First, it was two albums by Elvis Presley. Then, the family of Roy Orbison took a turn. Now, Aretha Franklin is following suit with new reimaginings of her Atlantic recordings with new arrangements by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Presley’s If I Can Dream came out in October 2015, reaching 21 in the U.S. but topping the U.K. charts and going three-times Platinum in Britain. The album took fourteen of Presley’s tracks and added new orchestrations. The concept hit again a year later with The Wonder of You which only made it to 47 in America but, again, topped the charts in Britain.
November 3 will see the release of A Love So Beautiful: Roy Orbison & The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, taking fifteen of Roy’s best known songs and adding the new orchestrations.
Then, one week later on November 10, it is Aretha’s turn as the first living artist to have her music enhanced by the large orchestra on A Brand New Me: Aretha Franklin & The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. All of the original tracks on this album come Frankin’s days on Atlantic Records and includes some of her biggest hits from the late-60’s and early-70’s including Until You Come Back to Me, Angel, A Natural Woman (You Make Me Feel), Think and, of course, Respect.
Nick Patrick, who produced the album with Don Reedman, said “There is a reason that Aretha Franklin is called the ‘Queen of Soul.’ There is nothing more exciting than that incredible voice taking you on an emotional roller coaster ride through her amazing repertoire of songs. To have the opportunity to work with that voice on this project has been the greatest honor and to hear a symphony orchestra wrapped around those performances is breathtaking.”
Reedman said “I was 15 years old when a song came on the radio called Rock A Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody. It blew me away; the power, the soul. The feeling that went through me got me hooked on Aretha and I have been ever since. To be able to make this album and be able to select songs from hits like Respect to Think then blend them with classic songs like Let It Be and Border Song and create an album which is versatile and fresh is truly an honor.”
James Williams, Managing Director of The Royal Philharmonic, added “The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is thrilled to perform on this new recording, combining Aretha Franklin’s iconic voice with lush new arrangements of her greatest hit songs for full orchestra, bringing a whole new generation to the music of this legendary performer.”
The track lists:
CD / Digital
Think
Don’t Play That Song (You Lied)
I Say A Little Prayer
Until You Come Back To Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do)
A Brand New Me
A Natural Woman (You Make Me Feel Like)
Angel
Border Song (Holy Moses)
Let It Be
People Get Ready
Oh Me Oh My (I’m A Fool For You Baby)
You’re All I Need To Get By
Son Of A Preacher Man
Respect
Vinyl
Side A
Think
Don’t Play That Song (You Lied)
I Say A Little Prayer
A Brand New Me
A Natural Woman (You Make Me Feel Like)
Angel
Side B
Border Song (Holy Moses)
Let It Be
People Get Ready
You’re All I Need To Get By
Son Of A Preacher Man
Respect
