Jennifer Hudson shines on her remake of the Aretha Franklin classic, โ(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Womanโ from RESPECT.
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tโs been far too long since Academy Award/Grammy winner ๐ Jennifer Hudson released new music. Thankfully, that wait has come to an end! Hudson plays the late, great ๐ Aretha Franklin in the highly anticipated biopic, ๐ฆ RESPECT. That means the anointed, robust-voiced diva isnโt only blessing us with her acting chops, but also, her singing.ย Accompanying the August 13 release of RESPECT is ๐ฟ RESPECT (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack).ย While thereโs a fine original in ๐ต โHere I Am (Singing My Way Home)โ, the heavy lifting comes with covering Franklinโs catalog, including ๐ต โ(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Womanโ.๐ต โ(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Womanโ was famously written by ๐ผโ Jerry Wexler, ๐ผโ Carole King and ๐ผโ Gerry Goffin.ย It originally graced Franklinโs 1968 album, ๐ฟ Lady Soul.ย The soundtrack version is produced by ๐ Stephen Bray and ๐ Jason Michael Webb.ย Do they recapture the sound of late 60s soul soundly? Of course, they do! ย The essence and vibe is there, even if the sound has the luxury of better recording quality and techniques in the 21st century. ย With โrealโ instruments accompanying, the band successfully recreates an aesthetic that far too often resides in the past.ย
Of course, Itโs not the music that draws our focus on when evaluating this cover. ย All eyes are on the singer.ย Thatโs you J Hud! Hudson does a โbang-upโ job here โ weโd expect no less! Sheโs not Aretha Franklin โ no one will ever be โ but given her own prodigious pipes, sheโs well equipped to take on this big song. ย One of the best and most skilled vocalists of our time, sheโs the one to carry the torch.
Final Thoughts ๐ญ
Covers are difficult to get excited for, particularly when the artist being covered is considered untouchable.ย That said, Jennifer Hudson was built to sing big songs requiring powerhouse vocals.ย She does just that, like a champ, on this fine remake of โ(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman.โย All ears should approve, particularly when she hits those ad-libs!ย
๐ Jennifer Hudson โข ๐ฟ RESPECT (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) โข ๐ท Epic โข ๐ 8.13.21
[๐ท: Brent Faulkner, Epic, The Musical Hype, OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay]
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