Cheap Down in the Basement-The Chess (Music) (Sugar Pie Desanto) Price

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Customer Reviews of Down in the Basement-The Chess

Greatest gospel record of all times.Amazing,terrific !!!!!!!
Aretha Franklin was only 14 years old !!! when this absolutely terrific album of gospel music was recorded live,at her father's church,the Reverend C.L.Franklin.There was never such an amazing voice in the gospel field,and the live recording gives to this gigantic music a special,dramatic,intense feeling that could never be reached at a studio session.This extraordinay voice,which surely will make you cry,was the voice of a young girl who was on her way to glory.This may be one of the most important albums ever recorded in the history of great black music,wether it is jazz,blues,or gospel;I'll allways treasure this record as one of the highest masterpiece of singing.Aretha is bewildering,and maybe NOBODY ever sang with such emotion and perfection.This music is so intensive,so emotionnal,so rich,so unique that it will make you shiver and cry.You can't imagine what's in this CD,even if you listened to a lot of gospel.That's simply terrific.
"there's a fountain filled with blood" is sung almost a cappella by Aretha,with only piano and organ background,and exhortations by the members of the church.Her absolutely perfect voice marvels here."Precious Lord" is a masterpiece,a very great moment in the history of singing;there is an unbelievable dramatic intensity here,that was rarely equalled.This music is so intense that I can't find my words to describe it."You grow closer" is another great tune,somptuously sung by Aretha.And so are the other tunes.

You,jazz,blues or gospel lover,you have to own this exceptionnal record.If you don't like the music Aretha FRanklin did later,just listen to "Never grow old" and you'll have to admitt that you're listening to some of the most essential minutes of the music you like.This is,forgive me if I'm repeating this,an extremely important record.Don't miss it.

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A Gospel Treasure
I came to Amazon.com to repurchase this CD. I bought the album years ago. It got damaged so I discovered the CD and bought it also. As I write, it is playing on my computer under Linux. It has deep scratches, so I'm buying it again. In other words, if it is worth buying 3 times, it has got to be good. Of course, something recorded at her father's church when Aretha was about 14 years old will not have the quality of modern recordings. I play this all night long and tears of emotion fill my eyes. There is none like Aretha...NONE!!! My friend took this home to his indigent mother. Although we had never met or spoken to each other before, she called me at work the next day with excitement and jubilance. She "shouted" more that day than she had shout in long time. She was so thankful and was so surprise that a young person could appreciate such great singing that she gave me her complete album collection which included THE ORIGINAL MARCH ON WASHINGTON album with Dr. King and others plus most of Mahalia's albums.

Want specifics..."The Day Is Past And Gone" is what set my friend's mother on fire and is my favorite. I don't think you'll find it on any other CD. "Yield not to Temptation" and "There is Fountain Filled With Blood" make this worth buying and keeping as a part of your historical collection. If you don't like old spiritual hymns, then don't buy although it just might convert you.

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NO GOOD!
Of course Aretha could never really record a bad album but this one smacks a little of record company "let's take them for all they've got" motives. The sound quality is that of a demo-tape from the fifties and there is absolutely nothing gained from buying this album rather than any other more modern one. Aretha started great and remained consistent so anything she recorded later is better than this. I recommend any of the compilations from the seventies.