By JEFF MIERS
Even if Aretha Franklin had retired by the mid '70s, her
place in the history of popular music would be assured.
She's known as the Queen of Soul, and though most of her
loyal audience would praise her no matter what she did, Franklin
is indeed worthy of that moniker. Her work on Atlantic Records at the end of
the '60s alone makes her worthy of legend status. It's almost as if everything
that came after has been gravy.
Sunday evening, inside the recently opened Seneca
Events Center
at the Seneca Niagara Casino and Hotel, Franklin
offered up a show that was largely gravy but had moments of real meat as well.
Backed by a 22-piece band, Franklin
gave the crowd what it expected - the hits. But she also reminded us of just
who she is, thereby peeling away the cocoon of her mythical status and digging
deep into the gospel-pop hybrid that she, Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and a few
others employed in the creation of what we now know as soul music.
Escorted onto the stage by her conductor, Franklin
wasted no time getting to it. "Respect" demanded it, and if Franklin's
voice has grown a tad thinner with age, it is still a mighty instrument; by the
end of the evening, she'd offered more than a few moments of absolutely sublime
singing, the sort that rattles the bones and tugs at the heartstrings.
During these moments, Franklin
was the same daughter of a Detroit
preacher who started singing in church as a teenager in the '50s and would go
on to mix the sacred and profane in service of some of the most memorable tunes
to emerge from the '60s.
Franklin's band
didn't have the same rich, loamy sound that the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section
afforded her classic Atlantic recordings, but they did ably in transition from
soul, to funk, to R&B, to pop, to slightly overblown balladry with
conviction and consummate skill.
"Jump to It," a tune written for Franklin by
Luther Vandross, highlighted part of the problem with
the singer's post-1975 work: It's simply too light compositionally to merit
Franklin's attention, and yet she gives herself completely to the piece, and
her phrasing and inflection raise the substandard material toward the heavens.
Far better, not surprisingly, were the older songs, such as soulful, strutting
"Chain of Fools," and the gospel burner "Think."
"Beyond the Sea" was a highlight, as Franklin
offered a burning scat solo, and it was clear that she was fully committed to
the number, which the band really made swing. By this point, Franklin's
voice was fully warmed up, and she effortlessly moved from rich, deep soulful
exhortations into her gorgeous falsetto, which cut to the quick. Here, then,
was complete mastery in full evidence. The show, which may be appropriate for
an event held in a casino, had the air of a revue more than of an intimate
concert appearance by one of the few living legends in popular music. But
really, Franklin has nothing left
to prove. That she can still summon such greatness, and still inspire such
enthusiasm in the listener, is something to be celebrated.
1/3/06
Source: The Buffalo
News
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