Jennifer Hudson - RESPECT (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2021) [Hi-Res]

Jennifer Hudson auditioned for American Idol in 2004 with "Share Your Love with Me," sung with clear reverence for the version cut by Aretha Franklin. Only three years later, after she won an Academy Award for Dreamgirls, Hudson was summoned by the Queen of Soul, who greeted her with "You're gonna win an Oscar for playing me, right?" Hudson later acknowledged that she didn't have enough life experience then to portray Aretha, but by the time the filming of Respect began in 2019, she and her hero had far more than a gospel background and fame in common. Hudson's professional achievements during this decade-plus period of unspeakable lows and extreme highs included a Broadway debut in the Tony-winning revival of The Color Purple. It's with the producers of its Grammy-winning cast recording, Stephen Bray and Jason Michael Webb, that she made the soundtrack for Respect. The loosely chronological sequence begins in the church with "There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood" -- voiced first by Skye Dakota Turner, who plays the young Aretha and yields to Hudson before the end of the first verse -- and finishes in the same setting with the only new song. The finale is a belting testimonial written by Carole King, co-author of "(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman," which is one of ten songs included here that originate from Aretha's 1967-1968 artistic breakthrough and supernova phase with Atlantic Records. Lesser singers would likely attempt imitation and undoubtedly fall short. Hudson is among the few who could pull it off. Instead, the powerhouse seems to glean her own past as much as that of her subject, and though she nails some of the queen's mannerisms and inflections -- especially when the material calls for elation and assertion -- her voice remains singular. Performances of three songs from the outstanding live gospel album Amazing Grace don't have the same sense of urgency, and the crowd noise on "Respect" is jarringly disconnected. More often, however, these renderings glow and do right by the queen. Hudson, whose recordings since JHUD have been scattered in terms of purpose, style, and quality, hasn't sounded this inspired in some time.

Tracklist:
1 01. Jennifer Hudson - There Is A Fountain Filled With Blood (02:53)
1 02. Jennifer Hudson - Ac-cent-tchu-ate The Positive (02:20)
1 03. Jennifer Hudson - Nature Boy (03:13)
1 04. Jennifer Hudson - I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You) (03:56)
1 05. Jennifer Hudson - Do Right Woman, Do Right Man (03:13)
1 06. Jennifer Hudson - Dr. Feelgood (03:24)
1 07. Jennifer Hudson - Respect (03:42)
1 08. Jennifer Hudson - Sweet Sweet Baby (Since You've Been Gone) (02:26)
1 09. Jennifer Hudson - Ain't No Way (04:16)
1 10. Jennifer Hudson - (You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman (03:07)
1 11. Jennifer Hudson - Chain of Fools (02:29)
1 12. Jennifer Hudson - Think (01:49)
1 13. Jennifer Hudson - Take My Hand, Precious Lord (02:18)
1 14. Jennifer Hudson - Spanish Harlem (03:38)
1 15. Jennifer Hudson - I Say A Little Prayer (03:41)
1 16. Jennifer Hudson - Precious Memories (01:57)
1 17. Jennifer Hudson - Amazing Grace (05:03)
1 18. Jennifer Hudson - Here I Am (Singing My Way Home) (05:14)