When I offered up Aretha Franklin as an option she wasn't so much dismissed as diminished as a relic of a different kind of music from a different time.
What the stirring and virtuoso new documentary Amazing Grace does is remind audiences of all ages, that there's a reason that for so long Aretha Franklin was the undisputed greatest singer on the planet, and I would happily offer up this film as evidence in any future discussion of these matters.
The film is some kind of miracle. Shot in 1971 at what appears to be a very hot, very intimate couple of predominately black churches by legendary director Sydney Pollack, the film was lost to decades of legal wrangling and technical issues
I don't know the backstory on how the film has been rescued and restored (director Spike Lee appears to have played a role, and he is just one of several producers) but it truly is revelatory.
It documents the recording of Franklin's seminal album Amazing Grace -- and the film which doesn't have talking heads or gimmicky camerawork, is just an immerse experience with Aretha. In fact, Franklin barely speaks in the film (her hype man and occasional duet partner Rev. James Cleveland is the verbose M.C.) -- she lets her singing talk for her -- and it's a performance that rips through the screen and grabs a hold of your heart.
There are moments where her voice is so stunningly beautiful that it almost hurts to listen to. Late in the film her courtly pastor father is almost at a loss for words to describe her impeccable talent. You just have to experience it. And this film, which is so raw and real that you feel like you're sitting in the pews alongside the adoring crowd, is quite simply one of the best concert films I've ever seen.
Curiously, it comes on the heels of another masterpiece of this very specific genre, Beyonce's Homecoming. That film succeeded in part because it provided such an unfiltered window into Beyonce's process and you come to understand what a relentlessly hard worker she is at everything she does.
What's fascinating about Aretha in Amazing Grace is how easy her instrument seems to work for her. If she is straining you can't see it. She sweats profusely and gives her all, but even seated she never misses a note and keeps soaring to new heights with a gorgeous smile that might as well be the face of God.
In the later decades of her life, Franklin's battles with her weight and health, as well as a troubled personal life took a real toll, as did a sea change in the pop music landscape. Ironically, singers like Adele and yes, Beyonce, have resurrected Franklin's gut punch brand of soul, but I suspect the 'Queen of Soul' has become more mythical a musical figure than a tangible one, especially for younger music fans.
What Amazing Grace should do is make plain why her legendary status was well-earned and it's a stunning document of her at the peak of her powers. Whether you believe in God or not, Amazing Grace is a little piece of heaven.
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