I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You

I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You
Studio album by
Aretha Franklin
ReleasedMarch 10, 1967 (1967-03-10)
RecordedJanuary 10 – February 26, 1967
Studio
GenreSouthern soul
Length32:51
LabelAtlantic
ProducerJerry Wexler
Aretha Franklin chronology
Take It Like You Give It
(1967) 		I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You
(1967) 		Aretha Arrives
(1967)
Singles from I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You
  1. "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)"
    Released: February 10, 1967
  2. "Respect"
    Released: April 11, 1967 (Charted on April 29)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[2]
Robert ChristgauA[3]
The Village VoiceA[4]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[5]
"Respect"
Aretha Franklin version of Otis Redding's "Respect" from I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You
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I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You is the tenth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin, released on March 10, 1967, by Atlantic Records. It was Franklin's first release under her contract with the label, following her departure from Columbia Records after nine unsuccessful jazz standard albums, and marked a commercial breakthrough for her, becoming her first top 10 album in the United States, reaching number 2 on the Billboard 200. Two singles were released to promote the album: "Respect" (an Otis Redding cover) and "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)". The former topped the Billboard Hot 100, while latter reached the top 10.

Although initially released to a mixed critical response, the album was eventually widely reappraised and is now regarded as one of the greatest and most influential albums of all time, being included in Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list, in which it was ranked at number 13 in the 2020 iteration, as well as in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Franklin's cover of "Respect" became her signature song and was ranked by Rolling Stone as the greatest song of all time in 2021.

Background

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I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You is Aretha's first album with Atlantic Records. The title track was recorded at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.[6][7] After an altercation broke out between Franklin's then husband, Ted White, trumpeter Ken Laxton and FAME studios owner/producer Rick Hall, producer Jerry Wexler arranged to continue recording the LP at Atlantic Studios, New York. [8][6] The B-side, "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man", was unfinished at FAME studios as the session ended abruptly. Members of the Muscle Shoals rhythm section were flown to New York to complete "Do Right Woman" and a number of other tracks (including "Respect"). There was a discrepancy in the tape-recording speeds of the two studios. The foundation track of "Do Right Woman" recorded at Muscle Shoals and the later tracks added at Atlantic's New York studio are slightly out of tune with each other: Producer Chips Moman regretted that the piano was faintly sharp.[9]

The record spent several weeks at number 2 on the main Billboard album chart and 14 weeks at number 1 in the magazine's Top R&B Albums chart. It was certified Gold by the RIAA in 1967, eventually selling nearly two million. It was voted number 352 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).[10] It received a number 83 ranking on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, 84 in a 2012 revised list[11] and 13 in the 2020 edition.[12] The album was also included in both the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (2005) and 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die (2008).[13] When Rolling Stone listed the "Women in Rock: 50 Essential Albums" in 2002 and again 2012, the album was named at number one.[14] The album included two top-10 singles: "Respect" was a number-1 single on Billboard's Hot 100 Pop singles chart, and "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" peaked at number 9. The album was rated the 10th best album of the 1960s by Pitchfork.[15]

Reception

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In 1967, Rolling Stone chided the album for "the lack of versatility on the part of the sidemen. The drums weren't hard enough, the guitar was weak, and the production lacked polish."[16] In 2002, though, they placed the album at number 1 on their "Women in Rock: 50 Essential Albums" list. In 2003, the album was ranked number 83 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Music Critic Robert Christgau, gave the album an A, stating that "Not all of the tracks sound inspired" but also that it was the best album she had made up until that point.[17] Q included the album on their list of the "100 Greatest Albums Ever".[18] Q also gave the album 4 stars and said "[the album] came out in May 1967 and was number 2 in America within weeks ... now it stands untainted by time. She seemed so much a force of nature it's strange to recall that this was actually her tenth album ..."[19]

In the obituary for Aretha Franklin, Rolling Stone made this comment about I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You: "It puts the emphasis not just on the great songs, or the amazing music, but on the person speaking them, her world, her story and whatever journey she's on in life. It rings out like revealed truth happening in real time, a declaration of independence."[20]

Track listing

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Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Respect"Otis Redding2:29
2."Drown in My Own Tears"Henry Glover4:07
3."I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)"Ronnie Shannon2:51
4."Soul Serenade"Curtis Ousley, Luther Dixon2:39
5."Don't Let Me Lose This Dream"Aretha Franklin, Ted White2:23
6."Baby, Baby, Baby"Aretha Franklin, Carolyn Franklin2:54
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."Dr. Feelgood (Love Is a Serious Business)"Aretha Franklin, Ted White3:23
8."Good Times"Sam Cooke2:10
9."Do Right Woman, Do Right Man"Dan Penn, Chips Moman3:16
10."Save Me"Aretha Franklin, Carolyn Franklin, Curtis Ousley2:21
11."A Change Is Gonna Come"Sam Cooke4:20
1995 reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Respect" (stereo version)Otis Redding2:28
13."I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" (stereo version)Ronnie Shannon2:47
14."Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" (stereo version)Dan Penn, Chips Moman3:14

Personnel

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Musicians

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Source:[21]

Technical

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  • Title track produced by Rick Hall (FAME Studios, Muscle Shoals, AL), Remaining tracks Jerry Wexler (Atlantic Recording Studios, New York, NY)
  • Tom Dowd – arranger, recording engineer
  • Arif Mardin – recording engineer
  • Loring Eutemey – cover design
  • Jerry Schatzberg – cover photography

Charts

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Chart performance for I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You
Chart (1967) Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC)[22] 36
US Billboard 200[23] 2
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[24] 1

See also

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References

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  1. ^ I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You at AllMusic
  2. ^ Hoard, Christian (November 2, 2004). "Review: Lady Soul". Rolling Stone, 214–217.
  3. ^ "Robert Christgau: CG: Aretha Franklin". Robert Christgau. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  4. ^ Christgau, Robert (December 20, 1976). "Christgau's Consumer Guide to 1967". The Village Voice. New York. p. 69. Retrieved June 22, 2013.
  5. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0857125958.
  6. ^ a b Taylor, David (August 19, 2018). "The day Aretha Franklin found her sound – and a bunch of men nearly killed it". The Guardian. Retrieved April 16, 2021. Atlantic picked her up and in early 1967 sent her to FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals.
  7. ^ Dolan, Jon (August 17, 2018). "Aretha's Greatest Albums: 'I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You' (1967)". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 16, 2021. The result – recorded at iconic Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama – was a new kind of soul power,
  8. ^ Dobkin, Matt (2004). I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You: Aretha Franklin, Respect, and the Making of a Soul Music Masterpiece. New York: St. Martin's Press, pp. 136–138.
  9. ^ Dobkin (2004). I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You: Aretha Franklin, Respect, and the Making of a Soul Music Masterpiece, pp. 160–161.
  10. ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (2006). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 138. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
  11. ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time". Rolling Stone. 2012. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  12. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 22, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  13. ^ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (March 23, 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. p. 129. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
  14. ^ Tatangelo, Wade (August 16, 2018). "Aretha Franklin remembered by Sarasota's Jerry Wexler, her legendary producer". Sarasota Herald. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  15. ^ "The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s | Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  16. ^ Landau, Jon (November 23, 1967), "Aretha", Rolling Stone, Vol. 1, No. 2, p. 16.
  17. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide Album". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  18. ^ Q 1/03, p. 54
  19. ^ Q 7/93, p. 106
  20. ^ Dolan, Jon (August 17, 2018). "Aretha's Greatest Albums: 'I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You' (1967)". Rolling Stone magazine. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  21. ^ "I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You – credits". Allmusic. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  22. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  23. ^ "Aretha Franklin Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
  24. ^ "Aretha Franklin Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
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