New Aretha (with Clive) on RCA

JUST LIKE OLD TIMES: Aretha Franklin has a new studio LP coming 10/21 on RCA, co-produced by the artist with her BFF Clive Davis, whose present title is Chief Creative Officer for Sony Music as a whole. The lead single on the instructively titled Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics is Adele's modern-day classic "Rolling in the Deep,” its title tagged with “(The Aretha Version).” She’ll sing it tonight on Letterman and Friday on The Today Show. Among the other familiar tunes Aretha covers on the LP are Barbra Streisand's "People," Gladys Knight's "Midnight Train to Georgia," The Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On," Alicia Keys' "No One," and a mash-up of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" and Destiny's Child's "I'm A Survivor." Contributing producers include Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds, André 3000 and Harvey Mason Jr. The album is in pre-order for a mere $7.99, and you can sample Aretha doing Adele here. Fascinating, ain't it? (9/29a)