Aretha Franklin, The Ray Bryant Combo – Aretha (Speakers Corner)

On the first Franklin disc from Columbia, on the other hand, true honeymoon still shone silvery. In a well-diced mix of pop and jazz standards, this 18-year-old super talent makes the vocal chords vibrate. Fired with youthful freshness, these standards glow so unspent and intoxicatingly that the question of the purity of styles becomes a secondary consideration. From bouncing R&B ("Won't Be Long") to bell-like melody waves ("Over The Rainbow") to the freely designed, jazzy tuned Gershwin classic "It Aint Necessarily So", everything is possible.

The Ry Bryant Trio, slightly augmented with wind instruments, proves to be a formidable line-up for the debut, always providing both present and subtle accompaniment. If you compare the mature acts of Aretha Franklin in the following years on Atlantic (Atlantic SD7205) with these famous early recordings, you can be sure that the later 'First Lady of Soul' mastered her craft from the beginning.

This Speakers Corner production was made using analog master tape and mastering 100% pure analog. All licenses and GEMA contributions were paid.