![]() ![]() “Living in the world of ghetto life, everybody around seems so uptight,” Franklin shouts with assertiveness. Its high point is “Something He Can Feel,” a deeply sensual number underlined by bluesy, swaggering horns, flickering guitar and the Kitty Haywood Singers’ steady, supportive backing vocals. The entire album is enveloped in orchestral strings, thanks to Rich Tufo’s lovingly detailed arrangements. (Cara, for her part, would later score dance-pop hits in the ’80s with “Fame” and “Flashdance … What a Feeling.”)ĭespite the backroom machinations, the Sparkle recording sessions yielded marvelous results. Bruised feelings abounded, not only with Carolyn (“It’s hard for me to talk about it now,” she said) but also with McKee, who had hoped the Sparkle soundtrack would establish her music career. Carolyn – who nurtured a fledging solo career in addition to singing background for Aretha – asserted that she and Mayfield planned to cut the Sparkle songs but were thwarted by Aretha’s enthusiasm for the project. “ thought two of the actresses, Irene Cara and Lonette McKee, were excellent singers for the movie but wanted a more experienced R&B vocalist to cut the album,” Carolyn Franklin told David Ritz for his 2014 Aretha Franklin biography, Respect: The Life of Aretha Franklin. Album producer Curtis Mayfield – whose own career stretched from his breakout role in The Impressions to composing incendiary, socially-conscious works such as the Super Fly soundtrack and establishing the criminally-underrated Curtom imprint – would never write a major hit after Sparkle. With its shimmering girl-group sound and urban gospel tone, Sparkle marked a final, shining moment for classic soul just before disco, funk and quiet storm took over the R&B charts for good. It was Franklin’s only album to be certified gold between 1972, the year of her Nina Simone-inspired Young, Gifted and Black, and her Luther Vandross-helmed comeback, 1982’s Jump to It. She remained a major presence on the Billboard R&B charts throughout the decade, but little she released had the same wide impact as her ’60s peak. When Aretha Franklin’s revelatory Southern soul collaborations with producer Jerry Wexler cooled in the early ’70s, she spent nearly a decade experimenting with different sounds. ![]() Next up: Mosi Reeves on the creative sparks that flew when Aretha met Curtis Mayfield. Rolling Stone’s music staff is paying its R.E.S.P.E.C.T.s to the Queen with tributes to our favorite Aretha LPs. ![]() It’s a deep catalog, crowded with indisputable classics and hidden gems. Perhaps choosing a gospel tune that requires a melodious voice and a song that shares a performer who outshines her wasn’t the best way to seal Houston’s legacy.Aretha Franklin, who died on August 16th at age 76, recorded more than 40 full-length albums in her six-decade career. Her songs here should have served as a high note for the icon, but unfortunately her swan songs – “His Eye Is on the Sparrow” and “Celebrate” with Sparks – falter as the singer struggles to find her once sparkling, soaring voice. With that said, Houston has become the focus of the film and soundtrack since she died earlier this year. She shines bright on various collaborations and her three solo tracks: It’s another winning moment for the former “American Idol” champ. Sparks emerges as the leading lady of the album. The burden for greatness is shared among the main cast, which includes Whitney Houston, Jordin Sparks, Carmen Ejogo, Tika Sumpter and Cee Lo Green. ![]() Various artists, “Sparkle: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” (RCA Records)Ĭurtis Mayfield and Aretha Franklin’s union for the soundtrack of the 1976 musical drama “Sparkle” made for an instant soul classic, so the 2012 remake already has a lot to live up to. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |