View source for I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You

{{Short description|1967 studio album by Aretha Franklin}}
{{use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox album
| name       = I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You
| type       = studio
| artist     = [[Aretha Franklin]]
| cover      = Aretha Franklin – I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You.jpg
| alt        =
| released   = {{start date|1967|03|10}}
| recorded   = January 10 – February 26, 1967
| studio     =
* [[FAME Studios]], [[Muscle Shoals, Alabama]]
* Atlantic Recording Studios, New York City, New York
| genre      = [[Southern soul]]
| length     = 32:51
| label      = [[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]]
| producer   = [[Jerry Wexler]]
| prev_title = [[Take It Like You Give It]]
| prev_year  = 1967
| next_title = [[Aretha Arrives]]
| next_year  = 1967
| misc       = {{Singles
| name        = I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You
| type        = studio
| single1     = [[I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)]]
| single1date = February 10, 1967
| single2     = [[Respect (Aretha Franklin song)|Respect]]
| single2date = April 11, 1967 (Charted on April 29)
}}
}}
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{allMusic|class=album|id=r7731}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev2score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="Hoard">Hoard, Christian (November 2, 2004). [https://books.google.com/books?id=lRgtYCC6OUwC&pg=PA214&dq= "Review: ''Lady Soul'']". ''Rolling Stone'', 214–217.</ref>
| rev3 = [[Robert Christgau]]
| rev3score = A<ref>{{cite web |title=Robert Christgau: CG: Aretha Franklin |url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Aretha+Franklin |publisher=[[Robert Christgau]] |access-date=4 June 2019}}</ref>
| rev5score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin|title=Encyclopedia of Popular Music|year=2007|publisher=[[Omnibus Press]]|edition=5th|isbn=978-0857125958|title-link=Encyclopedia of Popular Music}}</ref>
}}
{{listen
|filename=Respect sample.ogg
|title="Respect"
|description=[[Aretha Franklin]] version of [[Otis Redding]]'s "[[Respect (song)|Respect]]" from ''I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You''
|filetype=[[Ogg]]}}
'''''I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You''''' is the tenth [[studio album]] by American singer [[Aretha Franklin]], released on March 10, 1967, by [[Atlantic Records]]. It was Franklin's first release under her contract with the label, following her departure from [[Columbia Records]] after nine unsuccessful [[jazz]] standard albums, and marked a commercial breakthrough for her, becoming her first top 10 album in the United States, reaching number 2 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]]. Two singles were released to promote the album: "[[Respect (Aretha Franklin song)|Respect]]" (an [[Otis Redding]] cover) and "[[I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)]]". The former topped the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]], while latter reached the top 10.
Although initially released to a mixed critical response, the album was eventually widely reappraised and is now regarded as one of the greatest and most influential albums of all time, being included in ''[[Rolling Stone]]'''s "[[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time]]" list, in which it was ranked at number 13 in the 2020 iteration, as well as in the book ''[[1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die]]''. Franklin's cover of "Respect" became her [[List of signature songs|signature song]] and was ranked by ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' as the [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time|greatest song of all time]] in 2021.
==Background==
''I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You'' is Aretha's first album with Atlantic Records. The title track was recorded at [[FAME Studios]] in [[Muscle Shoals, Alabama]].<ref name="The day Aretha Franklin found her sound">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/aug/19/aretha-franklin-fame-studios-muscle-shoals-1967-rick-hall|title=The day Aretha Franklin found her sound – and a bunch of men nearly killed it|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|first=David|last= Taylor|date=August 19, 2018|access-date=April 16, 2021 |quote=Atlantic picked her up and in early 1967 sent her to FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/aretha-franklin-never-loved-man-way-love-you-712306/|title=Aretha's Greatest Albums: 'I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You' (1967)|website=[[Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]]|first=Jon|last=Dolan|date=August 17, 2018|access-date=April 16, 2021 |quote=The result – recorded at iconic Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama – was a new kind of soul power, }}</ref> After an altercation broke out between Franklin's then husband, Ted White, trumpeter Ken Laxton and FAME studios owner/producer [[Rick Hall]], producer [[Jerry Wexler]] arranged to continue recording the LP at Atlantic Studios, New York. <ref name="Matt Dobkin 2004">Dobkin, Matt (2004). ''I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You: Aretha Franklin, Respect, and the Making of a Soul Music Masterpiece''. New York: St. Martin's Press, pp. 136–138.</ref><ref name="The day Aretha Franklin found her sound" /> The B-side, "[[Do Right Woman, Do Right Man]]", was unfinished at FAME studios as the session ended abruptly. Members of the Muscle Shoals rhythm section were flown to New York to complete "Do Right Woman" and a number of other tracks (including "Respect"). There was a discrepancy in the tape-recording speeds of the two studios. The foundation track of "Do Right Woman" recorded at Muscle Shoals and the later tracks added at Atlantic's New York studio are slightly out of tune with each other: Producer [[Chips Moman]] regretted that the piano was faintly sharp.<ref>Dobkin (2004). ''I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You: Aretha Franklin, Respect, and the Making of a Soul Music Masterpiece'', pp. 160–161.</ref>
The record spent several weeks at number 2 on the main ''Billboard'' album chart and 14 weeks at number 1 in the magazine's Top R&B Albums chart. It was certified Gold by the [[Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA]] in 1967, eventually selling nearly two million. It was voted number 352 in the third edition of [[Colin Larkin]]'s ''[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]'' (2000).<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=2006|edition=3rd|isbn=0-7535-0493-6|page=138}}</ref> It received a number 83 ranking on ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's 2003 list of [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|the 500 greatest albums of all time]], 84 in a 2012 revised list<ref>{{cite magazine| url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-156826/aretha-franklin-i-never-loved-a-man-the-way-i-loved-you-154009/|year=2012| title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time| magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]| access-date= September 23, 2019}}</ref> and 13 in the 2020 edition.<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=2020-09-22|title=The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/|access-date=2020-10-08|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US}}</ref> The album was also included in both the ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' (2005) and ''[[1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die]]'' (2008).<ref>{{cite book|author1=Robert Dimery|author2=Michael Lydon|title=1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition|date=23 March 2010|publisher=Universe|isbn=978-0-7893-2074-2|page=129}}</ref> When ''Rolling Stone'' listed the "Women in Rock: 50 Essential Albums" in 2002 and again 2012, the album was named at number one.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20180816/aretha-franklin-remembered-by-sarasotas-jerry-wexler-her-legendary-producer |title=Aretha Franklin remembered by Sarasota's Jerry Wexler, her legendary producer |last=Tatangelo |first=Wade |date=August 16, 2018 |work=Sarasota Herald |access-date=August 23, 2018 |language=en}}</ref>  The album included two top-10 singles: "Respect" was a number-1 single on ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]''{{'}}s [[Billboard Hot 100|Hot 100]] Pop singles chart, and "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" peaked at number 9. The album was rated the 10th best album of the 1960s by ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-200-best-albums-of-the-1960s/?page=10|title=The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s {{!}} Pitchfork|website=pitchfork.com|language=en|access-date=August 22, 2017}}</ref>
==Reception==
In 1967, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' chided the album for "the lack of versatility on the part of the sidemen. The drums weren't hard enough, the guitar was weak, and the production lacked polish."<ref>Landau, Jon (November 23, 1967), "Aretha", ''Rolling Stone'', Vol. 1, No. 2, p. 16.</ref> In 2002, though, they placed the album at number 1 on their "Women in Rock: 50 Essential Albums" list. In 2003, the album was ranked number 83 on ''Rolling Stone''{{'}}s list of "[[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time]]". Music Critic [[Robert Christgau]], gave the album an A, stating that "Not all of the tracks sound inspired" but also that it was the best album she had made up until that point.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Christgau |first1=Robert |title=Consumer Guide Album |url=http://robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=10989 |website=robertchristgau.com |access-date=1 June 2020}}</ref> ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]'' included the album on their list of the "100 Greatest Albums Ever".<ref>''Q'' 1/03, p.&nbsp;54</ref> ''Q'' also gave the album 4 stars and said "[the album] came out in May 1967 and was number 2 in America within weeks&nbsp;... now it stands untainted by time. She seemed so much a force of nature it's strange to recall that this was actually her tenth album&nbsp;..."<ref>''Q'' 7/93, p.&nbsp;106</ref>
In the obituary for Aretha Franklin, ''Rolling Stone'' made this comment about ''I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You'': "It puts the emphasis not just on the great songs, or the amazing music, but on the person speaking them, her world, her story and whatever journey she's on in life. It rings out like revealed truth happening in real time, a declaration of independence."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/aretha-franklin-never-loved-man-way-love-you-712306/|title=Aretha's Greatest Albums: 'I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You' (1967)|first=Jon|last=Dolan|website=Rolling Stone magazine|date=August 17, 2018|access-date=April 15, 2021 |quote=}}</ref>
==Track listing==
{{Track listing
| headline = Side one
| title1          = [[Respect (song)#Aretha Franklin version|Respect]]
| writer1         = [[Otis Redding]]
| length1         = 2:29
| title2          = [[Drown in My Own Tears]]
| writer2         = [[Henry Glover]]
| length2         = 4:07
| title3          = [[I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)]]
| writer3         = Ronnie Shannon
| length3         = 2:51
| title4          = [[Soul Serenade (King Curtis song)|Soul Serenade]]
| writer4         = [[King Curtis|Curtis Ousley]], [[Luther Dixon]]
| length4         = 2:39
| title5          = Don't Let Me Lose This Dream
| writer5         = Aretha Franklin, [[Ted White (manager)|Ted White]]
| length5         = 2:23
| title6          = Baby, Baby, Baby
| writer6         = Aretha Franklin, [[Carolyn Franklin]]
| length6         = 2:54
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Side two
| title7          = Dr. Feelgood (Love Is a Serious Business)
| writer7         = Aretha Franklin, Ted White
| length7         = 3:23
| title8          = [[Good Times (Sam Cooke song)|Good Times]]
| writer8         = [[Sam Cooke]]
| length8         = 2:10
| title9          = [[Do Right Woman, Do Right Man]]
| writer9         = [[Dan Penn]], [[Chips Moman]]
| length9         = 3:16
| title10         = Save Me
| writer10        = Aretha Franklin, Carolyn Franklin, Curtis Ousley
| length10        = 2:21
| title11         = [[A Change Is Gonna Come]]
| writer11        = Sam Cooke
| length11        = 4:20
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = 1995 reissue bonus tracks
| title12         = Respect
| note12          = stereo version
| writer12        = Otis Redding
| length12        = 2:28
| title13         = I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)
| note13          = stereo version
| writer13        = Ronnie Shannon
| length13        = 2:47
| title14         = Do Right Woman, Do Right Man
| note14          = stereo version
| writer14        = Dan Penn, Chips Moman
| length14        = 3:14
}}
==Personnel==
===Musicians===
:Source:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/i-never-loved-a-man-the-way-i-love-you-mw0000651820/credits|title=''I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You'' – credits|publisher=Allmusic|access-date=2020-01-08}}</ref>
{{div col}}
*Aretha Franklin – piano, vocals
*[[Spooner Oldham]] – keyboards, piano
*[[Jimmy Johnson (session guitarist)|Jimmy Johnson]], [[Chips Moman]] – guitar
*[[Tommy Cogbill]] – bass guitar
*[[Gene Chrisman]], [[Roger Hawkins (drummer)|Roger Hawkins]] – drums
*[[Melvin Lastie]] – trumpet
*[[Charles Chalmers]], [[King Curtis]] – tenor saxophone
*Willie Bridges	– baritone saxophone
*[[Carolyn Franklin]] – background vocals
*[[Erma Franklin]] – background vocals
*[[Cissy Houston]] – background vocals
{{div col end}}
===Technical===
* Title track produced by [[Rick Hall]] (FAME Studios, Muscle Shoals, AL), Remaining tracks [[Jerry Wexler]] (Atlantic Recording Studios, New York, NY)
*[[Tom Dowd]] – arranger, recording engineer
*[[Arif Mardin]] – recording engineer
*Loring Eutemey – cover design
*[[Jerry Schatzberg]] – cover photography
==Charts==
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+Chart performance for ''I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You''
!scope="col"|Chart (1967)
!scope="col"|Peak<br />position
|-
{{album chart|UK2|36|date=19670806|rowheader=true|access-date=December 11, 2014|refname="uk"}}
|-
{{album chart|Billboard200|2|artist=Aretha Franklin|rowheader=true|access-date=March 17, 2021|refname="bb200"}}
|-
{{album chart|BillboardRandBHipHop|1|artist=Aretha Franklin|rowheader=true|access-date=December 11, 2014|refname="r&b"}}
|}
==See also==
*[[Album era]]
*[[List of number-one R&B albums of 1967 (U.S.)]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*{{Discogs master|122933|I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You}}
{{Aretha Franklin}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You}}
[[Category:1967 albums]]
[[Category:Aretha Franklin albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Jerry Wexler]]
[[Category:Atlantic Records albums]]
[[Category:Rhino Entertainment albums]]
[[Category:Southern soul albums]]