This is Aretha Franklin at her absolute peak fronting a supercharged band led by King Curtis and featuring the Memphis Horns with special guests Ray Charles and Billy Preston. The original 1971 release, as great as it was, sounded attenuated because of the edits and left you wanting to hear all of it, and that’s exactly what we get with the unedited and additional material included on the two-disc Aretha set, finally giving us the complete picture of this night for the ages. Bernard “Pretty” Purdie is a monster on the drums, driving this battleship at full speed, and Curtis is superb.

Curtis’ opening act, which was also released as a separate package back then, is a marvel of the R&B revue style of this era. These bands didn’t play two-hour concert sets and were only just removed from the day when they had to put everything across in 15 minutes. We probably could have done without “Whole Lotta Love,” “Ode to Billie Joe” and “Mr. Bojangles,” but the rest is solid, and the alternate takes of “Memphis Soul Stew” and “Soul Serenade” as well as Preston’s “My Sweet Lord” are worth hearing.

But it’s Aretha, Aretha, Aretha. That’s what we want and boy, do we get it. Her opening set version of “Respect,” scrapped on the original for its not-quite-perfect introduction from Aretha and her less than royal “How y’all?” is a killer that really lives up to her promise: “You will enjoy this show as much as any you’ve ever had occasion to see.” Her voice is a supernatural instrument at this point, reaching high, clear perfect pitch screams and carrying a breathtaking tonal color. Her “Bridge Over Troubled Water” cuts even Irma Thomas’ magnificent reading with Paul Simon earlier this year at Jazz Fest. “Call Me” and “Mixed Up Girl,” released for this first time here, are valuable additions, but hearing the uncut Aretha/Ray “Spirit In the Dark” with every note intact and the stage banter between the two as they set up is priceless.