Artist: Aretha Franklin · Album: Lady Soul · Year: 1968 · Label: Atlantic · Rank: 75 / 500
By the time Lady Soul dropped, Aretha Franklin wasn’t just a singer, she was a force of nature with a Hammond organ and a band behind her. This album catches her in that sweet spot where gospel fire, pop songcraft, and R&B grit meet – and she bends all of it to her will.
It’s only 28 minutes long, but it’s stacked with performances that basically rewired what a soul vocal could be.
Natural Woman, Superhuman Delivery
Start with the obvious spine-tingler: “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” written for her by Carole King and Gerry Goffin. On paper it’s a great song; in Aretha’s hands, it’s a sacrament. The way she climbs into that chorus – the timing, the little catches in the phrasing, the mix of vulnerability and power – is basically a masterclass in how to inhabit a lyric.
Even if you’ve heard it a thousand times in films, weddings, TV talent shows, the original still lands like a revelation.
Chain of Fools and Funky Fire
“Chain of Fools” comes in on that dirty, tremolo-drenched guitar lick from Joe South, and then the rhythm section locks into a slow, dangerous swagger. Aretha doesn’t just sing over it; she plays with the groove, stretching syllables, throwing in ad-libs, working call-and-response with the backing vocals like she’s back in church.
The song is technically a lament about a cheating man, but she delivers it with so much authority that you’re pretty sure she’s going to be fine, and he absolutely isn’t.
Ain’t No Way and the Art of the Ballad
One of the album’s secret weapons is “Ain’t No Way,” written by Aretha’s sister Carolyn. It’s a slow burn, built on piano, organ, and a horn section that mostly stays out of the way until it needs to stab.
Aretha glides from soft, almost conversational lines into full-on gospel hollers, never losing control. Cissy Houston’s high background vocal runs are the kind of detail you only notice after a few listens, but once you hear them, you can’t un-hear how perfectly they frame Aretha’s lead.
Bands, Covers, and Total Ownership
As usual in this era, she’s surrounded by killers: members of the Muscle Shoals crew, the Memphis Horns, and a rhythm section that understands that their main job is to make space for the voice.
She takes on contemporary material – like the Rascals’ “Groovin’” and Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready” – and completely owns them. These aren’t “covers” in the usual sense; they’re transformations, drawn back through her gospel roots and re-released as Aretha songs.
Legacy
If you want to hear why she’s called the Queen of Soul, this album is Exhibit A. Lady Soul is short, tight, and devoid of filler, the kind of record where any random 10 seconds could be looped and played in a museum.
You can hear its DNA in basically every big-voiced R&B performance that came after, but nobody quite matches that combination of technique, church-born intensity, and sheer regal presence.