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Cold Sweat Oct 18, 2008
I know a lot of people who claim to worship Aretha Franklin, but not many who own everything she's ever recorded. Few people seem to feel the need to. And honestly, I don't think it's unfair to say that she's recorded a number of less-than-great albums. The rather unfortunately titled WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU SWEAT certainly falls into that category. Aside from "Ever Changing Times," her celebrated duet with Michael McDonald, and a few other tracks, this record comes off as a pretty uninspired affair. And although some will no doubt disagree, her attempt to "gospelize" the Broadway tune "I Dreamed A Dream" sounds to my ear like a near total misfire. Not completely, because some of her riffing at the end is rather inventive and inspired. But not every tune lends itself to a soul treatment. And this may be one of them. (The live YouTube clip from the Clinton inauguration though suggests that she could pull off the number under the right circumstances).
The two versions of "Everyday People" that open and close the album are a bit too close for comfort. (I always thought the purpose of a "remix" was to give a totally different slant on a song: that's hardly the case with these two near-mirror image takes on the same song.) Still it's nice to hear Aretha pay a bit of homage to Sly and Co. And it's kind of refreshing to hear "the Queen" declare herself to be just "Everyday People."
No Aretha album can be said to be a total wash-out. She always manages pull off a few interesting vocal tricks, and I guess that is the mark of a great singer. But sometimes even great singers get trapped in a rut. Aretha's best work gave her space to breathe and to improvise, but within the limits of a tight groove. The arrangements on this record seem too meandering and at times almost lethargic. You can't expect a "Respect" or "Never Loved a Man" each time out, understood. But Aretha's vocals never really catch fire in this modern soul setting.
Not Bad, But Certainly Not The Best From Aretha Franklin Aug 25, 2007
This is one of those albums that Aretha Franklin would probably like to forget. I remember being very excited about its release after seeing her on the Donahue program, but was not altogether pleased with the results. It's not all bad, but I wondered at the time, why include such drivel as "Mary Goes Round"? In cases when you run out of material, why not reach back and choose a GOOD song that never was a big hit and re-work the HELL out of it?
This was during Aretha's "duet era" when she dragged in other artists as a distraction to shield the fact that her material was lacking. Was it REALLY necessary to rekindle "Everyday People"? Sly and the Family Stone had had the very last word with that one. Wouldn't it be ludicrous for one of today's "artists" to suddenly decide to record "Respect"?
"Ever Changing Times" with Michael McDonald was okay, but after a few listenings, tiring. Aretha was nominated for a Grammy for "What You See Is What You Sweat" when "Someone Else's Eyes" would have been a much better choice (and possible win for her). I saw Aretha perform it in Atlantic City (Caesar's Palace) and she turned it out, with strong support from her "girls."
"Doctor's Orders" with Luther Vandross was adroitly performed, but what a missed opportunity! Here you had the great Aretha Franklin and possibly the top male balladeer in the biz (at the time) and they chose a trite, near novelty tune as their historical pairing.
Franklin's "You Can't Take Me For Granted" was a nice ballad with excellent background vocals and "I Dreamed a Dream" from "Le Mis" could have employed a more complimentary arrangement. Aretha performed it better in "live" performance.
Believe me, Aretha has done worse than this. Her "Through The Storm" was a piece-job that even I (a staunch fan forever) was left shaking my head in disbelief. I questioned, "is this the BEST they can come up with for someone of Aretha's calibre?"
Why Aretha hasn't taken the advice of millions of her fans and just sat down at the piano and sang an entire album, without an orchestra (ala Steve Ross, Bobby Short or Michael Feinstein), is beyond me. There are so many great standards we'd like to hear her "Aretharize." We were all wishing she'd do that during her greatest singing days, but record companies can only think "commercial." Judging from most of her 80s output, she could have used "a change."
At least The Queen was using her natural voice on these cuts. Today, she's singing in a weird falsetto, probably because of her unfortunate weight gain after stopping smoking. Here's hoping she can get back down to her "singing weight" and give us the greatness we expect from The Queen of Soul.
0 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 Attempt at a Paula Abdul dance sound doesn't work here Jan 28, 2005
Aretha Franklin has always made quality music. Her reign as the Queen of Soul will never be replaced. But What You See Is What You Sweat is not one of her best albums. There's too much of attempt of her trying to go for that Paula Abdul dance sound on most of the uptempo numbers. Only Everyday People stands out because it's funky. But the other songs like Mary Goes Round, and the lame title song the members of Surface did, come off flat. Aretha sounds out of place on them and it would sound best if Paula or Janet Jackson did the songs. Doctor's Orders with Luther Vandross doesn't grab me. Everchanging Times with Michael McDonald and You Can't Take Me For Granted are both elegant ballads. But they seem lost on this dance driven album that doesn't fit with Aretha's always soulful voice.
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 aint sweatin over this... Oct 27, 2003
"Who's Zoomin' Who?" was one of her best Arista albums, while this has to be one of the worst. As much as I love Aretha's work.. this album just doesn't cut it at all.. Featuring ten cuts (well, nine without the remix), and eleven (count 'em!) producers (including Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer-Sager, Michael Legrand, and Bruce Roberts), this goes from one overblown mess, to cliche'd snoozefest and back again.. The album starts off with a useless remake of Sly Stone's "Everyday People" (produced by frequent collaborator Narada Michael Walden). Which ultimately sounds like a showcase for every bit of grating, annoying, vapid early 90's production values... Aretha and the backing choir tunelessly emoting to the equally tuneless production, and not to mention that ridiculous, fake synthesized piano (which must have been on a million records at the time).. From there it does get a little better. "Ever Changing Times" (with Michael McDonald) is fairly pleasant, as is the title track (produced by David Conley and David Townsend of Surface).. And then we're right back where we started with "Mary Goes Round" (produced by Oliver Lieber and Elliott Wolff, who did most of Paula Abdul's hits), which would have been good, if it weren't such a ridiculous song. Needless to say, I don't think she should have been doing Paula Abdul rejects at this stage in her career... And as if it couldn't sink any lower, the Luther Vandross duet "Doctor's Orders" (also produced by Vandross). once again revisiting even more bombastic, vapid, grating early 90s production values.. From here the only highlight is "You Can't Take Me For Granted" produced by Aretha herself.. which rises above the rest, but even that's not saying too much.. And then to top it all off, they end the album with a Shep Pettibone remix of "Everyday People".. as if they needed one more thing to being this ship down....Despite those glowing liner notes (someone must have been insecure about the final product to have commissioned that!) this is just a disappointment. Hell, even the album cover is awful.. The title, the cover photo, the layout.. some great pictures inside, unfortunately they picked the worst one for the cover.. aint that nice. Needless to say, I don't think this will be on anyone's "essential" list... Even 1979's much maligned "La Diva" album (which I quite enjoy) was infinitely better than this tripe....Thankfully, The Queen made a glorious return to form seven years later with "A Rose Is Still A Rose". In all, this album is not recommended to anyone but completists.
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
How can one sweat when there is no HEAT? Mar 08, 2003
Sorry, but this is only an album for fans, of which I am one. It features some likeable tunes but it is far below anything done by the "The Queen of Soul".
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