When more is less

The undisputed grande dame of soul descends upon diva classics with some mixed results

Given her 18 Grammy Awards, some 70 million records sold worldwide and a series of achievements and accolades throughout her six-decade career, there's no denying that Aretha Franklin is one of the greatest musical legends to ever grace this planet. No stranger to giving her own spin to well-known songs (I Say A Little Prayer, I'm Every Woman, Respect), Franklin has returned after a 13-year hiatus with Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics, her 38th studio effort, comprised solely of cover versions.

The self-explanatorily titled record finds the 72-year-old Queen of Soul rummaging through the top drawer of hits by female artists including the late Etta James, Gloria Gaynor, Barbra Streisand as well as latter-day divas like Alicia Keys and Adele. Indeed, this is an obvious, commercially viable attempt to restore the veteran artist to her former glory. But while there's nothing wrong with wanting to be relevant again, this project fails to be of service to the Queen herself. Plus it adds very little significance to her overall legacy — musical or otherwise.

Take the highly divisive cover of Adele's smash Rolling in the Deep, which also samples Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's Ain't No Mountain High Enough, for example. Franklin simply doesn't hold back here, giving all that she's got to the song whose very beauty lies in its tension-building subtlety and restraint. When she goes into her upper register, which she often does, her voice gets overstretched — the flaw sometimes masked by the use of Auto-Tune. No disrespect to Her Majesty, but we find it a challenge to sit through the song in its entirety.

Unfortunately, covers of Alicia Keys' No One and Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive fare no better. The former is a faux reggae atrocity whereas the latter contains bits of Destiny's Child's I'm A Survivor and, quite inexplicably, an awkward dubstep breakdown. There's also a jazzy makeover of Prince/Sinead O'Connor's ballad Nothing Compares 2 U complete with all-out big band flourishes and Franklin's fervent scatting. Again, not exactly ear candy there. The much-needed relief, however, come by the covers of The Supremes' You Keep Me Hangin' On, Dinah Washington's Teach Me Tonight, and I'm Every Woman/Respect, a mashup of two of her biggest hits.

For someone who doesn't need to prove herself, Franklin sure sounds like she's trying way too hard on this record, not to mention the fact that the choice of musical styles is more miss than hit. Aside from a couple of tracks mentioned above, every trick in her vast canon of vocal callisthenics is deployed with the restraint of an overly eager talent show contestant. She oversings and improvises as if her life depended on it, which often proves a little grating. It's only when she's not flexing her pipes or stretching her voice to its absolute limit that her long-honed craft and refined artistry emerge. And it's only then that we're reminded why no one in the business will ever be able to take her throne.

THE PLAYLIST

The Whitest Crow/ Give Up On Love

After two impressive singles released earlier this year, Bangkok-based rock four-piece The Whitest Crow is back with their third, Give Up On Love. The song begins with simple snare drum beats paired with a groovy bassline before demanding serious attention with bursts of crunchy guitar and frontman Tritle’s unique swaggering vocals. What’s most memorable here, though, is that seamless transition between a bridge and a chorus where Tritle repeatedly announces that, contrary to the song’s title, he never gives up on love. Fans of The Black Keys should probably check this one out.

Pink Floyd/ Louder Than Words

Iconic progressive rockers Pink Floyd have unveiled their first single in two decades. Lifted from their forthcoming 15th (also, reportedly, their last) album The Endless River, Louder Than Words finds the band’s two remaining members Nick Mason and David Gilmour doing what they do best: crafting an intriguingly experimental soundscape with their signature guitars at the forefront. The Endless River is slated as an instrumental record, and this is the only track that features vocals plus lyrics penned by Gilmour’s wife Polly Samson.

Foo Fighters/ The Feast and the Famine

The Feast and the Famine marks Foo Fighters’ second cut from their forthcoming new album, Sonic Highways, which was recorded in eight studios in eight different cities in the US. The track itself is an explosive number chock full of face-melting punk-rock guitar hooks and classic Dave Grohl’s lyricism (“Hey, where is the monument/To the dreams we forget?/We need a monument/And change will come”). The track also accompanies the band’s own documentary series of the same name currently showing on HBO.

Taylor Swift/ Welcome to New York

With her latest offering Welcome to New York, there’s simply no denying any more that Taylor Swift has officially ditched her country roots to embrace mainstream pop. According to Swift, her fifth studio album, 1989, is inspired by music of the late ’80s, and its latest single does an excellent job in conveying the message through its reappropriation of retro synths and drum machine. Meanwhile the 24-year-old former country darling sings of the Big Apple, likening it to “a new soundtrack” to which she could dance to forevermore. This is essentially a less mature version of Alicia Keys’ Empire State of Mind, and if you listen carefully you can hear a lot of Katy Perry in there, too.

Liv/ Special

Rounding off this week’s playlist we have neo-soul newcomer Liv for whom we predict great things in the coming year. The 20-year-old singer follows her debut single Come A Little Closer with a delicate slice of minimalist soul-R&B called Special. With the flow of Erykah Badu and the rasp recalling musical greats like Nina Simone and Macy Gray, Liv croons, “My heart is racing, I think you’re special.” Added on top of that are breezily plucked guitars, lush piano, and a touch of electronics drifting in the background. What a special ditty it is indeed.