Pop & Miscellaneous

Let It Be Roberta - Roberta Flack Sings The Beatles (2012)

2012-02-17T19:26:34Z

Let It Be Roberta - Roberta Flack Sings The Beatles (2012)


1 	In My Life 	4:09
2 	Hey Jude 	3:11
3 	We Can Work It Out 	4:02
4 	Let It Be 	4:15
5 	Oh Darling 	4:39
6 	I Should Have Known Better 	3:15
7 	The Long And Winding Road 	(feat. Sherrod Barnes)	4:09
8 	Come Together 	4:39
9 	Isn't It A Pity 	3:41
10 	If I Fell 	3:24
11 	And I Love Him 	3:51
12 	Here, There, And Everywhere 	6:16

Roberta Flack - Keyboards, Vocals 
Jerry Barnes - Bass, Guitar, Vocals (Background)
Katreece Barnes - Vocals (Background)
Sherrod Barnes - Bass, Drums, Guitar, Keyboards, Strings, Vocals (Background)
Nicholas Branker  - Bass
Dean Brown - Guitar
Charlie Drayton - Drums
Paul Lassiter - Strings
Selan Lerner - Keyboards
Barry Miles - Keyboards
Shedrick Mitchell - Keyboards
Nathan Page - Guitar
Kuhari Parker - Drums
Chris Parks - Drums
Morris Pleasure - Keyboards
Ricardo Jordan - Drums
Vivian Sessoms 	- Vocals (Background)
Tameka Simone - Vocals (Background)
Bernard Sweetney - Drums
Buddy Williams - Drums
David Williams - Bass
Bernard Wright – Keyboards

The Beatles' song catalog is one of the best-known and revered bodies of work in the whole of modern music, and the depth, variety, and timelessness of the songs this once-in-a-lifetime band produced make that catalog both a marvel and a treasure. Everyone knows these songs, and everyone knows them in the original Beatles versions. Those versions are there, shining in stone, and even when they show up in remixes like in the recent LOVE mashup, the original recordings echo unshakably in the mind. Roberta Flack knows this. On Let It Be Roberta: Roberta Flack Sings the Beatles, she tackles 12 of the group's songs -- 11 written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and one written by George Harrison -- and she knows full well that she's dealing with the ghosts of the original versions. She knows, and she addresses it by reconfiguring the 12 songs she's chosen to sing into fascinating new shapes and arrangements, not exactly escaping the original versions, but giving them a fresh new direction by jazzy shifts in the melodies, and pinning them to inventive and very contemporary rhythms and recording techniques. Flack doesn't treat songs like "In My Life," "We Can Work It Out," and "I Should Have Known Better" like they're made of museum glass, and because of it, she stretches them into interesting new corners. Not everything works -- Flack singing "Come Together" could never have been a good idea -- but what does work, and that's most of what's here, brings these Beatles songs delightfully into the 21st century. Even though the ghosts of the original versions still echo here, they support rather than derail what Flack does with them. ---Steve Leggett, Rovi

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Roberta Flack - First Take (1969)

2019-03-09T13:22:42Z

Roberta Flack - First Take (1969)


A1 	Compared To What	5:15
A2 	Angelitos Negros	6:55
A3 	Our Ages Or Our Hearts	6:09
A4 	I Told Jesus	6:08
B1 	Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye	4:07
B2 	The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face	5:21
B3 	Tryin' Times	5:07
B4 	Ballad Of The Sad Young Men	7:03

Arranged By [Horns, Strings] – William Fischer
Baritone Saxophone – Seldon Powell (tracks: A1, A4)
Bass – Ron Carter
Cello – Charles McCracken (tracks: A2 to B2, B4), George Ricci (tracks: A2 to B2, B4)
Conductor [Strings] – William Fischer (tracks: A2 to B2, B4)
Drums – Ray Lucas
Guitar – John Pizzarelli
Piano, Vocals – Roberta Flack
Tenor Saxophone – Frank Wess (tracks: A1, A4)
Trombone – Bennie Powell (tracks: A1, A4)
Trumpet – Jimmy Nottingham (tracks: A1, A4), Joe Newman (tracks: A1, A4)
Viola – Alfred Brown (tracks: A2 to B2, B4), Selwart Clarke (tracks: A2 to B2, B4),
 Theodore Israel (tracks: A2 to B2, B4)
Violin – Emanuel Green (tracks: A2 to B2, B4), Gene Orloff (tracks: A2 to B2, B4)

Roberta Flack's debut album, titled First Take in true underachiever fashion, introduced a singer who'd assimilated the powerful interpretive talents of Nina Simone and Sarah Vaughan, the earthy power of Aretha Franklin, and the crystal purity and emotional resonance of folksingers like Judy Collins. Indeed, the album often sounded more like vocal jazz or folk than soul, beginning with the credits: a core quartet of Flack on piano, John Pizzarelli on guitar, Ron Carter on bass, and Ray Lucas on drums, as fine a lineup as any pop singer could hope to recruit. With only one exception -- the bluesy, grooving opener "Compared to What," during which Flack proves her chops as a soul belter -- she concentrates on readings of soft, meditative material. A pair of folk covers, "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and "Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye," are heart-wrenching standouts; the first even became a surprise hit two years later, when its appearance in the Clint Eastwood film Play Misty for Me pushed it to the top of the pop charts and earned Flack her first Grammy award for Record of the Year. Her arrangement of the traditional "I Told Jesus" has a simmering power, while "Ballad of the Sad Young Men" summons a stately sense of melancholy. Flack also included two songs from her college friend and future duet partner, Donny Hathaway, including a tender examination of the classic May-December romance titled "Our Ages or Our Hearts." The string arrangements of William Fischer wisely keep to the background, lending an added emotional weight to all of Flack's pronouncements. No soul artist had ever recorded an album like this, making First Take one of the most fascinating soul debuts of the era. ---John Bush, AllMusic Review

Eight superbly interrupted tracks but often when playing this record I start with the flip or side two and not because of the single although that is one added bonus but the album commences with one of my favourite songwriters, Leonard Cohen with a beautiful rendition from Roberta of "Hey,Thats No Way To Say Goodbye" with that stunning accapella intro with some great brush work from Ray Lucas on drums with just the right touch between the strings which are added to the number but it is the Quartet sound that is still prevalent throughout with Roberta Flack adding a nice little piano solo but that voice when she sings just sweeps all away with the enchantment. The second track on the album is the hit "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" written by Ewan MacColl and it is a folk song from the man who also penned "Dirty Old Town" and to think that he wrote this tune in one hurry and taught it to his wife Peggy Seeger over the phone. Roberta Flack has taken the song and made it hers bringing an etheral feel to the composition which today is up there in those top 100 songs polls now and again but listen to Ron Carter on bass with his slow throb that he keeps constant throughout with his immaculate timing. This album owes so much to his input and yes I am a fan but it is not often on an artists debut you get one of the best bass players on earth to assist. Righteousness comes to the fore here with "Tryin' Times" and this is just the Quartet with no strings giving the album a constant variety of songs and Roberta Flack plays a great solo on piano but her voice being so good just keeps detracting from this talent of hers as she hits those vocal heights superbly throughout the composition. The actual album closer is "Ballad of The Sad Young Men" which is a standard and taken to new heights with a very slow spaced approach and the strings are used here but as I mentioned above they are mixed so beautufully throughout the production by always keeping Roberta Flack's voice and the Quartet at the front and at times the strings are unnoticable and you really have to listen for them as they are just blended in superbly throughout.

Side one of the record starts with "Compared to What" which is one of the two tunes where we get horns added on the album with a bit more rightousness and a bit of a Blues feel but it is Jazz that is the end product with this combination of influence. "Angelito Negros" the tune made famous by Pedro Infante with the great Antonio Machin and Eartha Kitt also having versions but like that hit single from this album this is the one for me being simply stunning. "Our Ages of Our Hearts" which is the second Donny Hathaway song used on the album by Roberta brings only more quality listening for you to enjoy. The Gospel gets a go with "I Told Jesus" with Ron just putting those great bass strums over this slow etheral composition where like all the other songs on the album the intensity of Roberta Flack's vocals just slowly builds throughout.

What a debut and one that is Jazz in its purest and you may ask why I take this perspective but the fact is what happened here was we have what basically is a Jazz Vocal Quartet which has a slight from the time contempary influence added being R&B with Gospel and a pinch of Blues spice thrown in, getting away from the more standard Jazz vocal group sound. Original most definitely and one can see what Les McCann was excited about when he raced off to Atlantic to get Roberta Flack signed. One other note I should mention is, ten hours is all it took to get this beautifull record cut. ---Matt, jazzmusicarchives.com

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Roberta Flack - Love Songs (2011)

2011-02-11T19:35:00Z

Roberta Flack - Love Songs (2011)


01. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face 
02. You've Got A Friend - with Donny Hathaway 
03. Killing Me Softly With His Song 
04. Where Is The Love - with Donny Hathaway 
05. Feel Like Makin' Love 
06. After You 
07. The Closer I Get To You - with Donny Hathaway 
08. Back Together Again - with Donny Hathaway 
09. More Than Everything - with Peabo Bryson - Live 
10. Just When I Needed You 
11. Maybe - with Peabo Bryson                               play
12. Tonight, I Celebrate My Love - with Peabo Bryson        play
13. And So It Goes 
14. When Someone Tears Your Heart In Two 
15. Only Heaven Can Wait (For Love) / You Are My Heaven - with Peabo Bryson - Live 
16. Can We Find Love Again - with Peabo Bryson 
17. All Caught Up In Love 
18. Let's Stay Together

Rhino records are proud to announce the release of ‘love songs’ – an 18 track collection from the incomparable Roberta Flack on Friday January 28th 2011.

“I like songs that tell stories and I like songs that express universal emotions: for example, everybody falls in love and so I think my songs communicate what that feels like.”

Those are the wise words of Roberta Flack, a supremely gifted singer and pianist who knows all about songs that have stood the test of time. That’s because her Atlantic Records’ back catalogue is packed with sparkling romantic gems, many of which are featured on this stellar collection of love songs – they range from her haunting 1969 recording of folk singer Ewan MacColl’s ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’ to the plaintive ballad ‘Killing Me Softly’. The collection includes many of her legendary duets with soul legends Donny Hathaway and Peabo Bryson.

Roberta Flack (ur. 10 lutego 1937 w Asheville) – amerykańska wokalistka śpiewająca jazz, soul i folk. Ukończyła Howard University w Waszyngtonie.

Życie zawodowe rozpoczęła od pracy w szkole, była pierwszą czarnoskórą wykładowczynią w Chevy Chase Maryland. Od 1967 zaczęła śpiewać ballady z elementami soulu i jazzu. Akompaniowała także na pianinie śpiewakom operowym w klubie Tivoli Club. Śpiewała w chórze kościelnym, występowała jako solistka, oraz z D. Hathawayem, P. Brysonem i duetem Climie Fisher, a także Milesem Davisem. Przebój "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" wykorzystał C. Eastwood w filmie Play Misty for Me (1971 w TVP pt. Zagraj dla mnie, Misty), a utwór "Killing Me Softly" (za który w 1974 roku otrzymała nagrodę Grammy) przeżył swój renesans za sprawą filmu Był sobie chłopiec (About a Boy) (2002, reż. Chris i Paul Weitz). Jest współautorką muzyki do filmu Bustin' Loose (1981, reż. Oz Scot). Wystąpiła w Warszawie w 1976. W 1999 dała występ dla prezydenta Mandeli.

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Roberta Flack - Softly With These Songs (Best Of) (1993)

2011-01-15T10:31:16Z

Roberta Flack - Softly With These Songs (Best Of) (1993)


01 – The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face 
02 – Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow 
03 – Where Is The Love (With Donny Hathaway) 
04 – Killing Me Softly With His Song            play
05 – Feel Like Makin’ Love                      play
06 – The Closer I Get To You 
07 – More Than Everything 
08 – Only Heaven Can Wait (For Love) 
09 – Back Together Again (With Donny Hathaway) 
10 – Making Love 
11 – Tonight, I Celebrate My Love (Peabo Bryson) 
12 – Oasis 
13 – And So It Goes 
14 – You Know What It’s Like 
15 – Set The Night To Music (With Maxi Priest) 
16 – My Foolish Heart 
17 – Uh-Uh-Ooh-Ooh Look Out (Here It Comes) (Steve Hurley’s House Mix)

Personnel: 
Roberta Flack (vocals, piano), George Wadenius (guitar, background vocals), 
John Pizzarelli, Eric Gale, Paul Jackson, Jr., Mike Landau (guitar), Andy Snitzer (tenor saxophone), 
Dan Higgins (saxophone), Jerry Hey (trumpet), Richard Tee (piano), 
Randy Kerber (piano, synthesizers), Barry Miles, Joe Mardin (keyboards, synthesizers, programming), 
Robbie Kondor, Keith "Plex" Barnhart (keyboards, programming), 
Ed Walsh, Greg Phillinganes (keyboards), Craig Huntley, Larry Williams (synthesizer), 
Jennings (vibraphone), Marcus Miller (bass, keyboards, background vocals), Chuck Rainey, 
Neil Steubenhaus, Nathan East (bass), Buddy Williams (drums, background vocals), 
Ray Lucas, Bernard Purdie, Jim Keltner, Carlos Vega, John Robinson (drums), 
Ralph McDonald, Errol "Crusher" Bennett, Steve Thornton, Mike Fisher (percussion), 
Jason Miles (synthesizer programming), Sammy Merendino (drum programming).

Roberta Flack was blessed with one of the loveliest, most soothing voices in the music industry. In the 1970s, she not only appealed to pop and R&B audiences, but also fit in with the era's more serious, sensitive singer/songwriters. She scored some of the decade's biggest hits with classics such as "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," "Killing Me Softly with His Song," and "Feel Like Making Love," as well as her legendary duets with Donny Hathaway, all which have gone on to become standards in the pop pantheon. This single-disc set attempts to collect her best and most successful recordings from the 1970s to the 1990s, when she enjoyed the success of another Top Ten hit with Diane Warren's "Set the Night to Music" (with Maxi Priest). However, this ambitious collection, even with such stellar material, proves a little frustrating due to the omission of several key tracks from Flack's catalog, among those "Jesse," "If I Ever See You Again," "You've Got a Friend," and several others. It does, however, manage to incorporate other Flack collectibles, including her soundtrack hit "Making Love," her hit with Peabo Bryson, "Tonight I Celebrate My Love," her lovely, breezy, chart-topping 1988 R&B hit "Oasis," and a sleek 1990s house track, "Uh-Uh Ooh-Ooh Look Out (Here It Comes)." This ambitious yet frustrating collection not only highlights Flack's long, illustrious career, but also brings to attention the fact that a multi-disc retrospective on this legendary singer would be a most welcome addition to her catalog. ---Jose F. Promis, AllMusic Review

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Roberta Flack – Roberta (1994)

2011-09-18T18:27:27Z

Roberta Flack – Roberta (1994)


1 		Let's Stay Together 	4:55 	
2 		Sweet Georgia Brown 	5:14 	
3 		Thrill Is Gone 	5:14 	
4 		It Might Be You 	10:03 	
5 		In A Sentimental Mood 	3:08 					play	
6 		Looking For Another Pure Love 	4:50 	
7 		I Don't Care Who Knows (Baby I'm Yours) 	4:05 	
8 		Prelude To A Kiss - Intro 	0:43 	
9 		Prelude To A Kiss	4:27 	
10 		Angel Eyes 	6:35 	
11 		Tenderly 	3:48								play 	
12 		Cottage For Sale 	4:37 	
13 		Isn't It Romantic? 	3:42 	
14 		My Romance 	5:39 	
15 		You'll Never Know ('Til You Let Go) 	5:20 	

Personnel includes: 
Roberta Flack (vocals); 
Paul Pesco (acoustic & electric guitar); 
Jerry Barnes (guitar, acoustic & electric bass, programming); 
Philip Hamilton (guitar); 
Aaron Flagg (trumpet); 
Katreese Barnes (saxophone, piano, background vocals); 
Rich Keller (keyboards, programming); 
Barry Miles (keyboards); 
Anthony Jackson, Roy Drummond (bass); 
Ivan Hampden, William "JuJu" House, Ben Riley (drums); 
Buddy Williams (hi-hat); 
Steve Kroon, Steve Thornton, Bashiri Johnson (percussion).

Classy, urbane, reserved, smooth, and sophisticated -- all of these terms have been used to describe the music of Roberta Flack, particularly her string of romantic, light jazz ballad hits in the 1970s, which continue to enjoy popularity on MOR-oriented adult contemporary stations. Flack was the daughter of a church organist and started playing piano early enough to get a music scholarship and eventual degree from Howard University. After a period of student teaching, Flack was discovered singing at a club by jazz musician Les McCann and signed to Atlantic.

Her first two albums were well received but produced no hit singles; however, that all changed when a version of Ewan MacColl's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," from her first LP, was included in the soundtrack of Play Misty for Me. The single zoomed to number one in 1972 and remained there for six weeks, becoming that year's biggest hit. Flack followed it with the first of several duets with Howard classmate Donny Hathaway, "Where Is the Love." "Killing Me Softly With His Song" became Flack's second number one hit (five weeks) in 1973, and after topping the charts again in 1974 with "Feel Like Makin' Love," Flack took a break from performing to concentrate on recording and charitable causes.

She charted several more times over the next few years, but a major blow struck in 1979 when Hathaway committed suicide. Devastated, Flack was forced to find another partner and eventually did in Peabo Bryson, with whom she toured in 1980. The two recorded together in 1983, scoring a hit duet with "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love." Flack spent the remainder of the '80s touring and performing, often with orchestras, and also several times with Miles Davis. She returned to the Top Ten once more in 1991 with "Set the Night to Music," a duet with Maxi Priest that appeared that year on the album of the same name. Her Roberta full-length, featuring interpretations of jazz and popular standards, followed in 1995. ---Steve Huey

Roberta Flack (ur. 10 lutego 1937 w Asheville) – amerykańska wokalistka śpiewająca jazz, soul i folk. Ukończyła Howard University w Waszyngtonie.

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