Happy 50th Anniversary to Aretha Franklin’s Aretha Live at Fillmore West, originally released May 19, 1971.
Aretha Live at Fillmore West is one of those rare live albums that make you feel like you are actually, physically in attendance at the concert. At the peak of her illustrious career, Aretha Franklin made the bold move to record the album with only two of her original songs. Atlantic Records executive and producer Jerry Wexler thought that the song choices coupled with playing a famed venue like San Francisco’s Fillmore West would broaden Franklin's appeal with a mainstream audience. Wexler encouraged Franklin to learn what he called "hippie songs" like Stephen Stills' "Love The One You’re With,” Simon & Garfunkel's “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, and Bread’s “Make It With You”.
Franklin's gift for taking other people's songs and making them her own translates nicely on this album. Her backup band consisted of saxophonist King Curtis and the Kingpins (Bernard Purdie on drums, Jerry Jemmott on bass, Cornell Dupree on guitar, and Billy Preston on organ). Joining them were the Memphis Horns (trumpeter Wayne Jackson and Andrew Love on tenor saxophone). Brenda Bryant, Margaret Branch, and Pat Smith a.k.a. the Sweethearts of Soul provided the backing vocals, rounding out the all-star supporting cast.
After a brief introduction by promoter Bill Graham, Franklin and the band come out of the gate running with a high-octane, sped-up version of "Respect," which comes pretty close to outshining her original studio version. As the song comes to an end, Franklin guarantees the audience that they will enjoy the show, a statement which by the end of the album will prove to be an understatement.
Franklin puts her all into "Love the One You're With," giving it an infusion of soul that makes this interpretation peerless. By the time the song ends, you can tell that she had already won over her audience. You can feel the buzz and electricity in the room, something that is hard for most live albums to achieve.
Franklin takes us to church with her rendition of “Bridge Over Troubled Water," and it is as close to a religious experience as you can get on any album. It gives us a glimpse of what would come a year later on her Amazing Grace (1972) album. As great as Simon & Garfunkel's original version is, Franklin took it to an entirely different place altogether. As she did with Otis Redding's "Respect," you can arguably claim that Franklin had taken possession of the song.
One of the cleverest things Franklin did was take the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" and turn it into a first-person account. It was a brilliant move that makes it an entirely different song. Franklin also removed the saccharine from Bread's "Make It With You" and gave it some much-needed depth.
The highlight of this album is the unplanned duet of Franklin and Ray Charles on "Spirit in the Dark." Allegedly, Franklin had met Charles for the first time earlier that day. He attended that evening's show and Franklin invited him on stage for a rousing nine-minute version of the song.
When lists are assembled for greatest live albums, Aretha Live at Fillmore West almost always makes it. Not only is it in my top five live albums of all time, but it might also be one of Franklin's best LPs in her discography. Give the extended version a listen also, which includes additional songs from Franklin and the entire set by King Curtis and the Kingpins. You're not going to find many live albums better than this one.
LISTEN: