10, 12)
  • Margaret Branch - background vocals (tracks 1-2, 7-8, 11)
  • Tommy McClure - bass guitar (tracks 1-2, 4, 6, 10)
  • Almeda Lattimore - background vocals (tracks 1-3, 9-12)
  • Harold "Hog" Cowart - bass guitar (tracks 8-9, 12)
  • Jimmy O'Rourke - guitar (track 9)
  • Sammy Creason - drums (tracks 1-2, 4, 6, 10)
  • Ronald "Tubby" Ziegler - drums (track 9)
  • Roger Hawkins - drums (tracks 3, 5, 7, 11)
  • Pat Lewis - background vocals (tracks 3, 9-10, 12)
  • Duane Allman - guitar (track 7)
  • Cornell Dupree - guitar (tracks 8, 11-12)
  • Jim Dickinson - additional keyboards (tracks 1-2, 4, 6, 10)
  • Ray Lucas - drums (tracks 8, 12)
  • Charlie Freeman - guitar (tracks 1-2, 4, 6, 10)
  • Evelyn Green - background vocals (tracks 3, 9-10, 12)
  • Brenda Bryant - background vocals (tracks 1-2, 7-8, 11)
  • David Hood - bass guitar (tracks 3, 5, 7, 11)
  • Michael Utley - additional keyboards (tracks 1-2, 4, 6, 10)
  • Barry Beckett - additional keyboards (tracks 3, 5, 7, 11)
  • Eddie Hinton - guitar (tracks 3, 5, 7, 11)

Chart History

Name Chart (1970) Peak
position
Spirit in the Dark U.S. Billboard Pop Albums 25
Spirit in the Dark U.S. Top R&B Albums 2

References

  1. ↑ Allmusic review
  2. ↑ Robert Christgau review
  3. ↑ Marino, Nick. "Aretha Franklin Spirit in the Dark". Pitchfork. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  4. ↑ Amatneek, Bill (November 12, 1970). "Aretha Franklin: Spirit in the Dark : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
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