Aretha Franklin - Rock with Me - Selected Best Tracks (1975-1979)

If you've downloaded the Aretha Franklin albums that I've posted here, perhaps you'll recognize this one. I previously posted an album with this exact same name and cover art. But I'm deleting that and reposting this as a new album, because I've drastically changed it.

This album used to contain everything I consider good from her rather fallow late 1970s output. About half of it came from songs released on her albums, and about half were unreleased songs that she largely did on TV shows. But about a month ago as I write this (October 2021), a new box set called "Aretha" was released. It made me realize there was more to this time period that I'd missed.

So I've made two albums that cover that same late 1970s time period. This one collects the best songs from her rather spotty late 1970s albums. The other one, which I'm also posting today, collects the unreleased songs she did in those same years. This works out nicely in that both resulting albums are in the typical 40 to 50 minute album length range.

I think it's undisputed that the prime of her career was from 1967 to 1974. I have all of her albums from that era. But starting around 1975, she took a big dive, both in terms of commercial success and critical acclaim. What happened to her happened to nearly all big soul artists around that time. Disco started to become big, and other musical changes happened like a new prominence of synthesizers and drum machines. Most soul artists changed their sound in order to sound contemporary, and it was a disaster. Franklin's disco music has to be the nadir of her long career. She rebounded some in the 1980s, especially commercially, but still, her music after 1974 was a shadow of her glory days, in my opinion.

Her best album from this time period has to be "Sparkle," released in 1976. It was entirely written and produced by soul great Curtis Mayfield, and his involvement seems to have helped matters a lot. So I've included five songs from that album, but even that one is hit or miss. 

As the 1970s went on, things went from bad to worse, the more disco took hold. Her 1978 and 1979 albums, "Almighty Fire" and "La Dita" have to be her low point. I tried to include at least one song from each of her five late 1970s albums, but it was tough to come up with even one good song from each of those.

So yeah, individually, most of these albums aren't that good. But by picking out the best songs, I think it makes for a good album, overall.

If you think I missed some gems, please let me know.

01 Mr. D.J. [5 for the D.J.] (Aretha Franklin)
02 It Only Happens [When I Look at You] (Aretha Franklin)
03 Rock with Me (Aretha Franklin)
04 Look into Your Heart (Aretha Franklin)
05 Something He Can Feel (Aretha Franklin)
06 Sparkle (Aretha Franklin)
07 Hooked On Your Love (Aretha Franklin)
08 Break It to Me Gently (Aretha Franklin)
09 Mumbles - I've Got the Music in Me (Aretha Franklin)
10 When I Think about You (Aretha Franklin)
11 Honey I Need Your Love (Aretha Franklin)
12 I'm Your Speed (Aretha Franklin)

https://www.upload.ee/files/15113506/ArethaF_1975-1979__RockwthMe_atse.zip.html

I made the cover based on a photo from the 1970s but I don't know the exact year.