Aretha Franklin Owns Adele's 'Rolling In The Deep' For New Album [LISTEN]

It's a daring move to cover a contemporary hit like Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" with the song so fresh in everyone's mind, but leave it to the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin to take it to the next level.

Now, it's clear that on her upcoming album Aretha Franklin Takes on the Great Diva Classics, Franklin isn't trying to one-up any of the artists she chose to cover - she's honoring their timeless classics. Her take on "Rolling in the Deep" is pretty straightforward, giving the 2010 single a touch of added soul that comes from years of conquering the genre. But, as Stereogum notes, towards the end of the tune, Franklin, along with producers Babyface and André 3000, decided to mash-up the chorus to Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" - making the cover proudly stand on its own.

Other artists Franklin takes on for the album, which is due out Oct. 21 via RCA, include Etta James, Alicia Keys and Gloria Gaynor, among others (see the tracklist below). Producer André 3000 spoke to NPR recently about the project, saying that he chose the Prince song "Nothing Compares 2 U," which was made famous by Sinead O'Connor, for the album. "It's a completely different take on the song," he said. "You'll - it doesn't sound like any other of the - it doesn't sound like the Prince version. It doesn't sound like the Sinead O'Connor version either. It's Aretha in a different element, but something she's familiar with. But it was really really fun doing it. And just to hear her use her voice like this instrument. She just came in the studio and really just knocked it out in about an hour. I think it was about an hour, yeah."

Aretha Franklin Takes on the Great Diva Classics Tracklist
01. "At Last" (Etta James Cover)
02. "Rolling In The Deep" (Adele Cover)
03. "Midnight Train To Georgia (Gladys Knight And The Pips Cover)
04. "I Will Survive" (Gloria Gaynor Cover)
05. "People" (Barbra Streisand Cover)
06. "No One" (Alicia Keys Cover)
07. "I'm Every Woman" (Chaka Khan Cover) / "Respect"
08. "Teach Me Tonight" (Dinah Washington Cover)
09. "You Keep Me Hangin' On" (The Supremes Cover)
10. "Nothing Compares 2 U" (Sinéad O'Connor Cover)

Tags

Aretha Franklin, Rolling in the Deep