Deep in busted eardrums more like. I was optimistic that this would have been a decent cover but I didn't enjoy it AT ALL.
Unfortunately, that first verse is very telling, and her vocals are very poorly mastered.
Actually, this sounds like an unfinished mix entirely. She is over-singing despite no longer having the range to do so, and that's prior to her voice aging overtime. They also went overboard with the pitch correction. Had a younger version of Aretha sang this, it would have been incredible. No amount of auto-tune would have been needed.
Needless to say, John Legend had the best cover by a long shot. However, it's not all bad. I enjoyed the 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough' interpolation (the Diana Ross version), and felt the blend was actually pretty cool.
On October 21st, she will drop a new covers album (produced by Clive Davis) titled 'Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics' via RCA Records.