Gospel Queen, The - Mahalia Jackson

Advantages: One of the greatest soul albums of all time
Disadvantages: ---

...years which, to put it nicely, has been erratic. But to completely abhor the world that Aretha lives in would discount the fact that she has done so much, reached that stratusphere of perfection, gone so deep into the psyche and touched the deepest part of so many people's souls; that her fans's couldn't help but fanatically idolize her . If black culture's basic roots lie in the matriarchal aesthetic of the black church, Aretha franklin had a hold of more branches than most of everybody. At her best, she isn't just a great artist, she's a historical figure. Lady soul. The queen of soul. The last of the great female gospel communicators,( Mahalia Jackson, Clara ward, Marion Williams) who singlehandedly gave a people back a piece of their culture. When she got her first gold record , Martin Luther King was her presenter. ( She later sang... Read review

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Advantages: beautiful pop
Disadvantages: what happened the next 20 years afterward

...the percussion of Mahalia Jackson's brilliantly entendred protest songs, are as perfect an accompaniment to wonder’s haunting and transcendent message of the travails of being black and poor. If he didn't say a word, we would have gotten the message. The only thing that Eddie van halen’s generic guitar riff in beat it suggests is that Michael really wanted to sell a single to MTV. And the musical revolution that came in place of it damm near killed soul music. Why? because it placed the market and the market's view on B lack music solely on sales alone. Because of Thriller, the mass marketed formula that scarred Mariah Carey's and ruined Whitney Houston's records came forth. Because of thriller, artist like Alexander O'neal , Regina Belle, Cherelle Ferell, Patti Labelle, Chaka Khan, and Freddie Jackson's works were overlooked because... Read review

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Advantages: Amazing album with super songs
Disadvantages: a few bad ones in the middle

...Introduction: I was never really a Queen fan until a few years ago now. I of course knew loads of their songs and in particular We Will Rock You and We are The Champions which are forever being played at all sorts of places. I knew of them for a while and liked them but had never once bought one of their CDs. However as I said first of all this all changed a few years ago now and since that point I loved Queen and now own this CD as in my opinion it is certainly the best one to buy with all the best Queen hits put onto two of the best CDs you will ever encounter! Becoming a Fan: A few years ago now for my Birthday my Mum bought two tickets for the show in London We Will Rock You and she took me there a few weeks after my birthday as a special present. I wasn't really aware of what it was about, but guessed it may have been... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful