Spirit in the Dark | ||||
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Studio album by Aretha Franklin | ||||
Released | August 24, 1970 | |||
Recorded | May 27, 1969 October 3, 1969-March 10, 1970 |
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Genre | Soul, R&B | |||
Length | 40:28 | |||
Label |
Atlantic (#8265), Rhino (1994 Re-release) |
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Producer | Tom Dowd, Arif Mardin, Jerry Wexler | |||
Aretha Franklin chronology | ||||
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Singles from Spirit in the Dark | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | |
Robert Christgau | A |
Rolling Stone | (favorable) |
Spirit in the Dark is the nineteenth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin, Released on August 24, 1970 by Atlantic Records. It received mostly positive reviews, but was met with middling sales, despite having two hit singles, "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)", which peaked at #1 R&B, #11 on the Hot 100, and "Spirit in the Dark", peaking at #3 R&B and #23 Hot 100, in Billboard magazine. It was Aretha's first Atlantic album to fall short of Billboard's Top 20, but it is now considered to be one of Aretha's classic Atlantic LPs. In 1994, Rhino Records re-issued this recording on compact disc. Kanye West has sampled the album title song in his "School Spirit", found on the album The College Dropout.