I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You
I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | March 10, 1967 | |||
Recorded | January 10 – February 26, 1967 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | Southern soul | |||
Length | 32:51 | |||
Label | Atlantic | |||
Producer | Jerry Wexler | |||
Aretha Franklin chronology | ||||
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Singles from I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Robert Christgau | A[3] |
The Village Voice | A[4] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You is the tenth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin. The record was released on March 10, 1967, by Atlantic Records.
The album, Franklin's first with Atlantic Records, went to number 2 on the Billboard album chart, and included two top-10 singles: "Respect" and "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)". The album was included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Background[]
I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You is Aretha's first album with Atlantic Records. This title track was recorded at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.[6][7] After Franklin's husband Ted White started an altercation, producer Jerry Wexler decided to continue recording the LP in New York. [8]
The record went to number 2 on the Billboard album chart and number 1 on the magazine's Top R&B Selling chart. It was certified Gold by the RIAA in 1967. It was voted number 352 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).[9] It received a number 83 ranking on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, 84 in a 2012 revised list[10] and 13 in the 2020 edition.[11] The album was also included in both the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (2005) and 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die (2008).[12] When Rolling Stone listed the "Women in Rock: 50 Essential Albums" in 2002 and again 2012, the album listed at number one.[13] The album included two top-10 singles: "Respect" was a number-1 single on Billboard's Hot 100 Pop singles chart, and "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" peaked at number 9. The album was rated the 10th best album of the 1960s by Pitchfork.[14]
Reception[]
In 1967, Rolling Stone chided the album for "the lack of versatility on the part of the sidemen. The drums weren't hard enough, the guitar was weak, and the production lacked polish."[15] In 2002, though, they placed the album at No. 1 on their "Women in Rock: 50 Essential Albums" list. In 2003, the album was ranked No. 83 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Music Critic Robert Christgau, gave the album an A, stating "Not all of the tracks sound inspired" but also stating that it was the best album she had made by that point.[16] Q included the album in their list of the "100 Greatest Albums Ever".[17] Q also gave the album 4 stars and said "[the album] came out in May 1967 and was number 2 in America within weeks ... now it stands untainted by time. She seemed so much a force of nature it's strange to recall that this was actually her tenth album ..."[18]
In the obituary for Aretha Franklin, Rolling Stone made this comment about I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You: "It puts the emphasis not just on the great songs, or the amazing music, but on the person speaking them, her world, her story and whatever journey she’s on in life. It rings out like revealed truth happening in real time, a declaration of independence".[19]
Track listing[]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Respect" | Otis Redding | 2:29 |
2. | "Drown in My Own Tears" | Henry Glover | 4:07 |
3. | "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" | Ronnie Shannon | 2:51 |
4. | "Soul Serenade" | Curtis Ousley, Luther Dixon | 2:39 |
5. | "Don't Let Me Lose This Dream" | Aretha Franklin, Ted White | 2:23 |
6. | "Baby, Baby, Baby" | Aretha Franklin, Carolyn Franklin | 2:54 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
7. | "Dr. Feelgood" | Aretha Franklin, Ted White | 3:23 |
8. | "Good Times" | Sam Cooke | 2:10 |
9. | "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" | Dan Penn, Chips Moman | 3:16 |
10. | "Save Me" | Aretha Franklin, Carolyn Franklin, Curtis Ousley | 2:21 |
11. | "A Change Is Gonna Come" | Sam Cooke | 4:20 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
12. | "Respect" (Stereo version) | Otis Redding | 2:28 |
13. | "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" (Stereo version) | Ronnie Shannon | 2:47 |
14. | "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" (Stereo version) | Dan Penn, Chips Moman | 3:14 |
Personnel[]
Musicians[]
- Source:[20]
- Aretha Franklin – piano, vocals
- Spooner Oldham – keyboards, piano
- Jimmy Johnson, Chips Moman – guitar
- Tommy Cogbill – bass guitar
- Gene Chrisman, Roger Hawkins – drums
- Melvin Lastie – trumpet
- Charles Chalmers, King Curtis – tenor saxophone
- Willie Bridges – baritone saxophone
- Carolyn Franklin – background vocals
- Erma Franklin - background vocals
- Cissy Houston – background vocals
Technical[]
- Produced by Rick Hall (FAME Studios, Muscle Shoals, AL)
- Tom Dowd - arranger, recording engineer
- Arif Mardin - recording engineer
- Loring Eutemey - cover design
- Jerry Schatzberg - cover photography
Charts[]
Chart (1967) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Albums (OCC)[21] | 36 |
US Billboard 200[22] | 2 |
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[23] | 1 |
See also[]
References[]
- ^ I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You at AllMusic
- ^ Hoard, Christian. "Review: Lady Soul". Rolling Stone: 214–217. November 2, 2004.
- ^ "Robert Christgau: CG: Aretha Franklin". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (December 20, 1976). "Christgau's Consumer Guide to 1967". The Village Voice. New York. p. 69. Retrieved June 22, 2013.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0857125958.
- ^ "The day Aretha Franklin found her sound – and a bunch of men nearly killed it". The Guardian. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
Atlantic picked her up and in early 1967 sent her to FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals
- ^ "Aretha's Greatest Albums: 'I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You' (1967)". Rolling Stone (magazine). Retrieved April 16, 2021.
The result – recorded at iconic Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama – was a new kind of soul power,
- ^ "The day Aretha Franklin found her sound – and a bunch of men nearly killed it". The Guardian. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
Atlantic picked her up and in early 1967 sent her to FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals
- ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (2006). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 138. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
- ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time". Rolling Stone. 2012. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
- ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. 2020-09-22. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
- ^ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (23 March 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. p. 129. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
- ^ Tatangelo, Wade (August 16, 2018). "Aretha Franklin remembered by Sarasota's Jerry Wexler, her legendary producer". Sarasota Herald. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
- ^ "The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s | Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
- ^ Landau, Jon (November 23, 1967), "Aretha", Rolling Stone, Vol. 1, No. 2, p. 16.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide Album". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
- ^ Q 1/03, p. 54
- ^ Q 7/93, p. 106
- ^ "Aretha's Greatest Albums: 'I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You' (1967)". Rolling Stone magazine. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ^ "I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You – credits". Allmusic. Retrieved 2020-01-08.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
- ^ "Aretha Franklin Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
- ^ "Aretha Franklin Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
- 1967 albums
- Aretha Franklin albums
- Albums produced by Jerry Wexler
- Atlantic Records albums
- Rhino Records albums
- Southern soul albums