During what would become one of the must tumultuous years in American history since the days of the Civil War, 1968 played host to many astonishing and terrible events but also was blessed by some of the greatest music ever unleashed onto the public. On January 22 the reigning queen of soul music, Aretha Franklin, released Lady Soul, and the world hasn’t been the same since.

Lady Soul is Aretha’s third album and contains some of her most well-known and beloved hits. Although relatively short in length, considering the significance, coming in at a cool 28 minutes and 44 seconds, Lady Soul is a powerhouse record and is listed at 84^th on Rolling Stone Magazine’s 500 greatest albums of all time, you can go to Rollingstones.com and see the whole list.

The first song on the album “Chain of Fools,” was #2 on the American pop charts and stands today as a signature song from that decade as well as an outstanding representation of Aretha’s ongoing message of woman empowerment. “Money Won’t Change You,” the second track from Lady Soul is an upbeat, and fun R&B number.

It’s the third song on the album which is a cover of Curtis Mayfield & The Impression’s, “People Get Ready,” that will tear out your heart and leave you felling weak at the knees. Holy Moses this song is a monster, your ears just need to hear more, her voice surpasses any noise you’ve ever heard. It’s just difficult to express if you’ve never heard it. “You Don’t Need No Baggage, You Just Get On Board” that is the message of Lady Soul. If you think you know music put on this album and play the third song, you’ll crap your pants.

“Niki Hoeky” is the forth number from Soul, and is a wonderfully soulful and hip track. The sound of Maracas is constant over the jazzy drum arrangements and just makes you want to dance. The fifth song is the classic “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” and I think this one speaks for itself. Everyone on earth must have experienced the pleasure of hearing Natural Woman, I have memories of it from the womb, so I can’t be alone.

The sixth and seventh songs are “Since You’ve Been Gone (Sweet Sweet Baby)” and “Good To Me As I Am To You” and are both are classically forgotten musical gems. Especially “Good To Me,” a blazing, slowed down blues jam with a very slick horn section and sexy guitar riffs makes all who listen want to slow dance and squeeze someones ass, hard and tight. The eighth track is another cover, this time it’s Ray Charles’s “Come Back Baby,” and Aretha puts her special flavor on an already great song. A bit deeper than Ray’s and certainly funkier, I prefer Aretha’s rendition. “Groovin,” the ninth song is yet another cover, not my favorite on Lady Soul but it’s better than most, I wouldn’t call it filler, but for Lady Soul, it doesn’t quite hold up against the other tracks on the album.

The final song on the album is “Ain’t No Way “and I have to say next to “People Get Ready” is the best song on Lady Soul. An amazingly sad song about a relationship that has tons of passion but is destined for failure, it rings true now and then. “Ain’t No Way” is a shattering statement about woman and how they should be treated, no longer will women be sacrificing what they want out of fear of being alone. Lady Soul is a testimonial by Aretha to women and men everywhere about relationships, love, and communication between people. It’s crazy that less than a half hour of music can mean so much to so many, and for an astonishing variety of reasons. Lady Soul is a must own for all 60’s music fans but also for all those who are enthusiastic about new jams and great albums.

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