Watch Aretha Franklin Live At Fillmore West, 1971
Flower power turns to soul power as Lady Soul delivers one of her great live performances.
ARETHA FRANKLIN’s TRIO of shows at hippie mecca Fillmore West in March of 1971 provide the basis for one of the great live soul recordings, Aretha Live At Fillmore West. This 13-video playlist, published this week by new repository of live music videos Music Vault, collates the songs performed on her third and final night (March 7) at the San Francisco ballroom. Backed by the astonishing King Curtis-led combination of The Memphis Horns and The Kingpins (that’s Billy Preston on organ), Aretha is a testifying powerhouse of R&B and gospel fervour.
From smoking opener Respect to the wild exhortations of an epic Spirit In The Dark – the latter featuring thrilling vocal and Fender Rhodes enhancements from Ray Charles – it’s a document of the Queen Of Soul at her very finest.
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