Aretha Franklin live!

Aretha Franklin
Ravinia, Highland Park
Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Living legend Aretha Franklin is known for a plethora of radio smashes, including the enduring “A Natural Woman (You Make Me Feel Like),” “Chain Of Fools,” “Freeway Of Love,” “The House That Jack Built,” “I Say A Little Prayer,” “Spanish Harlem,” “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me),” and “Who’s Zoomin’ Who” (to name a few). One might assume she would at least dive into a handful of these chestnuts during her fourth appearance at the comforting confines of Ravinia, but she steered clear of several essentials in favor of a somewhat perplexing set of covers, gospel material, and only a few of her golden oldies.

The show started with Sly & The Family Stone in mind as The Queen Of Soul and her extensive entourage (10 orchestra players and a conductor, a seven-piece pop band, three background singers, and two tambourine players) addressed “I Want To Take You Higher” intermixed with snippets of “Dance To The Music.” Though not as outrageous as Stone’s Mohawk on the Grammy Awards, Franklin wore an attention-grabbing gown that proved way too warm for the outdoor occasion, leading the plus-sized singer to complain within a matter of minutes: “Turn off one of those lights off would you? It’s really hot up here!”

Despite the divadom, she also demonstrated moments of sincerity, tipping her hat to the late Jackie Wilson (with a deep-bellied rendition of “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher”) and Otis Redding, whose “Respect” she has long since cemented as her own. Franklin also demonstrated her proficient ways on piano (and affinity for Simon & Garfunkel) on a gospel-flavored rave up of “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” For five minutes or so, the rendition was undeniably stirring, but soon proved tedious as she started wildly chanting “Jesus, Jesus” and turned the entertainment experience into a long-winded Sunday service.

The tangent also steered the remainder of the set in a spiritual direction, dipping way back to her 1972 release, Amazing Grace (Atlantic), for additional sessions of praise and prayer. While the gesture was uplifting, Franklin exited following the flashback after a mere hour on stage (10 minutes of which were spent with the filler of an instrumental jazz jam), making the night seem incredibly incomplete. Though she returned to the stage for an encore, the segment was filled with yet another curveball via “The Greatest Love Of All.” Unlike Whitney Houston’s version (which presents the most poignant lyrics with dramatic diction) Franklin’s voice was clearly taxed and the power was reduced by all the previous shouting and hollering.

— Andy Argyrakis

Category: Live Reviews, Weekly