Carolyn Franklin: Sister Soul - The Best of the RCA Years (1969-1976)

The fates of the Franklin sisters comprise a classic American tragedy. One, Aretha, would go onto spectacular fame and worldwide acclaim, while her sisters, Erma and Carolyn, had brief careers as recording artists but never enjoyed anywhere near the same success. Far worse though, both succumbed to cancer. The youngest of the three, Carolyn may have been in her sisters' shadows but she also contributed to both their careers as a songwriter. Especially for Aretha, Carolyn helped co-write her enormously successful ‘Save Me’ and was also behind the mesmerizing torch song ‘Ain't No Way.’ Carolyn released a handful of singles in the mid-‘60s but it wasn't until 1968, when she signed with RCA, that she had her first major opportunity to make it on her own.What is readily obvious from any of her recordings in that era is that she was not trying to follow Aretha's footsteps in either singing or sound. She worked with production that was a bit looser, freer, and more open to righteous influences than some of her sister's hit-bound sessions. It is also true that Carolyn wasn't blessed with the singular voice that Aretha had, but she shows the influence of good training and natural ability to project herself with power and clarity. This package anthologizes virtually all of Carolyn's RCA singles as well as a hand-picked selection of the very best tracks from her four albums for RCA, including work arranged by Horace Ott, Wade Marcus, Bert De Coteaux, and other soul legends. There's a good deal of funk in the mix here: heavy bottoms on the tunes that really make them snap alongside the righteous vocals. The package is easily one of the hardest-hitting sets of female soul you could ever hope to find. 22 tracks in all, including ‘If You Want Me’, ‘There I Go’, ‘Ain't That Groovy’, ‘Boxer’, ‘Reality’, ‘Chain Reaction’, ‘Don't Wake Me Up in the Morning, Michael", ‘Not on the Outside’, ‘Boy I Love You’, ‘You Are Everything’, ‘Shattered Pride’, ‘I Can't Help My Feeling So Blue’, ‘As Long As You Are There’, and ‘You Can Have My Soul’. http://www.dustygroove.com/, http://www.soul-sides.com/

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