12. Aretha FranklinAretha In Paris

Listen, this isn’t even the best Aretha album, but it’s got all the classics on, and an amazing band. I was feeling very nostalgic when I did the list and I grew up listening to this because my dad had it. I was fascinated by the cover. A few years ago, I went to listen to a service in a gospel church in London, and there is something that singers who come from the background have that’s so natural in their delivery. It’s fascinating because when you go to the church service, you hear that, the way that people talk, it’s in everything. It’s not just the music, it’s when they’re preaching. It’s so strong in the way Aretha’s talking – she says something like, ‘do you like the blues? Do you really like the blues?’ It’s like, ‘oh my God, that’s just the best’. I could never achieve that.