Young, Gifted and Black
Like its predecessor,Spirit in the Dark, 1972'sYoung, Gifted and Blackfound Aretha moving with soul music's elite into a progressive phase that opened up the emotional content of her work even further. "All the King's Horses" mourns the death of her first marriage, while "Day Dreaming" and "A Brand New Me" point toward what we'd now call "healing." Two stabs at social comment,Nina Simone's title cut and, intriguingly,Elton John's "Border Song," round out this impressive portrait.--Rickey Wright