USA today says "Linda Jones! The Greatest Soul Singer you've never heard."

Click below to read review, USA Today is a huge newspaper here in the States and it's nice to see Linda Jones with National press in the states again!

https://blogs.usatoday.com/listenup/

Huge accolade, must admit that 'Just can't Live My Life' IMHO is one of the best things commited to vinyl......I didn't realise she died at such a young age, the possibilities of what could have been achieved by her if she was here today, makes you wonder.

KTF

Baz

USA today says "Linda Jones! The Greatest Soul Singer you've never heard."

Click below to read review, USA Today is a huge newspaper here in the States and it's nice to see Linda Jones with National press in the states again!

https://blogs.usatoday.com/listenup/

AGREE LINDA JONES FANTASTIC VOICE... JUST CANT LIVE MY LIFE.. BRILLIANT TUNE. JUST THOUGHT SOMETIMES SHE OVER DID IT A LITTLE.. A LA MY HEART NEEDS A BREAK...

...JUST THOUGHT SOMETIMES SHE OVER DID IT A LITTLE..

That's her trademark really, though I admit that Linda Jones is very much an acquired taste. Some people just hear histrionics but I prefer to call it raw emotion. (Not suitable for selling Kentucky Fried Chicken!)

"I Just Can't Live My Life" was my favourite Northern record for many years and I'd never part with it, but her ballads wipe me out completely. (Check out the B-Sides of her Northern gems!) "Don't Go (I Can't Bear To Be Alone)" is easily among my favourites, but there are so many.

Linda Jones' vocals will invariably leave you both "shaken and stirred" - but it feels so good!

Linda Jones' vocals will invariably leave you both "shaken and stirred" - but it feels so good!

It's so unusual for the Americans to acknowledge brilliance in their own back yard! I've always though that the U.S.A. undervalued their own music massively but maybe after 35 years things are beginning to change.

Linda Jones in USA Today is a real coup for Soul Music and I would never have imagined it being possible. Great stuff!

Ian D

Massive accolade from perhaps the greatest [taking Arertha and Millie Jackson out of the equation]soul songstress ever ,hypnotised is a sheer masterpiece as is not on the outside etc,it is a fitting tribute.

BAZ A

It's so unusual for the Americans to acknowledge brilliance in their own back yard! I've always though that the U.S.A. undervalued their own music massively but maybe after 35 years things are beginning to change.

Linda Jones in USA Today is a real coup for Soul Music and I would never have imagined it being possible. Great stuff!

Ian D

Linda Jones was my favorite artist in the 70,s and nothing i,ve heard since has changed my mine.

Still the all-time greatest!!!!!

Massive accolade from perhaps the greatest [taking Arertha and Millie Jackson out of the equation]soul songstress ever ,hypnotised is a sheer masterpiece as is not on the outside etc,it is a fitting tribute.

BAZ A

off topic baz but "massive acolade" er more like massive avatar how did you do that??,

Nice to see this and for once our friends in the US media not telling us how good Aretha is

Nice to see this and for once our friends in the US media not telling us how good Aretha is

Some of us still need telling how good Aretha is, Steve.

Sean

Linda Jones ... the soul singer that that most overrated bit of white pop trash Janis Joplin always wanted to be but never even came close ...

USA today says "Linda Jones! The Greatest Soul Singer you've never heard." Click below to read review, USA Today is a huge newspaper here in the States and it's nice to see Linda Jones with National press in the states again!

When I stay in the US the highlight of my day is when the free copy of USA Today is slid under the hotel room door. I run to pick it up and scramble to find the pages and pages of reviews about soul music. I am constatly knocked out by their depth of knowledge and expertise............

GO !! USA TODAY !!! right on man, hang ten dude, tighten up and keep your flies right !!

Nice to see this and for once our friends in the US media not telling us how good Aretha is

Excuse me...don't start slagging Aretha!

Excuse me...don't start slagging Aretha!

Why not, she's nothing special after all. A vast and largely mediocre catalogue, containing a mere handful of undisputed gems, hardly qualifies her to be the 'Queen Of Soul'.

You could get all of Aretha's really great records onto one CD, and still have about 10 minutes' playing time left over. Nothing less than a deluxe boxed set would serve the same purpose for Linda Jones...

Linda Jones was my favorite artist in the 70,s and nothing i,ve heard since has changed my mine.

Still the all-time greatest!!!!!

Hiya Dave,

I think the press release may be linked to the recent issuing of "her" Cd Soul Talkin put together/vocals added by her daughter Terry & Helen Bruner.

Janet & I get a mention in the sleevenotes just after Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff !

the "girls" have become good friends of ours and we went to the Grammys in LA in Feb with them.

www.philerzy.com is their site.

Terry ,Me ,Helen, Janet

Why not, she's nothing special after all. A vast and largely mediocre catalogue, containing a mere handful of undisputed gems, hardly qualifies her to be the 'Queen Of Soul'.

You could get all of Aretha's really great records onto one CD, and still have about 10 minutes' playing time left over. Nothing less than a deluxe boxed set would serve the same purpose for Linda Jones...

Ah but Tony her quality is REAL quality(Chain of Fools is an undisputed top draw track IMO)...I'm not saying she didn't release mediocrity(What big soul artist hasn't?) Nor am I disputing the fact that Linda Jones is not a class act (Although Just Can't Live My Life doesn't get much of an outing on my MP3) but Aretha isn't at the top of the pile for nothing...

Edited October 16, 200816 yr by Beeks

Why not, she's nothing special after all. A vast and largely mediocre catalogue, containing a mere handful of undisputed gems, hardly qualifies her to be the 'Queen Of Soul'.

You could get all of Aretha's really great records onto one CD, and still have about 10 minutes' playing time left over. Nothing less than a deluxe boxed set would serve the same purpose for Linda Jones...

Quite agree Tony.

I think Aretha would have languished had she not been pushed so much by Jerry Wexler & co.

She is undoubtedly a great singer, but sometimes I find her a bit tedious. She has the ability to

blow me away or completely bore my gonads off. I prefer Etta James, if pushed.

Linda is simply a huge, unsung talent. it's only fitting that people in the US are starting to discover

that searing emotion. JCLML is flawless, hardly suprising considering George's involvement.

Linda Jones & The Whatnauts "I'm so glad I found you" on Stang.

Love this tune.

What year was it released?

Must have been one of the very last records she made .

Aretha isn't at the top of the pile for nothing...

As far as at least some of us on here are concerned, she is.

Aretha is "The Queen Of Soul" in the same way that Michael Jackson is "The King Of Pop", These are just shallow epithets, with no basis in fact, coined by music journalists whose knowledge of "Soul" and "Pop" doesn't extend too far beyond those artists.

I probably like 20-25 of her records, 30 tops - which isn't many, considering how many records she's made since 1960. I like them very much, too - at least one of them would make any "100 Greatest Of All Time" list of mine. But I know that I would feel the same about her overall body of work, and as an artist, regardless of how much more famous she is than almost any other African-American singers of her generation.

Linda Jones, on the other hand, touches my soul in a way that only a handful of singers have ever done. Almost every single one of her recordings affects me emotionally (OK, so I don't get too worked up about "If I Had A Hammer" but who does, apart from Trini Lopez fans?). I know that others on here would feel exactly the same way. Sure, she IS an acquired taste for many, but as far as I'm concerned it's a taste that could and should be acquired by anyone who appreciates any genuine expression of emotion.

Aretha's 'soul' is too often superficial and bordering on showboating, just like her 'successor' Chaka Khan's is. Linda's screaming and hollering comes from a bottomless well of hurt and pain and is is as real as the tragedy of her early passing. She wasn't around long enough to drift into mediocrity, but I'm betting that she would never have diluted her craft by performing songs such as "There's No Business Like Show Business", the way a certain other (alleged) "Queen Of Soul" went on to do.

Edited October 17, 200816 yr by TONY ROUNCE

As far as at least some of us on here are concerned, she is.

Aretha is "The Queen Of Soul" in the same way that Michael Jackson is "The King Of Pop", These are just shallow epithets, with no basis in fact, coined by music journalists whose knowledge of "Soul" and "Pop" doesn't extend too far beyond those artists.

I probably like 20-25 of her records, 30 tops - which isn't many, considering how many records she's made since 1960. I like them very much, too - at least one of them would make any "100 Greatest Of All Time" list of mine. But I know that I would feel the same about her overall body of work, and as an artist, regardless of how much more famous she is than almost any other African-American singers of her generation.

Linda Jones, on the other hand, touches my soul in a way that only a handful of singers have ever done. Almost every single one of her recordings affects me emotionally (OK, so I don't get too worked up about "If I Had A Hammer" but who does, apart from Trini Lopez fans?). I know that others on here would feel exactly the same way. Sure, she IS an acquired taste for many, but as far as I'm concerned it's a taste that could and should be acquired by anyone who appreciates any genuine expression of emotion.

Aretha's 'soul' is too often superficial and bordering on showboating, just like her 'successor' Chaka Khan's is. Linda's screaming and hollering comes from a bottomless well of hurt and pain and is is as real as the tragedy of her early passing. She wasn't around long enough to drift into mediocrity, but I'm betting that she would never have diluted her craft by performing songs such as "There's No Business Like Show Business", the way a certain other (alleged) "Queen Of Soul" went on to do.

=====

i totally agree with Beeks...Aretha is the undisputed Queen of Soul and always will be !

love linda too obviously cut off in her prime which is a great shame

=====

i totally agree with Beeks...Aretha is the undisputed Queen of Soul and always will be !

I would have expected nothing less from you, Mr. Freeman....

I would have expected nothing less from you, Mr. Freeman....

=====

likewise with you Mr Rounce

=====

likewise with you Mr Rounce

====

joking and personalities aside

how can you diss Aretha in such a way

from 60-67 its true her recordings did nothing ,then with the right team behind her she gave the world some AWESOME tunes

think,,respect,never loved a man,you make me feel ,chain of fools and LOADS more in the 60s

dont play that song,spanish harlem,until you come back to me, in the 70s

her gospel rendition of Amazing Grace is an iconic recording as many of her tracks are....

her chart success and recording history is close to unrivalled by very few black female artists as you can get

saying shes the queen of soul is a shallow statement is as shallow as you can get imo

oh well all good fun i suppose - yours mark

Hiya Dave,

I think the press release may be linked to the recent issuing of "her" Cd Soul Talkin put together/vocals added by her daughter Terry & Helen Bruner.

Janet & I get a mention in the sleevenotes just after Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff !

the "girls" have become good friends of ours and we went to the Grammys in LA in Feb with them.

www.philerzy.com is their site.

Terry ,Me ,Helen, Janet

Just a pity the cd is poor quality remixing of her old unnissued tracks

and the drum machine takes away the quality it could have been if remixed vocals had been dubbed onto studio

recorded on live backing. imo

As far as at least some of us on here are concerned, she is.

Aretha is "The Queen Of Soul" in the same way that Michael Jackson is "The King Of Pop", These are just shallow epithets, with no basis in fact, coined by music journalists whose knowledge of "Soul" and "Pop" doesn't extend too far beyond those artists.

I probably like 20-25 of her records, 30 tops - which isn't many, considering how many records she's made since 1960. I like them very much, too - at least one of them would make any "100 Greatest Of All Time" list of mine. But I know that I would feel the same about her overall body of work, and as an artist, regardless of how much more famous she is than almost any other African-American singers of her generation.

Linda Jones, on the other hand, touches my soul in a way that only a handful of singers have ever done. Almost every single one of her recordings affects me emotionally (OK, so I don't get too worked up about "If I Had A Hammer" but who does, apart from Trini Lopez fans?). I know that others on here would feel exactly the same way. Sure, she IS an acquired taste for many, but as far as I'm concerned it's a taste that could and should be acquired by anyone who appreciates any genuine expression of emotion.

Aretha's 'soul' is too often superficial and bordering on showboating, just like her 'successor' Chaka Khan's is. Linda's screaming and hollering comes from a bottomless well of hurt and pain and is is as real as the tragedy of her early passing. She wasn't around long enough to drift into mediocrity, but I'm betting that she would never have diluted her craft by performing songs such as "There's No Business Like Show Business", the way a certain other (alleged) "Queen Of Soul" went on to do.

Don't let Terry Jones hear you say that Tone

Seriously though Linda Jones ballads are up there with the best of them 'Ooh baby you move me' ' What can i do without you' and that live cd that you compiled with amazing live version of 'thats when I'll stop loving you' are among the best soul records I've ever heard.

Long overdue a re-appraisal.

====

joking and personalities aside

how can you diss Aretha in such a way

from 60-67 its true her recordings did nothing ,then with the right team behind her she gave the world some AWESOME tunes

think,,respect,never loved a man,you make me feel ,chain of fools and LOADS more in the 60s

dont play that song,spanish harlem,until you come back to me, in the 70s

her gospel rendition of Amazing Grace is an iconic recording as many of her tracks are....

her chart success and recording history is close to unrivalled by very few black female artists as you can get

saying shes the queen of soul is a shallow statement is as shallow as you can get imo

oh well all good fun i suppose - yours mark

I love her version of Spanish Harlem and agree with you Mark 100%

The woman rightly deserves any accolade she gets IMHO

That's her trademark really, though I admit that Linda Jones is very much an acquired taste. Some people just hear histrionics but I prefer to call it raw emotion. (Not suitable for selling Kentucky Fried Chicken!)

"I Just Can't Live My Life" was my favourite Northern record for many years and I'd never part with it, but her ballads wipe me out completely. (Check out the B-Sides of her Northern gems!) "Don't Go (I Can't Bear To Be Alone)" is easily among my favourites, but there are so many.

Linda Jones' vocals will invariably leave you both "shaken and stirred" - but it feels so good!

One of the greatest ballads i have ever heard, always in my play box at home... Just what i need for a real deal soul fix.... Tunes that just leave you breathless with the mountain of pain and emotion....

Gonna have to go and play it now before i get off to work... Sound clip anyone???

Edited October 17, 200816 yr by little-stevie

====

joking and personalities aside

how can you diss Aretha in such a way

from 60-67 its true her recordings did nothing ,then with the right team behind her she gave the world some AWESOME tunes

think,,respect,never loved a man,you make me feel ,chain of fools and LOADS more in the 60s

dont play that song,spanish harlem,until you come back to me, in the 70s

her gospel rendition of Amazing Grace is an iconic recording as many of her tracks are....

her chart success and recording history is close to unrivalled by very few black female artists as you can get

saying shes the queen of soul is a shallow statement is as shallow as you can get imo

oh well all good fun i suppose - yours mark

Aretha Franklin has never improved upon the original version of any song she's recorded. Not a single one. Her great moments come only on songs that she recorded first - "It Won't Be Long", "Lee Cross", "I Never Loved A Man", "Do Right Woman - Do Right Man", "(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone", "Day Dreaming", "Natural Woman", "Listen To Your Heart", "Rock Steady" "Don't Let Me Lose This Dream" and, yes, "Chain Of Fools", for example. And particularly "I Can't See Myself Leaving You", my only Aretha "Desert Island Disc"...

"Spanish Harlem"? "Don't Play That Song"? It's going to be Ben E King, every day of the week...

"Respect?" She should have been charged with murdering a classic, and Otis should have sued for misrepresentation of his song...

"Amazing Grace"? Sorry, not moved in any way (and I'm a believer).

I stand by my original comments and always will. Queen Of Soul my ar*e...

Don't let Terry Jones hear you say that Tone

I'll be looking forward to addressing the topic with him at Monumental next week, mate! Coming?

Aretha Franklin has never improved upon the original version of any song she's recorded. Not a single one. Her great moments come only on songs that she recorded first - "It Won't Be Long", "Lee Cross", "I Never Loved A Man", "Do Right Woman - Do Right Man", "(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone", "Day Dreaming", "Natural Woman", "Listen To Your Heart", "Rock Steady" "Don't Let Me Lose This Dream" and, yes, "Chain Of Fools", for example. And particularly "I Can't See Myself Leaving You", my only Aretha "Desert Island Disc"...

"Spanish Harlem"? "Don't Play That Song"? It's going to be Ben E King, every day of the week...

"Respect?" She should have been charged with murdering a classic, and Otis should have sued for misrepresentation of his song...

"Amazing Grace"? Sorry, not moved in any way (and I'm a believer).

I stand by my original comments and always will. Queen Of Soul my ar*e...

=======

tony if i said the world was round - youd say it was square!!!

so we'll have to agree to disagree on another issue

Queen Of Soul my ar*e...

Burn the Heretic!!

Linda Jones hit's you like TNT, one of the true great artists of the 60's & 70's, according to the Moments they didn't like following her on stage as the couldn't compete with her performances.

i've just realised that i must be a northern soul bigot! since the age of 10 i have NEVER sat down and played an aretha franklin song, or any other mainstream soul record ever! the same goes for all other popular music genres etc...

linda jones- i just cant live my life. this masterpiece stands alone

The combination of Linda and George Kerr (professionally at least), was a match made in heaven. Almost all her songs are on home made CDs I use in the car. The iconic "Just Can't Live My Life" is monumental and when she initially kicks in on the classic "I'm So Glad I Found You" you can sense the Moments gulping in awe! But for me it's the LP only track "If We Had Met Sooner" that does it every time. Not as 'passioned' vocally as some of her other outings but it's the way she keeps something back, the fact that you just KNOW she could explode at any time but stays in complete control from the opening bars to the final flourish. As they say round these parts.....FANTASTICO!

Great call on "If Only We Had Met Sooner" Dave... and certainly, to many of us Linda Jones is the great 'uncrowned' Queen of Soul.

Still adore Aretha and a great deal of her 'post Columbia' work. Sending her down to Muscle Shoals was Jerry Wexler's master stroke, unlocking a fabulous vocal range and energy I feel she'd never properly used before. There's no doubting her incredible contribution to Soul Music.

I'll take 'em both, any day of the week over 99% of other Female vocalists (of all genres) and to trying to compare one 'very different' artist over the other is quite pointless and gets us nowhere.

But that someone can listen to 'Northern' and admit to never having sat down and listened to an Aretha Franklin record leaves me shaking my head in complete shock and despair!

me - shaking my head in complete shock and despair!

Staggered.

Sean

Edited October 17, 200816 yr by Sean Hampsey

But that someone can listen to 'Northern' and admit to never having sat down and listened to an Aretha Franklin record leaves me shaking my head in complete shock and despair!

Sean

Who said that Sean?

Aretha Franklin has never improved upon the original version of any song she's recorded. Not a single one. Her great moments come only on songs that she recorded first - "It Won't Be Long", "Lee Cross", "I Never Loved A Man", "Do Right Woman - Do Right Man", "(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone", "Day Dreaming", "Natural Woman", "Listen To Your Heart", "Rock Steady" "Don't Let Me Lose This Dream" and, yes, "Chain Of Fools", for example. And particularly "I Can't See Myself Leaving You", my only Aretha "Desert Island Disc"...

I would add "Angel" to that list. Tis one of my favourites by her. And I also have a soft spot for "Jimmy Lee" and Whos'e Z who" from the 80s. - but agree that's about it.

I love Until You Come Back To Me by Aretha Franklin. Apart from that, I agree with Tony.

I love Until You Come Back To Me by Aretha Franklin. Apart from that, I agree with Tony.

Oh yes good shout I forgot about that one.

Who said that Sean?

Post 35 mate

Still shaking my head in complete shock and despair!

Post 35 mate

Still shaking my head in complete shock and despair!

OMG -

I don't know wheter to file my Aretha tunes under

S for screamer

or

O for overrated

Any thoughts?

I would add "Angel" to that list. Tis one of my favourites by her. And I also have a soft spot for "Jimmy Lee" and Whos'e Z who" from the 80s. - but agree that's about it.

===

even otis redding said Aretha had bettered his version of respect

Respect is a 60s SOUL classic..

I don't know wheter to file my Aretha tunes under

S for screamer

or

O for overrated

Any thoughts?

I think you would be hard pressed to find as much negativity written about Aretha Franklin - on, probably, the premier Soul music site on the web? Each to there own and all that, but quite frankly I'm baffled.

Edited October 17, 200816 yr by Goldwax

I think you would be hard pressed to find as much negativity written about Aretha Franklin - on, probably, the premier Soul music site on the web? Each to there own and all that, but quite frankly I'm baffled.

I know what you mean!

Still shaking my head in complete shock and despair!

I know what you mean!

Still shaking my head in complete shock and despair!

It's as if some people feel it 'uncool' to admit to any love for artists that had the gaul to enjoy a little commercial success. Ooo it's not rare so its s**t. Really pisses me off sometimes.

Linda Jones is a great choice. I always loved her tune with the whatnauts-i'm so glad I found you.

I think you would be hard pressed to find as much negativity written about Aretha Franklin - on, probably, the premier Soul music site on the web? Each to there own and all that, but quite frankly I'm baffled.

You're not the only one...thought hell would freeze over before supposed lovers of soul music spoke her name in vain...

It's like Prog Rock fans slagging off Led Zeppelin or something haha

It's great that USA Today can run a feature on a great singer like Linda Jones, but comparisons between Ms Jones and Aretha Franklin are unfair to both ladies. What is interesting is that Jerry Wexler signed Linda Jones (to record for Atco) some years before he signed Aretha to an Atlantic deal.

On the evidence of each singers' body of recorded work it's probably correct to state that Linda Jones aces Aretha Franklin in terms of the ratio of killer to filler, though.

Part of me agrees with Tony in that the cream of Aretha's output is relatively small in comparison to her overall career, but I have to say that those highlights are spectacular, (again agreeing with Mr Rounce) generally speaking on songs she either wrote herself or got the first chance to record.

Comments claiming never to have listened to any of her records as some kind of badge of "soul honour" sadden me: I wouldn't like to think of having to go through life never hearing such miraculous recordings as I'm Your Speed or Call Me. Those and others are truly great soul records, "mainstream" or not (and believe me, there is little mainstream about recordings which exhibit such pure soul).

In addition to her singing it shouldn't be forgotten that at her peak Aretha was a highly distinctive, original and inspirational pianist and recordings which showcase this aspect of her talents are often highly memorable.

In short Aretha Franklin's career says more about the US recording industry (good and bad) than it does about those talents. In latter years she seems to have been treated by that industry as some kind of performing seal, particularly as a guest on others' records ("this record needs some quasi-gospel superstar wailing: what's Aretha doing?") which is again disappointing, but is a measure of her status I suppose.

Overall you'd have to say that she's treated her talent with something akin to a lack of care: there is no doubt that she's a complex personality and that fame and acclaim have probably given her as much cause for disquiet as they have a degree of satisfaction or comfort.

The identity of the greatest female soul singer will always be cause for much debate: in terms of transcendent moments on tape I'd personally put Big Maybelle, Bettye Swann, Judy Clay, Denise LaSalle and Candi Staton far in advance of either Linda or Aretha, but that debate is for another day.

Edited October 17, 200816 yr by garethx