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RhinoAs the world continues to mourn the loss of Aretha Franklin, who died in August at age 76, Rhino is preparing three special releases in celebration of the Queen of Soul’s legacy.
The first is a newly mixed version of Aretha’s 2008 rendition of “Silent Night,” which was released Tuesday as a digital single and via streaming services. The stripped-down mix features just Franklin singing and playing piano.
Aretha’s original version of “Silent Night” appeared on her 2008 holiday album This Christmas, which will get its vinyl debut on November 16. The nine-track LP features well-known yuletide tunes such as “Angels We Have Heard on High” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” plus newer holiday songs like the title track and “My Grown-Up Christmas List.”
Tena Clark, producer of This Christmas, notes that Franklin’s “beautiful spirit is radiant throughout the record and this new mix of ‘Silent Night’ showcases what an incomparable force she truly was, both on vocals and piano.”
The last release, which arrives on December 7, is a six-LP vinyl box set called Atlantic Records 1960s Collection. It features the first five albums Aretha recorded for the label, plus an 11-track rarities disc.
The LPs included in the package are mono versions of 1967’s I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You and Aretha Arrives, and stereo versions of 1968’s Lady Soul and Aretha Now and of 1969’s Soul ’69.
The bonus disc, titled Rarities from the 1960s, includes a demo of “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You),” and outtake versions of Franklin’s covers of “The Letter,” “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” and more.
Here’s the full track of Aretha’s This Christmas LP:
Side One
“Angels We Have Heard on High”
“This Christmas”
“My Grown-Up Christmas List”
“The Lord Will Make a Way”
Side Two
“Ave Maria”
“Christmas Ain’t Christmas (Without the One You Love)”
“14 Angels”
“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”
“Silent Night”
And here’s the Rarities from the 1960s track list:
Side One
“I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)” (Demo)
“Dr. Feelgood (Love Is a Serious Business)” (Demo)
“It Was You” (Outtake)
“The Letter” (Outtake)
“So Soon” (Outtake)
Side Two
“Mr. Big” (Outtake)
“Talk to Me, Talk to Me” (Outtake)
“The Fool on the Hill” (Outtake)
“You’re Taking Up Another Man’s Place” (Outtake)
“You Keep Me Hangin’ On” (Outtake)
“I’m Trying to Overcome” (Outtake)
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