Full title - Journey Through The Secret Life Of Plants. 1993 reissue of 2 CD set originally released on Motown in 1979. 20 tracks in a standard double jewel case. Lyrics included in sleevenotes.

Aretha Louise Franklin was an American singer, songwriter, actress, pianist, and civil rights activist. Franklin began her career as a child singing gospel at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, where her father C. L. Franklin was a minister.

The best black female singer of the 20th century. This is a stunning album. the definitive late 60’s Aretha Franklin, bold, beautiful, vulnerable, earthy, sexy, defiant, spiritual and strong.. Full of great songs.
A seminal session that furthered her deep soul agenda with key backings from Arif Mardin and Tom Dowd! The Sweet Inspirations provide sublime backing vocals behind Franklin’s maturing delivery of the lyrics — and the music is by an all-star group of players that includes Spooner Oldham, Bobby Womack, Jimmy Johnson, King Curtis, Tommy Cogbill, Roger Hawkins, and even Eric Clapton!
After all, she is the Queen, the Lady Soul!!
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Ranked #84 in Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time,” Aretha’s position as soul music’s premier female vocalist was consolidated by Lady Soul. Her strident reading of “Chain of Fools” set the tone on which the singer unveiled several stellar original compositions and reinterpreted a batch of classic songs. Franklin’s gospel roots were clearly displayed on “People Get Ready” while her interpretation of “(You Make Me Fell Like A) Natural Woman” showed both her vulnerable and assertive qualities. The album also features the fine soul ballad “Good to Me as I Am to You” with Eric Clapton on guitar. Lady Soul captures a performer at the peak of her power, restating her ability to take material and make it uniquely her own. This 1968 tour de force is one of the absolute pinnacles of the Queen’s incredible artistic legacy.
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At a 1968 concert in Chicago, Aretha Franklin was publicly and officially crowned the Queen of Soul in front of her fans by a DJ named Purvis Spann. This body of work shows why Aretha continues to reign supreme. The Queen takes on the Kings of Soul/Rhythm & Blues and pulls no punches as she covers Ray Charles’s “Come Back Baby” and “Be as Good to Me as I Am to You,” James Brown’s “Money Won’t Change You,” and Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready”. She’s classical, bluesy, funky, and right-down soulful on every cut. The poet Nikki Giovanni once wrote–”Aretha can sing Money Won’t Change You, but can James Brown sing Respect?” In other words, when the Queen covers a song, it becomes hers and one can easily forget about the original artist. For example, Carol King wrote and recorded “Natural Woman” but that song is and probably will always be associated with Aretha Franklin. Aretha wails and gets right-down funky on cuts like “Chain of Fools” and “Nikki Hokey.” She’s operatically soulful on “Ain’t No Way”–which to this day no female artist, including Whitney Houston, has been able to successfully cover.You have an absolutely classic and indispensable piece of American music history here. The one and only Aretha Franklin: “Lady Soul.”

Aretha Louise Franklin was an American singer, songwriter, actress, pianist, and civil rights activist. Franklin began her career as a child singing gospel at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, where her father C. L. Franklin was a minister.

Aretha Louise Franklin was an American singer, songwriter, actress, pianist, and civil rights activist. Franklin began her career as a child singing gospel at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, where her father C. L. Franklin was a minister.

Hot Buttered Soul was Isaac Hayes' second studio album. Released in 1969, it is recognized as a landmark in soul music.

Limited Edition Japanese pressing comes housed in a miniature LP sleeve. Universal. 2008. * Please note these are issued on Universal EU barcodes but are in fact pressed in Japan and include an OBI and booklet.

Prince is the self-titled second studio album by American singer Prince. It was released on October 19, 1979 by Warner Bros. Records. The album was written, arranged, composed, produced and performed entirely by Prince. Overall, Prince was regarded as more diverse than For You (1978), and performed better critically and commercially. Reviewing in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau wrote: "This boy is going to be a big star, and he deserves it".[2]
Prince peaked at 22 on the Billboard 200 and number three on the Billboard R&B Chart. The album contained three Billboard Hot Black Singles hits: "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?", "Sexy Dancer" and "I Wanna Be Your Lover". "I Wanna Be Your Lover" was Prince's first hit single on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number eleven while also topping the Billboard Hot Black Singles. Prince was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) four months after its release.

Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu (/ˈɛrɪkə bɑːˈduː/), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress.

Japanese exclusive edition of the late soul legend's 1975 album, the follow-up to her classic, Perfect Angel. Ten tracks, 'Baby, This Love I Have', 'Feelin' That Your Feelin's Right', 'When It Comes Down To It', 'Minnie's Lament', 'Love & Its Glory', 'Adv

Recorded over a period of just 10 hours, the future star’s breakthrough 1969 debut captured her idiosyncratic mix of soul, jazz, and folk and her singular vision as a bandleader.

Freetown Sound is the third album from Devonté Hynes aka Blood Orange. Written and produced by Hynes, Freetown Sound is a tour de force, a pastiche of Hynes’ past, present, and future that melds his influences with his own established musical voice.
For well over a decade, Devonté Hynes has proven himself a virtuoso of versatility, experimenting with almost every conceivable musical genre under a variety of monikers. After moving to New York City in the mid-2000s, Hynes became Blood Orange, plumming the oeuvres of the city’s musical legends to create a singular style of urgent, delicate pop music. Freetown Sound, which follows 2011’s Coastal Grooves and 2013’s breakthrough Cupid Deluxe, builds upon everything Hynes has done as an artist, resulting in the most expansive artistic statement of his career. Drawing from a deep well of techniques and references, the album unspools like a piece of theater, evoking unexpected communions of moods, voices, and eras. Freetown Sound derives its name from the birthplace of Hynes’ father, the capital of Sierra Leone. Thematically, it is profoundly personal and unapologetically political, touching on issues of race, religion, sex, and sexism over 17 shimmering songs.

無論是用什麼名字或是符號出現，永遠是樂壇最尊貴的王子。眼光跟敏銳度永遠快人一步，擷取許多傳統樂音，自在遊走節奏藍調、放克、靈魂、流行、搖滾、藍調、爵士、新浪潮、嘻哈…等領域；建立起自己的音樂王朝，擁有引以為傲的子弟兵團；跨行演藝之途，藉著「紫雨」、「櫻桃月下」、「浮士繪之橋」電影的推出，80年代人氣到達顛峰。滾石雜誌曾評論，如果說《1999》讓Prince成為了明星王子的話，那麼《紫雨》就足以讓他成為國王。總累積86,275,000張專輯銷售量，同時擁有獨特的生活哲學，引人側目之行徑、造型打扮與音樂，總是成為鎂光燈下的聚焦中心所在！

滚石杂志对他的评价是：“虽然他可能看不见，但他却饱览了美国的风景，尤其对黑人的生活有着敏锐的洞察力”。Stevie把他对美国社会的思考和自己的理想表达在音乐里，一手包办了自己的大部分专辑。
这张专辑在滚石杂志选出的500张历代最强专辑中排名第23位。

Purple Rain is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Prince, the first to feature his backing band The Revolution, and is the soundtrack album to the 1984 film of the same name. It was released on June 25, 1984 by Warner Bros. Records. To date, it has sold over 22 million copies worldwide, becoming the sixth best-selling soundtrack album of all time.

最近のACOは、楽曲のトータルな完成図からボーカルの位置を検討して配置しているような作風だが、個人的にはあくまで「うた」を全面に出している初期の作品、なかでもこの「Lady Soul」が最高だと思う。
曲調もポップからシンプルなバラード、ジャジーなサウンドなどバリエーションに富み、ACOのさまざまな「声の表情」が楽しめる。
官能的とかエロティックなどと評されるACOのボーカルを、このアルバムで存分に味わうことができる。これを聞くと、歌のウマイ、ヘタとか言う以前の「声」そのものの魅力が、ボーカリストにとっていかに重要なものかがよくわかる（もちろん歌唱も上手ですけど）。
「うた」は喉で歌うのでもなければ脳で歌うものでもなく、実は心で歌うものでもなくて、全部がひとかたまりになった、その人の全身全霊で、身体丸ごとで歌うもの。ACOの歌を聴いているとそんな気にさせてくれる。だから本当は「官能」とか「エロティック」という言葉は彼女の魅力の一面しか伝えていない。身体を丸ごと載せた声だからこそ、彼女の歌は心の奥深いところにまで染み込んでくるのだと思う。
ソウル、ポップス、ジャズ、etc..　ジャンルは関係ありません。
とにかく本物の女性ボーカルを堪能したい人に、推薦します。

Fugees (Refugee Camp)女主音Lauryn Hill的1998年首张个人专辑《The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill》不但出现在所有杂志的年度最佳专辑推荐名单上并且与专辑中所选出的首支单曲'(Doo Wop)That Thing'双双登上Billboard杂志冠军王座。
像所有优秀的黑人音乐一样，因为质朴真诚而动人。这是张个人色彩浓厚的作品，其中涉及的主题从Lauryn个人的感受一直到社会政治议题都有，而在音乐部份的铺陈更显出这位来自纽泽西南橘郡（South Orange）的年轻女生精练且圆熟的大将之风——大胆地直入音乐广场，精准地藉各式音乐元素描绘出最靠近她心底的想法。有时候，她会使用些曲折的幽默手法，有时则很直接，有时她的痛苦和忿怒又缓缓道出，但无论是何种情绪，她绝对不会采取非常激动的手法大声狂吼，她的情绪表现方式已被日常的生活经验洗礼过。
至于奇怪的专辑标题，Lauryn建议大家不要太从字面上去断章取义。这位现年23岁，在1998年生子之前曾在哥伦比亚大学就读过一年的歌者解释道：“关于‘失学（Miseducation）’的概念并不完全代表‘失学’，对我而言，那代表的是你在学校之外所学到的东西，在社会所定义的‘正规’与‘义务’之外的地方。我很尊敬正统学院教育，只是我认为在教室之外还有很多事情值得我学习。那是在我们离开理想中的乌托邦、进入成人世界的一个必经历程。”