I Never Loved a Man the Way That I Love You – Aretha Franklin (1967)
I feel a little guilty for having only two women on this top twenty, though I suppose it’s less egregious considering I have only nine artists total. But the two albums recorded by women are truly special — seminal releases that play just as well today as they did thirty plus years ago.
First up is Aretha Franklin’s I Never Loved a Man the Way That I Love You, the diva’s tenth album overall and first for Atlantic records. Her previous studio, Columbia, had mostly squandered her talent, steering her more towards pop and Motown rather than feeding her gospel roots. But Atlantic set her up in Muscle Shoals, where she recorded this instant soul classic.
Bookended by the legendary ‘Respect’ and a moving rendition of Sam Cooke’s ‘A Change is Gonna Come,’ this album is never less than revelatory, Franklin’s soaring vocals lending grit and gut-wrenching emotion to every note.
You’re a liar and you’re a cheat
And I don’t know why
I let you do these things to me
My friends keep telling me
That you ain’t no good
But oh, but they don’t know
That I’d leave you if I could
I guess I’m uptight
And I’m stuck like glue
‘Cause I ain’t never
I ain’t never, I ain’t never, no, no (loved a man)
(The way that I, I love you)
Some time ago I thought
You had run out of fools
But I was so wrong
You got one that you’ll never lose
The way you treat me is a shame
How could you hurt me so bad
Baby, you know that I’m the best thing
That you ever had
Kiss me once again
Don’cha never, never say that we’re through
Cause I ain’t never
Never, Never, no, no (loved a man)
(The way that I, I love you)
I can’t sleep at night
And I can’t eat a bite
I guess I’ll never be free
Since you got, your hooks, in me
Whoa, oh, oh
Yeah! Yeah!
I ain’t never loved a man
I ain’t never loved a man, baby
Ain’t never had a man that hurt me so bad
No
Well this is what I’m gonna do about it…
Meet Me In Montauk 
Well, I certainly know the classic hits from this record, but haven’t heard the rest. Sounds like it would be worth my time to listen.
How often do you listen to an album like this one? When (and why) did you buy it? Was this a purchase intended to satisfy a need you felt your record collection had – such as to own more albums by women, or from a particular era? I love the hits from this album, but I’m curious what circumstances would find me going out to purchase it. Meanwhile, I believe I own most of the hits, probably because they have appeared on soundtracks (such as Forrest Gump or Big Chill), that often serve as a sort of “Best of…” a particular decade.
Have you ever done a best soundtrack theme? That would be fun! 🙂
I listen to it about as much (or as little) as most albums in my collection, apart from the 20% or so that are in constant rotation. Years ago I started a list of great, iconic albums and vowed to own (or at least preview and decide whether I wanted to own) as many as possible. This was one of those.
This is the rare album where the hits and non-hits don’t really stand apart from each other. Every song on it feels essential. It’s similar to Tapestry in that way, where you know some songs had chart success but it’s not all that obvious which ones (apart from ‘Respect,’ which was clearly a blockbuster single).
I’m not a fan of gospel singer or Aretha Franklin; I tend to have the reaction Dana has to Sinatra’s “Jingle Bells” This song is tolerable until the end when the inevitable screeching begins–just not for me. Bring on Tapestry.