Think/I Say A Little Prayer/See Saw/Night Time Is The Right Time/You Send Me/You’re A Sweet Sweet Man/I Take What I Want/Hello Sunshine/A Change/I Can’t See Myself Without You
The Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin stays on top of her game with her fourth Atlantic album Aretha Now. It contains the top ten hit single, Think and No. 1 I Say A Little Prayer. (US:2 UK:6)
"I can't think of a better 1-2 punch than Think and I Say A Little Prayer. They're such different songs but they're just so great. The rest of the A side is just as consistently great and, while the B side of the album is not quite as solid, it's only a tiny step down, not enough to really detract from my enjoyment of this great performance."
"Aretha Franklin always delivers amazing songs. What I like about this album is its energy: Aretha proves that she's not only good at singing soulful ballads, she's also great at singing uptempo and positive tracks. The first two songs, Think and I Say A Little Prayer are already classics, while You're A Sweet Sweet Man has turned into one of my favourites. A perfect record to sing along to."
"This record is a solid representation of a great soul artist at the top of her game. While Think and Say A Little Prayer are the two lasting masterpieces present here, the rest of the material ranges from agreeable to good, often reminding me of the fundamental early work of Ray Charles."
"If you want to understand why and how Aretha Franklin became the Queen of Soul, Aretha Now is required listening. Ms. Franklin's ability to take a song and own it is most recognized by her cover of Respect. But the queen has done this with so many tunes. My favourite ones here are You Send Me and Night Time Is The Right Time."
"Aretha's classic rhythm and blues album is gospel tinged soul with the Queen belting out a handful of remakes and the co-written, Think, a feisty supercharged personal and social call for freedom, with a stinging chorus forever embedded on the listener's consciousness. Sometimes the 1968 code of hit-making ethics find her lungs a bit constrained, when you know she just wants to wail her church trained voice and make the song her own, like in Burt Bacharach and Hal David's I Say A Little Prayer and Sam Cooke's You Send Me, fine songs and fine renditions, but lacking the excitement of a Franklin single."
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