In The End, The Sign Of Aretha

Soul Was The Music Made By And For Black People. For Most Of The Sixties It Was Thoroughly Divorced From White Popular Music, But By The End Of The Decade Several Artists With Their Roots Firmly In Both Soul And R&b Traditions Had Crossed Over.

Sly Stone Doesn't Make Good Albums: Only Good Records. His Style Is So Infinite And Revolves Around So Many Crucial Aspects That It Has Only Come Together Perfectly On A Handful Of His Singles.

The Early Stones Were Adolescent Rockers. They Were Self-conscious In An Obvious And Unpretentious Way. And They Were Committed To A Musical Style That Needed No Justification Because It Came So Naturally To Them. As They Grew Musically The Mere Repetition Of Old Rock And Blues Tunes Became Increasingly Less Satisfying.

There Were Many Stars In Motown's Firmament - Among Them, Stevie, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, Martha Reeves And Diana Ross - But I Happen To Have Loved The Four Tops Most Of All.

In The End, The Sign Of Aretha Franklin's Artistry Is That She Always Leaves Her Mark - First, On The Music, Then On Us.