1. I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You) (2:41) - This song has a moderately slow, 3/4 tempo. A piano and horns (both of which are commonly heard throughout this album) are the featured instruments. This song is soft, so you may want to raise the volume to hear it well. The narrator's boyfriend breaks her heart, lies, and cheats, and her friends even tell her so. But she feels stuck like glue to him because he's the only man she's ever loved.
2. Respect (2:26) - Turn the volume back down for Aretha's biggest hit. This song has a swing tempo slightly faster than moderate. Although this song was written and previously performed by Otis Redding, it hit bigger for Aretha; I like this version better myself. A sax, a tambourine, and hand-clapping are featured here. Respect is all the narrator wants from her man. Just before the fading sequence, Aretha spells out the word.
3. Do Right Woman, Do Right Man (3:14) - The B-side to "I Never Loved A Man" is slow, in 12/8 time. In this and the next 3 songs, the drums play their loudest on the second and fourth quarter beats of each measure. The narrator tells her boyfriend that if he wants her to treat him right, HE should treat HER right also. Willie Nelson covered this song in the early 1980s.
4. Dr. Feelgood (3:18) - This song has a similar tempo to the previous one. This song, the B-side to "Respect," features a sax and an organ. The narrator doesn't mind having company every now and then, but she doesn't want any doctor to prescribe pills to her; her boyfriend is all she needs to feel good.
5. Save Me (2:16) - The tempo is slightly faster than moderate. Most notable here is the way the horns play. The narrator entreats her boyfriend to save her from the misery he has caused her.
6. Baby I Love You (2:37) - This moderately slow song features a guitar. The narrator loves the man so much that she'll let him kiss her if he wants to; she also hopes that he will marry her.
7. (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman (2:41) - This song has a moderate 3/4 tempo. The narrator used to be depressed. Then the man came into her life, became her boyfriend, and restored her self-esteem.
8. Chain Of Fools (2:45) - My favorite Aretha song opens with a slow guitar lick; the tempo then becomes moderate. What I like so much about this song is the chorus, in which Aretha sings, "Chain, chain, chain." The narrator thought for 5 years that she was the man's one true love, but now she realizes that she's just the latest link in his "chain of fools." Her parents and doctor tell her to relax and forget about the man, but the narrator's love for him is "much too strong."
9. Since You've Been Gone (2:23) - This song has a moderate tempo also. Hands clap on every second and fourth beat. The narrator has been distraught since her boyfriend left her; she wonders why he had to leave her.
10. Ain't No Way (4:11) - The B-side to the previous song is slow, in 12/8 time. A sax plays during the intro, adding a jazz element to the song. The narrator tells the man that there's no way she can give him her love if he won't let her.
11. Think (2:16) - This moderate, swing-tempoed song opens with an 8-second piano solo. The narrator urges her boyfriend to think about what he's doing to her because he loves her too much to want to set her free.
12. I Say A Little Prayer (3:31) - The drums play softly in this moderately fast song. The narrator promises her boyfriend that she'll always love him; she prays that he'll always love her too, and that they'll never part.
13. The House That Jack Built (2:18) - The B-side to the previous song is moderately slow. The narrator looks back on the time Jack built and inhabited the house, recalling that it was a loving environment. Then one day Jack apparently moved far away; at the end of the song, the narrator begs, "Come on back, Jack!"
14. See Saw (2:41) - In this moderately fast song, the narrator compares her boyfriend's treatment of her to the movement of a seesaw. He loves her one day, neglects her the next.
15. The Weight (2:56) - This moderately slow song opens with a slow, 10-second guitar solo. No, the title of this song is not "Take A Load Off, Fanny." But Fanny feels overburdened and longs for someone to say those words to her. In the first verse she seeks a place to sleep for the night but is told that none is available.
16. Share Your Love With Me (3:18) - This song has a slow swing tempo. The narrator feels "an evil wind that blows no good" and laments the man's refusal to share his love with her.
17. Eleanor Rigby (2:33) - Aretha's version of a Beatles hit has a tempo slightly faster than moderate. A piano solo fills the first 6 seconds. I don't care much for this version; I like the original much better.
1. Call Me (3:53) - This song has a slow, 6/8 tempo. Violins are among the instruments here. The narrator's boyfriend is apparently going on a business trip; she tells him to call her the moment he reaches the city where he is to conduct his business.
2. Spirit In The Dark (4:00) - For the first 37 seconds, the tempo is slow, with cymbal drums playing on every second and fourth beat. Then the regular drums enter and the tempo turns moderately fast. An organ also plays here. The narrator can feel the spirit that is invoked by the people she sees dancing in the dimly lit room. She asks the people to whom she's singing whether they can feel the spirit also.
3. Don't Play That Song (2:57) - This song has a moderate, rolling tempo. The backup vocals can be heard only in the right speaker. The narrator tells the man not to tell her he loves her. He had told her that before and then left her.
4. You're All I Need To Get By (3:34) - This song was previously a hit for Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. Aretha starts and ends her version with the added lines, "As long as I've got you, you know that you've got me / We've got our love and some R-E-S-P-E-C-T," reminding us of an earlier big hit. The title is all that's needed to explain the lyrics.
5. Bridge Over Troubled Water (5:28) - Aretha's version of a Simon and Garfunkel hit is slow. The drums play softly for most of the song, and a bit louder during the last minute. An organ also plays here. At the start and the end, the backup singers sing, "Still water I need," which reminds me of the Four Tops hit "Still Water." This version is not bad, but I'd like it better if Aretha had sung the first verse instead of letting it be an instrumental. For my interpretation of the lyrics, see my Simon and Garfunkel review.
6. Spanish Harlem (3:30) - An organ also plays in this song, which has a moderate swing tempo. This song, previously a hit for Ben E. King, tells about "a rose in Black and Spanish Harlem." The rose shows itself only at night; a black-eyed man picks it and plants it in his garden.
7. Rock Steady (3:12) - The tempo is moderate, the same way that the narrator tells the second person to rock. Instruments here include clicking drums and a guitar; in the first several seconds I can also hear an organ. Ways of "rocking steady" include swinging one's hips to the beat of a song, and driving for pleasure at a steady speed.
8. Oh Me Oh My (I'm A Fool For You Baby) (3:39) - The tempo is hard to follow for about the first minute, but once the drums enter, I can tell that it's slow. The drums play softly initially; later they get a little louder. The narrator is so in love with the man that she offers to dance to a ballet to attempt to impress him.
9. Day Dreaming (3:57) - The tempo is slow most of the time, and even slower at the beginning and the end, during both of which the piano makes the sound effect of someone dreaming. The drums play softly. The narrator daydreams of having a boyfriend with whom she goes to a hideaway from the stresses of society.
10. Wholly Holy (5:32) - This is the only live recording on the whole album. The tempo is slightly slower than moderate. A piano solo fills the first 5 seconds. In other parts of the song, a harp is strummed back and forth. After the first half minute, the audience claps. Via this song, Aretha stays in touch with her gospel roots. It's interesting that the title is a pair of homophones. This song was previously sung by Marvin Gaye.
11. Angel (4:26) - This song, like the previous one, is slightly slower than moderate. The drums play softly; other instruments include a string quartet and a sax. Aretha spends the first 40 seconds speaking to us about the day her sister Carolyn telephoned her to say that Carolyn had written this song for Aretha to sing. Then the action begins--the narrator says she needs an angel (a boyfriend) to make her life divine.
12. Until You Come Back To Me (3:25) - This song has a moderate tempo, with a tambourine playing on every second and fourth beat. The narrator's boyfriend has left her; she will sit in sorrow by her window until he returns to her.
13. I'm In Love (2:49) - Aretha's cover of a Wilson Pickett song is slow for the first 17 seconds, with the only instruments being violins. Then the drums enter and the tempo turns moderate. The narrator is overjoyed at being in love, but she says little else.