![]() The tambourine that opens Ain’t That Love told them where they were. It’s reasonable to assume many people who heard this album for the first time had never been there. It’s the “Queen Of Soul” with the spirit in full flow. Franklin rarely sounded this contemporary and sure of herself again, just delivering songs she clearly enjoyed. ![]() There’s even a popping update of Maxine Brown’s Oh No Not My Baby, coolly funky yet with a touch of rock grit. Try Matty’s, one of five songs she wrote here, is a rolling blues head-nodder One Way Ticket gets to where it is going when it suits it, a chilled reminiscence of love with gospel roots the version of Dr John and Jessie Hill’s When The Battle Is Over churns with righteous determination, one of several songs about relationship friction. That’s All I Want From You, a country ballad suited to soul and reggae (as A Little Love), is brilliantly refreshed, with vibrant horns, sizzling organ and Franklin relaxed and glowing. The Thrill Is Gone, generally thought of as BB King’s territory, gets a deeply bluesy rendition with nothing on it that’s surplus to requirements. A pity, because Franklin’s second album of the 70s, released in September 1970, is full of musical miracles that earn it a spot among the best Atlantic Records soul albums. Perhaps the somewhat downbeat-looking sleeve didn’t sell it enough. You might imagine that any album which opens with Aretha Franklin’s luminous version of Ben E King’s Don’t Play That Song would be much lauded, but Spirit In The Dark sometimes slips under the radar when compared to some of Franklin’s 60s records. Buying a book? Buy this instead.ġ8: Aretha Franklin: ‘Spirit In The Dark’ (1970) It may be one Joe Tex album among many, but it’s the perfect one, and it reveals his deeper feelings. Buying A Book’s title track is yet another warning for lovers – slow, standard Joe, even if electric sitar puts in an appearance. It Ain’t Sanitary is a table-turning tale about OCD The Only Way dismisses a wannabe interloper and the funky Get Your Lies Together was likely built for onstage comedic impact. He then obliges fans with more Tex-ish fare, though Sure Is Good, sung in several languages, might have foxed them. It’s the opening cut of 1969’s Buying A Book because Joe wanted it heard. He is angry: the people are on the move do what’s right. But he was never as explicitly politicised as he was on We Can’t Sit Down Now, and there’s not a streak of his renowned irony in the song. Joe Tex was one of soul’s thinkers, but often sang about relationships in a wry manner, wailing country-style, or talking through songs before he bust your heart with the beauty of his voice. ![]() Accept Don’t Play That Song! as a product of its time to realise how great Ben E King was: a soul man before soul knew what it was. On The Horizon laments absent loved ones, suggesting the Vietnam War without mentioning it, and King plays it straight amid an over-egged arrangement. The album holds other, less-remembered gems: the understated Ecstasy finds King in raptures First Taste Of Love, ditto and Yong Boy Blues releases a roughhouse element in his voice, rarely displayed this early in his career. It’s beyond classic, and it cements Don’t Play That Song!’s place among the best Atlantic Records soul albums. The album’s other major hit is Stand By Me, a cornerstone of rock’n’roll and a foundation of soul. The title track is an example, its protagonist heartbroken and deceived, tortured by hearing “our song”. But it also had two classics rendered in a manner that would become one of soul’s trademarks: a singer coping with overwhelming emotions that he or she had to confess. Ben E King had been there from the start with The Drifters, and this album contains something of that group’s purring Latin rhythms and precise arrangements. One from soul’s kindergarten, if not its maternity suite, Don’t Play That Song! was released in 1962, when soul music barely had a name. Best Atlantic Records Jazz Albums: 20 Classics That Shaped Modern Jazz 20: Ben E King: ‘Don’t Play That Song!’ (1962) Here are 20 thrilling albums from the awesome Atlantic catalogue, from obscure to widely-known, and in a wide range of styles, that every soul lover should hear – and adore. Choosing the 20 best Atlantic Records soul albums is a daunting task, but it’s one our feet, hearts and hips insisted we try. Atlantic Records was the home of soul before the music had a name, and has released every iteration of this exhilarating sound ever since.
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