Through the Storm (Aretha Franklin album)

Through The Storm
Studio album by Aretha Franklin
Released	May, 1989
Recorded	1988
Genre	Pop, rock, R&B
Length	35:16
Label	Arista
Producer	Narada Michael Walden Arif Mardin Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin chronology
One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism (1987) Through The Storm (1989) What You See Is What You Sweat (1991)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	B+ [2]
Msn Music	[3]
Artist direct	[4]

Through the Storm is an album by Aretha Franklin, released on Arista Records in the spring of 1989.

Despite the hit title track - a duet with superstar Elton John - the album was a sales disappointment, peaking at #55. It sold about 225,000 copies in the United States and was taken out of print shortly afterwards. The follow-up single, "It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be," a duet with Whitney Houston, failed to make the pop Top 40. Other guest artists were James Brown, The Four Tops and Kenny G.

The album was remastered and re-released as an "Expanded Edition" in December 2014 by Funky Town Grooves, with bonus tracks and a second CD of material.^[5]

Track listing

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Gimme Your Love" (Duet With James Brown)	Narada Michael Walden, Jeffrey Cohen	5:19
2.	"Mercy"	Siedah Garrett, Glen Ballard	4:09
3.	"He's The Boy"	Aretha Franklin	4:06
4.	"It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" (Duet With Whitney Houston)	Albert Hammond, Diane Warren	5:39

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Through The Storm" (Duet With Elton John)	Albert Hammond, Diane Warren	4:23
2.	"Think (1989)[6]"	Aretha Franklin, Ted White	3:39
3.	"Come To Me[7]"	Willard Eugene Price	3:43
4.	"If Ever A Love There Was[8]" (with the Four Tops and Kenny G.)	Pamela Phillips Oland, Tedd Cerney	4:47

2014 "Expanded Edition" CD1 Bonus Tracks
No.	Title	Length
9.	"Gimme Your Love" (Single Version)	4:28
10.	"Gimme Your Love" (Extended Remix - Purple Mix)	10:46
11.	"Gimme Your Love" (The Purple Mix Edit)	4:52
12.	"Gimme Your Love" (The Purple Mix Part One)	5:55
13.	"Gimme Your Love" (The Purple Mix Part Two)	3:11
14.	"Aretha Franklin & James Brown Interview"	2:54

2014 "Expanded Edition" CD2 Bonus Tracks
No.	Title	Length
1.	"It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" (Album Edit)	4:51
2.	"It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" (Single Version)	4:15
3.	"It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" (Single Remix)	4:04
4.	"It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" (Extended Radio Mix)	6:11
5.	"It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" (House Radio Mix)	5:08
6.	"It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" (Hip Hop Radio Mix)	4:54
7.	"It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" (New Jack Swing Dub Mix)	6:21
8.	"It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" (After Hours Club Mix)	7:42
9.	"It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" (1989 Vogue Dub Mix)	5:38
10.	"It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" (Nic Mercy's 1999 House Mix)	8:38
11.	"It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" (Detroit Rough Mix)	6:11

Personnel

• Aretha Franklin - Vocals, Producer
• Narada Michael Walden - Producer
• Arif Mardin - Producer
• James Brown - Vocals
• Whitney Houston - Vocals
• Elton John - Vocals
• The Four Tops - Vocals
• Kenny G - Instrumental

References

1. Allmusic review
2. Christgau, Robert. "Through the Storm review". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2015-05-03.
3. Msn Music review
4. Artist direct review
5. "Through The Storm (2 CD Deluxe Edition)". FunkyTownGrooves.com. FunkyTownGrooves.com. Archived from the original on January 30, 2015. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
6. The fourth recorded version of the song by Aretha Franklin, which was originally included on Aretha Now and released as a single in 1968. Two different versions of the song were recorded for the Blues Brothers movie. Franklin lip-synched to one version in the movie, with a different version appearing on the soundtrack.
7. Remixed edition of song first released on Franklin's 1980 Arista debut, Aretha.
8. Originally recorded on the 1988 Four Tops album Indestructible, their sole release for Arista Records, which was also Franklin's label at the time.