Aretha question

**underdog** · 10-15-2010, 12:57 PM

Have either the 'sweet passion' [1977] or 'la diva' [1979] albums ever been released on cd? I'm asking, as i've spent the afternoon trawling through the fag end of Aretha's Atlantic singles career on YouTube, and found three which certainly didn't get any exposure in the UK, namely:
'when i think about you'
'ladies only' [[bargain basement 'love hangover', cheesy but fun)
'half a love'

If the albums have not been issued on cd, does anyone know if any of these three late singles have appeared on any Aretha cd collections? Had a brief look online, but most of the Atlantic-based 'hits' packages [[including the box set) seem to stop around 1976.

any info appreciated. thanks.

**Glenpwood** · 10-15-2010, 01:06 PM

Originally Posted by underdog

Have either the 'sweet passion' [1977] or 'la diva' [1979] albums ever been released on cd? I'm asking, as i've spent the afternoon trawling through the fag end of Aretha's Atlantic singles career on YouTube,.

How does one have a "fag end" of a singles career? please explain....

**Glenpwood** · 10-15-2010, 01:09 PM

None of the Atlantic albums that followed "Let Me In Your Life" have been issued on CD [[with the exception of "Sparkle") although I have seen some nice looking bootlegs on ebay over the years. I'm sure Rhino Handmade will get around to it eventually....

**marybrewster** · 10-15-2010, 01:58 PM

Weren't both albums basically bombs? I think I've read that saleswise, "La Diva" was the worst album ever recorded by Aretha. The Queen of Soul obviously is not the Queen of Disco.

**copley** · 10-15-2010, 02:10 PM

'Almighty Fire' & 'Sweet Passion' are great albums and deserve a CD release. 'La Diva' is crap.

**jobeterob** · 10-15-2010, 05:06 PM

Even the name of the album is bad.

**soulstevie** · 10-15-2010, 06:02 PM

Hi Underdog,

"Break it to me gently" from "Sweet passion" was the only post-1976 track on her boxset "Queen of soul - The Atlantic recordings".

**soulster** · 10-15-2010, 08:28 PM

Originally Posted by Glenpwood

None of the Atlantic albums that followed "Let Me In Your Life" have been issued on CD [[with the exception of "Sparkle") although I have seen some nice looking bootlegs on ebay over the years. I'm sure Rhino Handmade will get around to it eventually....

Not true. They exist on CD as U.K. imports. I saw a two-fer with "LaDiva" on it in Amoeba in Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago. I didn't buy it because I wasn't interested in it, but it was there.

Not only is "LaDiva" the worst album she ever recorded, but also had the worst name and the worst cover. The cover is downright shameful. No matter, I think it was her last one for Atlantic before she signed with Arista in 1980.

**copley** · 10-15-2010, 08:33 PM

'La Diva' has never been issued on CD in the UK. I think what you saw must have been a bootleg, there are lots about especially on eBay!

**reese** · 10-15-2010, 11:20 PM

LA DIVA was definitely Aretha's least successful Atlantic album, but I don't think it is as bad as has been written over the years. Some of the songs like LADIES ONLY and ONLY STAR are disco dreck. But there's also some good ballad performances in WHAT IF I SHOULD EVER NEED YOU and HALF A LOVE. Another good performance is HONEY I NEED YOUR LOVE, although its really too derivative of THIS WILL BE.

Aretha owns the masters to her last six Atlantic albums, with the exception of SPARKLE. While their relative failures probably don't make them high on the reissue list, I still hope one day she makes a deal with someone to get them out, as my vinyl is wearing out.

**soulster** · 10-16-2010, 01:11 AM

Originally Posted by copley

'La Diva' has never been issued on CD in the UK. I think what you saw must have been a bootleg, there are lots about especially on eBay!

They do not sell bootlegs in legit retail stores like Amoeba.

I saw what I saw.

There are CD reissues of lots of things that don't get listed, and are near impossible to find even on the internet.

If I should make it back up to Hollywood in the near future, and it's still there, I will take a picture of it and post it here. better yet, I have a friend who lives in the L.A. Area. If he makes it up there, i'll have HIM take the picture.

**copley** · 10-16-2010, 05:52 AM

I think that you missed the point. I said that 'La Diva' has never been issued on CD in the UK! There is a copy currently on eBay which looks legit but I'm not convinced. It has bonus tracks which are from her Arista period! The only seller seems to be in Canada.

BTW Amoeba have sold bootlegs in the past. I was in SF in 2003 and bought a Mary Wells CD which was a bootleg as it was on Marginal!

**copley** · 10-16-2010, 06:13 AM

Name: La Diva.JPG
Views: 211
Size: 21.3 KB

I can't read the info on the bottom of the back cover. There is a name in the lower right-hand corner but my eyes are not good enough to decipher it.

**underdog** · 10-16-2010, 07:02 AM

thanks for all the info, guys - it seems to have confirmed what I thought.

I was hoping to perhaps pick up mp3s of the three tracks in question - particularly 'when i think about you', which I thought was a really good single, but I wasn't so impressed by the 'la diva' tracks to consider paying £25 for the abovementioned cd listed on e-bay, whether it's a bootleg or not!

And Glennpwood - I wasn't intending to be rude about Aretha in any way - I used the term to reflect the fact that her last Atlantic singles seemed to indicate a period of decline for her, commercially, at least, in terms of the positions they reached on the r&b charts.

**soulster** · 10-16-2010, 12:56 PM

Copley, since we are an international forum, you should specify what country you are talking about, because not everyone lives in, or knows what sells in the U.K..

I suggested weeks ago that people put where they are in the profile, and I see very, very few people even bother to fill out the profile.

**copley** · 10-16-2010, 01:22 PM

Originally Posted by soulster

Copley, since we are an international forum, you should specify what country you are talking about, because not everyone lives in, or knows what sells in the U.K..

I suggested weeks ago that people put where they are in the profile, and I see very, very few people even bother to fill out the profile.

You are still missing the point not that it really matters. You said in an earlier post that 'they exist on CD as U.K. imports'. I said that they had never been issued in the UK. Simples - no problem

BTW, I have now added my country to my profile which I didn't know that I could. When I looked at your profile Soulster I didn't see your country!

smark21 · 10-16-2010, 04:18 PM

As of last week, Amoeba is still in Hollywood at Sunset and Cahuenga. Good number of people when I went into the store late Tuesday morning.

**soulster** · 10-16-2010, 06:01 PM

Originally Posted by copley

You are still missing the point not that it really matters. You said in an earlier post that 'they exist on CD as U.K. imports'. I said that they had never been issued in the UK. Simples - no problem

BTW, I have now added my country to my profile which I didn't know that I could. When I looked at your profile Soulster I didn't see your country!

'

That is strange, because I did add it at one point. I'll correct this now!

I would not be surprised if a company didn't create CDs specifically for the U.S. market. After all, the U.S. has too many restrictions on what can be released and how. The overseas subsidiaries have more freedoms to issue whatever product they want.