SINGS THE GREAT DIVA CLASSICS
| Aretha Franklin
SINGS THE GREAT DIVA CLASSICS
Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics is the thirty-eighth and final studio album by American recording artist Aretha Franklin and was released on October 17, 2014. It features ten covers of songs made famous by female recording artists. This was Aretha's first recording for RCA Records, her first studio album to be released under a major label in 11 years (since the release of her 2003 studio album, So Damn Happy), and her first album since 1998 to be executive produced by Clive Davis, her boss at Arista Records, which has since folded into RCA. It is also her last studio album of entirely original recordings created prior to her death, as the subsequent 2017 album A Brand New Me features vintage vocal performances from the 1960s and 1970s paired with newer orchestral arrangements. WIKIPEDIA
Critic Reviews
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RollingStone
August 21, 2018 - the ultimate nod of respect and admiration from one of the greatest voices in the world.
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The Telegraph
'reeks of fakery'
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Daily News
2014 - To her, these songs aren't destinations. They're vehicles for her to improvise and strut.
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Boston Globe
At age 72, Franklin can still shut down the competition with a breathtaking, gospel-trained grace and power.
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billboard
One that makes us hope the Queen takes a stab at even bolder covers in the future.
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The New York Times
2014 - The vocals sound spontaneous and unprocessed.
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paste
2014 - The best tracks on Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics actually come in the form of mashups.
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ALL MUSIC
The energy she put into these versions helps make up for the vocal shortcomings and audible use of Auto-Tune.
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Newsday
2014 - proves it is still good to be queen.
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NOISE 11
2014 - eight out of the ten tracks on the album are glorious covers of diva classics.
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USAToday
2014 - at a time when so many younger divas, even gifted ones, are Auto-Tuned nearly beyond recognition, there is something deeply satisfying about hearing a palpably weathered and still-great voice pour forth without hesitation or doubt.
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The Detroit News
2014 - ‘Diva’ shows Aretha Franklin can still bring it.
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Hallels
2014 - For most of the songs, Franklin has kept abreast to the adage, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."
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The Guardian
The Great Diva Classics marks an upgrade on Franklin’s preceding record, 2011’s Aretha: A Woman Falling Out of Love, which was a commercial flop.
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Off the Tracks
2014 - A sad coda to the most wonderful career. I say a giant prayer that there’ll be no more of this.
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Journal Star
The only Franklin classic that makes the record is “Respect,” which is paired with “I’m Every Woman” in another drum-driven take that easily could hit the clubs and compete with the current divas -- none of whom can hold a candle to Aretha.
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Brent Music Reviews
a mixed bag.
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glide magazine
2014 - Aretha’s unsurpassed vocal styling permeates on popular diva classics ranging from Barbra Streisand’s “People,” and Gladys Knight’s “Midnight Train To Georgia".
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SOUFUL DETROIT.COM
2014 - I would have loved to have loved this album but I just don’t. Aretha over sings, the backing of many tracks is just too loud, the whole album is over produced.
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Los Angeles Times
2014 - "Step aside, ladies — here's how it's done."
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pressplayok
2014 - It feels sacrilegious to say a bad word about anything this great musical icon creates, but parts of the album are almost difficult to listen to due to the incessantly high pitched vocal acrobatics.
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the musical hype
2014 - Enthusiastic and energetic, Great Diva Classics is also flawed. It’s neither terrible nor particularly great.
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