Aretha Franklin On Her History

In My Room: Drawing meaning from my record collection ... with artist commentary. (An occasional series)

ARETHA FRANKLIN
Albums released: 43, give or take a couple (plus dozens of compilations)
Latest: "Jewels in the Crown: All-Star Duets With the Queen of Soul" (Arista) and "Rare and Unreleased Recordings” (Rhino)

Act’s CDs in my collection: 9 (includes one boxed set)
Vinyl: 7
Digital Only: 3
Overlap: 1
45s: 3
Favorites:"I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You"; "Live at Fillmore West"

There is not an interview with a legend that does not produce some worthwhile quotes that do not end up in the story that makes it to the web or into print.
Aretha Franklin, the greatest female singer of the last 50 years, talked about a variety of subjects this week during our visit, from the awards she will receive from the Recording Academy and NAACP in the next week to her concerts, new projects and then vs. now in gospel and R&B.
While she does not live in the past, it's hard to ingore the fact that if one lines up her first eight albums for Atlantic, released between May 1967 ("I Never Loved a Man") and late 1970 ("Spirit in the Dark"), you won't hear a clunker in the bunch. She takes pride in her history and fully supports the continued opening of the vaults that has led to the release of recordings that were put in the vaults 30-plus years ago.
One album was Rhino Handmade's four-CD version of her famous 1971 concerts at the Fillmore West. She reflected on the impact of those shows, last year’s “Rare and Unreleased Recordings” and "Amazing Grace: The Complete Recordings":
“It wasn’t a complete (Aretha) show because we didn't do any gospel. Jerry Wexler got the idea. He wanted to see how the flower children would respond. He figured they would appreciate me. That was unlike any other time. It was a first - no other soul artist had played the Fillmore West. It certainly increased my sales and broadened my scope.
"I loved hearing it again and I think it’s stood the test of time. Jerry, when we used to record and everybody was fired up and spirits were really high, would always say ‘let’s see tomorrow.’ He wanted everyone to go home, get a good night’s sleep and come back before saying something (was great). That the music is standing years later, and not just overnight, I really love that.”
Franklin, who says she will get over her fear of flying soon, said she was making her last visit to L.A. in a car this week. She has a Feb. 14 concert at L.A.'s Nokia Theater.
“I want to be consistent. Try to get in (all the hits). It’s best when you have two nights because I can do it then. I try to keep in the ones people want to hear, introduce new songs. I find new ways to to keep (the songs) fresh, changing them without varying them  too far from what people want.”
She also offered a take on R&B vs. gospel: “Gospel stays constant. Coming from the boomer generation we know R&B in a certain way and a certain time. R&B is alive and well because of hip-hop but (modern) R&B is not nearly as good.”