Almighty Fire

Summary

Almighty Fire is the twenty-fourth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin, released on April 13, 1978, by Atlantic Records. By the time of the album's release, Franklin was going through a commercial slump.

Almighty Fire
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 13, 1978
RecordedJanuary–March 1978
StudioCurtom Studios (Chicago, IL); ABC Recording Studios (Los Angeles, CA); Whitney Recording Studios (Glendale, CA).
GenreSoul, R&B
Length34:42
LabelAtlantic (#19161)
ProducerCurtis Mayfield
Aretha Franklin chronology
Sweet Passion
(1977)
Almighty Fire
(1978)
La Diva
(1979)
Singles from Almighty Fire
  1. "Almighty Fire (Woman of the Future)"
    Released: April 1978
  2. "More Than a Joy"
    Released: July 1978

Franklin was reunited with Curtis Mayfield – who produced the album and composed all the tracks –after their earlier success together with the Sparkle soundtrack.

The title single reached at No. 12 on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart and the follow-up single, "More Than Just a Joy", peaked at No. 51. The album earned a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female at the 1979 Grammy Awards.

Critical reception edit

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [1]
Christgau's Record GuideC+[2]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide     [3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide     [4]
The Virgin Encyclopedia of R&B and Soul     [5]

The New York Times panned the "tuneless, fussily arranged songs".[6]

Track listing edit

All tracks composed by Curtis Mayfield, except where noted.

Side one edit

  1. "Almighty Fire (Woman of the Future)" – 4:36
  2. "Lady, Lady" – 2:45
  3. "More Than Just a Joy" – 3:03
  4. "Keep On Loving You" – 3:12
  5. "I Needed You Baby" – 4:38

Side two edit

  1. "Close to You" – 4:22
  2. "No Matter Who You Love" – 4:01
  3. "This You Can Believe" – 4:46
  4. "I'm Your Speed" (Aretha Franklin, Glynn Turman) – 3:40

Personnel edit

  • Aretha Franklin – vocals
  • Curtis Mayfield – guitar
  • Gary Thompson – guitar
  • Joseph "Lucky" Scott – bass guitar
  • Donnell Hagan – drums
  • Henry Gibsoncongas
  • Rich Tufo – keyboards, arrangements
  • Lenard Druss – horns contractor
  • Sol Bobrov – strings contractor
  • Alfonzo Surrett – background vocals
  • Mattie Butler – background vocals
  • Ricki Linton – background vocals
  • Denese Heard and the Jones Girls – background vocals

Production edit

  • Producer – Curtis Mayfield
  • Engineers – Roger Anfinsen and Fred Breitberg
  • Remix – Roger Anfinsen
  • Mastered by Dennis King at Atlantic Studios (New York City).
  • Album cover concept – Aretha Franklin

References edit

  1. ^ Almighty Fire at AllMusic
  2. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: F". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 24, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  3. ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1996. p. 272.
  4. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 262.
  5. ^ Larkin, Colin (1998). The Virgin Encyclopedia of R&B and Soul. Virgin. p. 128.
  6. ^ Rockwell, John (April 21, 1978). "The Pop Life". The New York Times. p. C22.

External links edit

  • Almighty Fire (Woman of the Future)