Covering 1970-1976,
The Very Best of Aretha Franklin, Vol. 2
isn't quite as top-notch as
Very Best of, Vol. 1
. And, like
, much of this is also found on the more comprehensive
30 Greatest Hits
(although some of it is not). Still, it contains the prime stuff from the first half of the '70s, including
"Spanish Harlem,"
"Don't Play That Song,"
"Bridge over Troubled Water,"
and
"Until You Come Back to Me,"
along with less-traveled items like
"Oh Me Oh My"
"Brand New Me."
~ Richie Unterberger