The story of this documentary, centering on Aretha Franklin’s two-night performance in 1972 which led to the biggest selling live gospel album of all time, is troubled, which is why it has come to the screen only now, almost 50 years later and after Aretha herself is gone. Warner Brothers enlisted Oscar winner Sydney Pollack to direct multi-camera 16mm footage of the 29-year-old Franklin recording her next album at the New Temple Missionary Baptist church in Los Angeles.
Unfortunately, with his background in drama rather than music docs, Pollack failed to use clapperboards or markers, making it virtually impossible to synch the resulting picture with the recorded sound. It wasn't until new technology allowed for it to be remastered and released that we get the chance to see the church trained gospel of Aretha's youth, including some footage which includes her father. Fantastic to watch.
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