Aretha Franklin – Lady Soul LP (180g)

Despite the presence of the sweetened (and great) single “A Natural Woman,” Aretha Franklin’s thirdAtlanticalbum is even more elegantly gritty than its two predecessors. She finds liberation inJames Brown‘s “Money Won’t Change You” and a revved-up take onRay Charles‘s “Come Back Baby” much as she had in “Respect” and “Think” earlier, whileEric Clapton‘s guitar on “Good to Me As I Am to You” stings as much as her rueful, resigned delivery.–Rickey Wright