Exactly...

That there is a windmill which can no longer be tilted at. And so it goes.

I few years ago Aretha sang the National Anthem at one of the NBA finals and it was the worst version I have ever heard. Not even the worlds most skilful melodyne operator could have saved her. But... she's a sacred cow now so no, we must never say what it actually sounds like right? 
 
Paul McCartney should lock it away too. 
 
 
 
 
 
 

backwoods
I few years ago Aretha sang the National Anthem at one of the NBA finals and it was the worst version I have ever heard. 

 
Obviously you never heard Rosanne Barr's mangled attempt before a baseball game.

sharke

backwoods
I'll watch it later sharke, but when I watched her in that NBA game it was obvious she has lost her voice and I know abouot these things.

We all have off days. 

Some more than others! 

I always thought an Aretha was a body part... 

The problem with modern legends is that they begin while people can still remember and compare them to the reality of today. The arguments seem to be either "if it ain't broke don't fix it," or "if it is broke fix it better." I agree with bitflipper that Aretha should have the gravitas to decide what versions of her work are released, and I have to conclude that she is complicit in the crime. I would rather think that she can hear her own deficiencies and thinks her work should be released in a better light, than to believe that her ear has failed as well as her voice. Of course, given that the audio cognoscenti can catch the flaws so easily, maybe her ear has passed its peak as well. 
 
I cringe every time PBS wheels out its usual pledge drive extravaganzas featuring a couple of surviving members of the brief "folk" renaissance groups of the late 1960's or the croaking mid-range stylings of arthritic beboppers so that we remaining fans who can still hear into the range the performers used to reach will be seized by nostalgia and open our wallets to pay for another season of Downton Abbey. As a child I used to be amazed that my parents would be able to tolerate the ruined voices of septuagenarian big band crooners, and swear that would never happen to me. 
 
With the wealth of competently recorded work of the peak performances of the great musicians in my lifetime, I find it puzzling why my contemporaries feel the need to encourage the same performers to reprise their salad days by doing out of tune quavering covers of their own ancient hits, let alone stand alongside the best contemporary artists and hope no one will notice that they suffer in the comparison. 
 
Is pitch correction or comping for vocalists any more to be criticized than face lifts or liposuction for aging actors or models? Athletes are forced to come to terms with the deterioration of their performance skills, but musicians can go on deluding themselves as long as we encourage them in a deluded attempt to sustain false memories of our own youth.

Damn you rain! You always box your corner so well :)

Personally, I have more respect for over-the-hill artists when they call it a day. I don't see how she can comp a performance on letterman and even if she could she hasn't got any top end anymore so it would still sound poor. So instead of divide and conquer I suggest surrender.

One thing she could do is pick a song she can sing.