Peak-Aretha from right in the heart of her Atlantic Records hot-streak, ‘Lady Soul’ features some of her biggest late 60s hits including the dark, stalking ‘Chain of Fools’ and her sublime ‘(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman’, surely one of most transcendent soul songs ever committed to tape. There are up-tempo moments too like the boisterous ‘Come Back Baby’ and lesser-known gems like her proto-funk ’Niki Hoeky’. A combination of raw, tight R’n’B and deep, Gospel-flavoured Southern soul, this is a classic Muscle Shoals album and a peerless performance from Aretha. 

– Harold Heath