When a prizefighter gets too old, he goes down for the count. When a
pitcher gets old he lose something off his fast ball. When an "Aretha Franklin" adds some years she just gets better. From her song stealing scenes in the latest "Blues Brothers" film, to her top ten single and title track off this, her latest, album the "queen of soul" shows no sign of relinquishing her crown.

The title track, with its infectious groove and its words of wisdom
from an experienced woman to a younger one, is a microcosm of Aretha's career. You control your destiny and no matter the circumstance you are still you.

"Never Leave You Again" has some disconcerting background vocals but
this "let's kiss and makeup" song is one of my favorites. Loyalty and love are her strengths "In Case You Forgot" as she reminds her man who was there for him. When she soars into the words "hold him tight," you envy the object of her affection.

If there is any weakness on this album it is some of the underlying
vocals and musical accompaniment. What could be a really outstanding track, "Here We Go Again," is ruined by a sound that may best be described as someone blowing their nose to the beat. Whoever decided to let this sound on the track should be locked into a room with it playing on an endless loop. "Every L'il Bit Hurts" is a wonderful blues tune full of feeling and soul. Both this track and the prior one were produced by Jermaine Dupri. Go figure.

Aretha reaches deepest "In The Morning," the most vocally challenging
and strongest cut on the album. She lets it all out here - the hurt, the
longing, simply a cut to play over and over, any time of day. I'm not sure
what the phrase "I'll Dip" means. Perhaps a shorthand form of saying I'll
depart, "it hurts too much to stay," this cut, with the next one, "How Many Times," make a hurtin' duo of putting up with hurt over the years. But in this case she stays rather than goes. The pain and heartbreak are her reward for the years, whether she stays or goes, and the subtle difference in feeling expressed in these two cuts are examples of Aretha's ability to shade small differences in feeling though her vocals.

A lover is a partner and a partner is one who will "Watch My Back" and
Aretha wants to know if he will. "Love Pang" is that little pain you feel from an old love - or listening to Aretha sing. The final cut, "The Woman" is nearly an eight minute tour de force that just gets better and better, like Aretha herself.

Love, hurt, loss, and soul, when it gets right down to it "Aretha is still
Aretha!"