Powerhouse Personified
I Say a Little Prayer - Aretha Franklin (Blast from the Past Sunday)
I’ve talked previously about some great album covers, but I think Aretha Now takes the cake. A beautiful portrait framed in bright green, it’s one that always pops out to me when I even catch a glance. Heck, I love that cover so much that for my final project in art class last year I sewed a pillow of it! However, I think that what I love most about it is the way that it really doesn’t prepare you for the content. Within that album there lies songs of longing, songs of strength, songs of sweetness, love, and reckoning, a depth of emotion that are all contained in Aretha’s grin. While I love them all, her version of “I Say a Little Prayer” remains one that I will always and forever go back to.
My first introduction to “I Say a Little Prayer” was Dionne Warwick’s version, and I still hold a fondness for it. It’s sweet and gentle, one of the best in defining her style. But man, once I heard Franklin’s rendition, I just couldn’t get over it. Her powerhouse vocals are front and center, surrounded perfectly by background singers who absolutely blow it out of the water. Its the type of song that holds your attention fully until the very last second, that rare gem that you genuinely cannot turn off.
From the very beginning, Aretha’s version builds a sort of world around it that helps the listener to fully immerse. I’ve always thought of it as having a sort of apprehension, a sort of “you better get out of her way and FAST” instrumental. Even the background singers make “say a little prayer for you” sound like they’re shaking their heads the first time they sing it. I know that technically the song is about someone praying for someone to reciprocate their feelings, but Aretha’s version always has me seeing it as less desperate and more of a demand, saying a prayer for the person to get it together rather than begging them to come to her. Every word is so matter of fact in her voice, especially when punctuated by the staccato backing vocals that emphasize every word. The instrumental adds to the headstrong feel, crescendoing greatly in the chorus with the vocals, the drums in particular holding nothing back with clean rolls that switch up the beat ever so slightly. Perhaps the best detail lies at the end of the chorus, with everything stripping away except for vocals, piano, and the most controlled cymbal tap I’ve ever heard. It’s in that moment, the “will only mean heartbreak for me” that I can hear a sort of musical ellipsis, a trail off that asks “and you wouldn’t want that now, would you?” The answer of course, is no. After hearing this song just once, you’ll be ready to answer her prayer with no hesitation!
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