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Aretha Franklin
“Hey Nineteen, that’s ‘Retha Franklin.
…She don’t remember the “Queen of Soul”.
Steely Dan wrote those words over twenty-five years ago, less than a decade after “Live at Fillmore West” first appeared. If these words held true then, then they must be even more so now (chances are that today’s 19-year olds don’t remember Steely Dan either…). Re-released with unedited tracks and an extra disk, it now provides a golden opportunity for subsequent generations to get a taste of what soul music sounded like back when they were ‘keeping it real’.
During a raucous run-through of “Respect,” Aretha introduces herself to the audience, stating, “I promise… you will have enjoyed this show as much as any that you’ve ever had an occasion to see.” Three songs later, as I sat listening to her rather bizarre reading of “Eleanor Rigby,” I had my doubts about that statement. By disk’s end, though, I had to admit that she held true to her promise. “Live at Fillmore West” emphasizes the gospel influences of Aretha’s music, with rave-ups and free form rhythmic workouts that hold you in their spell until the last song fades away. Even when the material slackens, the musicianship bolsters the pace of the show; Talk about your dream bands, the musicians supporting Aretha are all top-notch. King Curtis is bandleader, with Cornell Dupree on guitar, Bernard Purdie on drums, Billy Preston on organ, and the Memphis horns fleshing out the arrangements.
The contents of this 2-cd set were recorded March 5-7, 1971, at a time when Aretha experienced an artistic resurgence that crossed cultural barriers. Most of her hit material from this era was derived from imaginative and often drastic re-workings of contemporary hits, and this mindset is exactly what provides the lion’s share of material for this set. Some of it works well (Bread’s “Make It with You,” Paul Simon’s “Bridge over Troubled Water”), and some of it doesn’t (the above-mentioned “Eleanor Rigby,” and a somewhat shaky reading of Steve Stills’ “Love the One You’re With”). The second half of the show is when the real heat kicks in, though. A powerful reading of “Doctor Feelgood” signals a mood change and brings some church spirit to the hippie Mecca that was most famous for hosting acts like the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane. From then on, the show feels more like a revival meeting than a concert. “Spirit in the Dark” is the show’s climax, and also serves as the first encore. It is revelatory. Ray Charles makes a surprise guest appearance here, and his presence brings a loose, free-form feel that practically forces the band to intense energy levels.
The original album release contained extremely edited versions of these tunes so they could fit on a single LP. Here, they are presented in full, stretching out for almost a full half-hour of deep-soul gospel music. Collaborations between “the Genius” and the “Queen of Soul” were rare, so this pairing is more than enough to recommend this set. Add in a bonus disk with alternate versions and a few extra tracks that never surfaced, and you have a very special re-release. "Hey nineteen" (or twenty-nine, or thirty-nine), you owe it to yourself to check this out.
Grade: 
 
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