"The Four Tops Greatest Hits" by The Four Tops (Jan., 1968)

Dad's Take:

The Four Tops managed to stay together without a single personnel change from 1953 until 1997, when Lawrence Payton died of cancer. To get their signature sound, songs were written just a bit high for lead singer Levi Stubbs, a baritone. As a result, he often sounded like he was reaching for an emotional high note.

It's hard to review a greatest hits album. What do you say? "This album contains all their greatest hits," at least those recorded through 1967. "Reach Out I'll Be There," "I Can't Help Myself," "Baby I Need Your Loving," "Shake Me Wake Me (When It's Over)," It's The Same Old Song"--all there, as well as several others you might not know by title, but you'll know it when you hear it.

This is a rock-solid record, a great listen all the way through. But what else would you expect from a greatest hits album by one of the great soul vocal groups?

Brad's Take:


Every song that I already knew by The Four Tops I had no idea was actually The Four Tops. I've heard of their group's name, but never really associated any songs with it until now. Not really sure why I slept on that because I should have gotten their entire discography a long time ago.

I love this kind of music. It just feels so happy and fun, despite what the lyrics talk about sometimes. This music just puts me in a good mood.

"I Can't Help Myself" and "Reach Out I'll Be There" are a couple of the songs on this collection that are immediately familiar to me. But there's some tracks on here that I haven't heard before that I love now, like "Seven Rooms of Gloom," "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever," and "You Keep Running Away," just to name a few.

After listening to this, I decided that I'm definitely going to have to dive into more of The Four Tops' discography. This is a great collection that really showcases their greatness. I really hope other songs off of their full albums are as good as their hits are. This is one of my favorite albums we've gotten to listen to, I think. So much fun!

"I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You" by Aretha Franklin (March, 1967)

Dad's Take:

First of all, that's one long album title. It doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, does it? But this is Aretha, and she can call her album whatever she wants. I mean, this thing starts with her version of "Respect," after all. We've heard that one before on our list, but from the first word on, she owns this song and always will.

"Respect" is clearly the star here. But don't let that fool you. This is a solid collection. After the album rock of The Doors, this feels like an old-school record, a collection of songs not unlike other soul albums we've heard. Mixed among the great songs are some filler tunes, which are saved by Aretha's performance. The album provides two top ten hits, with "Respect" (of course) going to the top of the charts.

While I kind of agree with Rolling Stone's 1967 review, which said that the songs lacked versatility by the sidemen, the showcase here is Aretha's voice and the album has her name on it. On a few songs, like the jazzy "Good Times," the band starts to groove a bit more than on many of the songs. If this had been a 1964 album, I don't think I'd complain. But this is '67 and I want to hear the band show their chops a bit more.

One of the surprises on this album was "Do Right Woman - Do Right Man," which Aretha sings in a lower key. Although her higher, somewhat screechy voice is incomparable, I like hearing her occasionally down in the lower register of that song, with a more subtle delivery. But after a song like that one, which I thoroughly enjoyed, I'm ready for her to sock it to me sock it to me sock it to me again. And the next song, "Save Me," gave me what I was looking for, a classic Aretha delivery and head-bopping bass line, even if the song itself is a little weaker than some of the others. But I can't help moving.

Our list of classic albums would be incomplete without Aretha Franklin, and this is the Aretha album you have to pick. I admit that, for the most part, this one doesn't blow me away the way, say, the Ike and Tina Turner album we reviewed a while back did, it's a solid listening experience and a true classic, and would be even if "Respect" was the only worthwhile song on the record. Your soul collection isn't complete without this record, and when it comes down to it, that's the true definition of a classic.

Brad's Take:


Aretha damn Franklin...

It took me a long time to think of what else to write after that. There really isn't much else to say. Aretha Franklin just rules. The passion in her voice is just amazing. Whether she's yelling it and making the microphone levels peak or singing quietly, she's just great!

She performs perfectly on this album. However, some of the song choices and arrangements don't really impress me much. The album is lacking in memorable songs. It's got a couple hits, for sure, but the majority of the record feels like an album from the 50s or very early 60s, where it's got 2 or 3 singles (1 really huge one), and then just a bunch of filler songs mixed in to make it long enough to call "an album." It's unfortunate though since Aretha is such a huge talent. You know there's talent here on every one of these recordings, the moment you hear her voice, but it's the actual song selection that makes this fall a little flat.

With some of our past reviews, there were albums that I just knew I was going to have to buy after listening to them, as if a Greatest Hits album for the artist wasn't even going to suffice since the album itself was just so perfect. For example, Sinatra's In The Wee Small Hours, Muddy Waters' Folk Singer, and Miles Davis' Kind of Blue. All serious classics, in my eyes (or ears...) but after listening to this album, I think a Greatest Hits compilation would probably be better when it comes to listening to Miss Franklin.

Sings The Rodgers and Hart Songbook Vol. 1, by Ella Fitzgerald (August, 1956)

Brad's Take:

This is a collection of songs written by the duo Richard Rodgers and Lorenzo Hart as performed by the incredible Ella Fitzgerald. In the 24 years that they wrote music together, Rodgers and Hart wrote over 500 songs and 28 stage musicals, including A Connecticut Yankee.

I personally haven't listened to any of the original Rodgers and Hart versions of these songs, at least that I am aware of, so I can't really compare Ella's recordings to the originals. From what I can tell though, I'm sure Ella's beautiful voice does them justice, if they aren't even better.

Ella Fitzgerald reminds me of a female Frank Sinatra. She has that same kind of unmistakable classic voice that Frank had. Another thing that reminds me of Frank Sinatra is that they both had slow melancholy ballads as well as up-tempo swing songs, and they both did each style perfectly. I'm glad neither of them just stuck with one style.

Ella also reminds me of a classy neighbor who'd sing around the house, but was too shy and modest to ever make a recording or perform in public, and would give you cookies if you came over to visit. I just imagine her singing over some of her favorite records while she was cleaning the house or something, and the only way you could really ever watch her sing was peering through the window or putting your ear against the front door, like a creep.

Although all of the songs on this compilation are written by someone else, she makes them her own in these recordings. She sings with just as much passion as she would have if she had written them herself. But you can't forget to mention the beautiful compositions by Buddy Bregman. Ella and Buddy really complimented each other extremely well on this album.

There's no reason why anyone who likes classic jazz and swing music shouldn't have this album in their collection.

Dad's Take:
I've been looking forward to listening to this one. I've never heard it, but I believe that Ella Fitzgerald had one of the greatest voices in the history of recorded music. Unfortunately, I read Brad's review before I started listening. Now I feel like I have to wear my creepy peeping Tom outfit. And here all this time I thought I was done with that part of my life. So I'll grab my trench coat and other gear from the back of the closet and put this album on.

I worried going in that I would know all of the songs, so it would feel like a tribute album. Fortunately, I only recognize a few of the titles. I like that, because part of the fun of this little exercise Brad and I are going through is hearing new music I might not otherwise have picked up. Turns out it wouldn't have mattered. Thanks to Ella's incredible performances and the brilliant arrangements by Buddy Bregman, this record could contain her versions of all the songs I know best, or total gibberish for that matter, and I'd still be enthralled. And, of course, the songs themselves are wonderful.

I find myself not even caring about the songs and just concentrating on Lady Ella's voice. And when she's not singing, the musical arrangements are almost as good. A few times I' even wished she wouldn't sing again for just a little longer during instrumental breaks so I could listen to the music. Of course, those thoughts vanish as soon as her voice kicks in again. I really like that Bergman's work is not mixed as far back as Nelson Riddle's are in In The Wee Small Hours.

It's interesting to compare Ella and Sinatra's versions of "Dancing On The Ceiling." We heard Frank's version on In The Wee Small Hours. Hearing two masters interpret the same song in such different ways is a musical education all by itself. Where Frank imbued the song with an ironic melancholy, Ella makes it a pure romantic dream. If this were a competition, I couldn't pick a winner. Because I prefer Ella's voice, I thought I'd give her the edge, but her version makes me appreciate Sinatra's ability to put an unexpected twist of emotion into a song. We get to compare the two albums again with "It Never Entered My Mind."

I've tried to find both the merits and flaws of each album so far, and I have to admit, I'm having trouble finding any flaws, unless it's that, even with 17 songs, this record is too short. This is about as perfect as it gets and is--unexpectedly--my favorite on our list so far. Lucky for us, Ella Fitzgerald released a volume 2.