Aretha Franklin - Respect

Respect gathers the young, torch-singing Aretha Franklin alongside the anthem that made her the Queen of Soul, all on one LP.

The title track is her signature song, the Otis Redding tune she turned into a demand for dignity in 1967, but most of the programme draws on her first years at Columbia in the early 1960s, after John Hammond signed her as a teenager. Back then the label pitched her as a jazz and pop stylist, pairing that gospel-trained voice with strings, big bands and standards. Hearing both sides together makes for a fascinating before-and-after.

"Respect" still hits like a thunderclap, with that spelled-out chorus nobody can resist. From the Columbia years, "Today I Sing the Blues" is a slow, smoky showcase proving the power was there from the start, even when the arrangements leaned towards supper-club polish. "Try a Little Tenderness" and "God Bless the Child" show her already bending familiar standards to her own will, years before the hits started rolling in.

It's a handy, wide-ranging introduction to one of the greatest voices of the 20th century. Fans who know only the Atlantic classics will find plenty of surprises in the earlier material. Sequenced side by side, the two eras make a lively, revealing listen.