"A New York Treasure" --Village Voice

Dis O Dat?

Friday Night Edition.

The Original.

Or The Cover.

Damn, they both cook, don’t they?

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7 comments

1 Mr. OK Jazz TOKYO   ~  Jan 30, 2009 11:16 pm

Oooohhh....as much as I love Otis (and stop what you are doing and go right away to get Rhino Records 4-disk box set called Otis!)..I think the man said it best when he admitted "We did this tune last year but Aretha..well, she just went and took it away from us!"

2 RCK   ~  Jan 30, 2009 11:38 pm

They are both excellent, it's true. My bias goes to Aretha as her version is my six-year-old niece's favorite song. "Li'l Bit," she calls it.

3 Cliff Corcoran   ~  Jan 30, 2009 11:50 pm

I believe Aretha's "Respect" is the greatest single of the rock n' roll era (say, 1950 to present) if not the greatest pop recording ever. The horns on Otis's version always bugged me. In these two live clips, however, the Otis version is hotter than the album, but Aretha's band (and rushed tempo) don't do her version full justice.

4 OldYanksFan   ~  Jan 31, 2009 12:03 am

Now dats it.

5 NoamSane   ~  Jan 31, 2009 12:16 am

[3]I don't think I've ever heard anyone say that before Cliff, but I can't disagree. There's nothing that could be considered superior.

The ultimate opinion on the battle of the two versions:
"When [Otis] heard Franklin's version of it, however, he said 'That little girl done took my song away.'"

from "A Bad Woman Feeling Good: Blues and the Women Who Sing Them" by Buzzy Jackson (W.W. Norton), p173.

6 Diane Firstman   ~  Jan 31, 2009 12:36 am

Aretha ... what a voice!

Otis was a special talent too, but Aretha DID "make" that song!

7 Toxic   ~  Jan 31, 2009 8:57 am

Very tough one, will take Aretha for this one, then go off and listen to Otis later.

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"This ain't football. We do this every day."
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