And just like that, we're past the half-way point of the year! July may seem like one of those filler months, but with a little intention and thought, it can be a time to reflect on your 2021 goals, check a few off the list, and set some new ones! As I've started to look at the "big picture" of 2021, I've also started gravitating towards a lost art in the age of Spotify: listening to entire albums, all the way through, start to finish. I chose each of these albums because they display remarkable intention to create a listening experience, rather than a list of singles thrown together by a record label. Listen and Enjoy!
Sparkle by Aretha Franklin (1976)
With 23 studio albums already under her belt at this point in her career, Sparkle is a shining example of the Queen of Soul at a professional and personal peak in her life: she'd just signed with Warner Bros., and began a relationship with actor Glynn Turner, whom she would marry two years later. Despite the flop movie that accompanied the album, Sparkle gives us two of RnB's most recognizable slow jams: "Giving Him Something He Can Feel," and "Hooked On Your Love," both of which were covered by girl group En Vogue on their album Funky Divas. Particularly on tracks like "Jump" and "Sparkle," you can hear the joy in Aretha's voice expressed through effortless runs and studio-shattering high notes that haven't been replicated to date. Sparkle does exactly that.
4 by Beyoncé (2011)
4 signals a shift in Mrs. Knowles-Carter's career towards doing what she wants, how she wants it. The album recently turned 10 years old, tracks like "End of Time" and "Love On Top" have only gotten better with age. Beyoncé pulls from rock, fuck, pop, and RnB to create a sound that still inspires and informs the current generation of artists, from SZA to H.E.R. From "Love On Top" to "I Was Here", 4 encourages a complete embrace of everything that makes you "you": the good, the bad, the masculine, the feminine, the grown and the sexy.
Black Caesar by James Brown (1973)
Another soundtrack for a lesser-known film, Black Caesar is outside of my usual taste, but I fell in love with the soundstage of this album: It feels like you've been snuck into the studio for a jam session with Soul Brother Man No. 1 himself. Black Caesar's structure takes freedoms from the film's plot, but the high-octane "Chase" indulges in the cheesiness and camp of the era. It's a great album to have playing in the background while you work, clean, or choose your own adventure.
Calling All Lovers by Tamar Braxton (2015)
Within the context of the youngest Braxton sister's career, Calling All Lovers feels like a lifetime ago - before her departure from The Real, before her divorce from Vincent Herbert, her historic Celebrity Big Brother win, and before her battles with mental health in 2020 became public discourse. Tamar uses the anointing on her voice to its fullest capacity on Calling All Lovers, delivering powerhouse vocals evenly throughout an album smartly laced with humor, humility, and everything else we've come to love the Queen of "Do-Wop-Pop-Pop" for over the past decade. The songs are great individually, but listening start to finish paints a clearer image of what Tamar Braxton can do with her voice, onto a seemingly endless canvas.
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