1970-1974 Box Set

Aretha Franklin’s 1st 5 studio albums of the 1970's are collected in a new box set called "A Portrait Of The Queen 1970 - 1974".

The albums in question are "This Girl’s In Love With You" (1970), "Spirit In The Dark" (1970), "Young Gifted & Black" (1972), "Hey Now Hey (The Other Side Of The Sky)" (1973) and "Let Me In Your Life" (1974). They have all been remastered from the analog master tapes by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering.

These were all were produced by Tom Dowd, Arif Mardin and Jerry Wexler, except for "Hey Now Hey (The Other Side Of The Sky)" which saw Aretha work with Quincy Jones. "This Girl’s In Love With You" saw the 1st commercial release of The Beatles’ "Let It Be", which is remarkable. Paul McCartney apparently sent her a demo and Franklin’s album was issued on January 15th, 1970, almost 2 months before The Beatles’ version.

"A Portrait Of The Queen" is available as a 6 LP set or a 5 CD box. The vinyl version has a bonus disc of session alternates, outtakes and demos not included in the CD box. Both come with booklets featuring sleeve notes by Gail Mitchell and David Nathan.

"A Portrait Of The Queen 1970 - 1974" will be released on December 1st, 2023, via BMG.