Angel (Aretha Franklin song)


"Angel" is a soul ballad recorded by American singer Aretha Franklin. The song was co-written by Aretha's sister, Carolyn, and Sonny Sanders. Aretha co-produced the song with Quincy Jones and it originally appeared on Aretha's 1973 album Hey Now Hey . It was released as a single in June 1973 and went on to top the US R&B Singles chart for two weeks while reaching number twenty on the Pop chart. The single sold over 900,000 copies.

Credits

"Angel" was covered by British soul and pop band Simply Red in 1996 for their first compilation album, Greatest Hits featuring an uncredited appearance by the Fugees. It was released in October 1996 as the only single from the album and reached number 4 in the United Kingdom. The song appeared on the Set It Off soundtrack.

Critical reception

editor Jon O'Brien wrote that the song "is a surprisingly passable attempt at hip-hop lite." Larry Flick from Billboard described it as a "rugged jeep-funk cover" and commented further that "this is far more street-oriented than Simply Red's previous efforts, and front man Mick Hucknall is pushed to deliver one his roughest and most forceful performances to date." He also noted that the singer "sounds convincingly hard alongside Fugee Wyclef Jean's muscular guest rap". Ken Tucker from Entertainment Weekly noted Hucknall's "keening croon to the Fugees' smoky harmonies" and added "this low-key pleaser exerts a romantic pull". Music & Media wrote that Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel "bring out the best in Mick Hucknall on this hair-raising version" and "his voice can handle any soul ballad on its own, but the unmistakeble Fugees beats and soulful snippets make this a great addition to the Simply Red Greatest Hits album."

Track listing

Charts

Other versions