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Set The Night To Music

Roberta Flack - Set The Night To Music Audio CD

A fair review of the Roberta Flack "Set The Night To Music" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Roberta Flack reviews here, or go back to the Roberta Flack tabs.

Band: Roberta Flack
Title: Set The Night To Music
Rating:

Release Date: 1991-09-17
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Waiting Game 2: Set the Night to Music - Roberta Flack, Maxi Priest 3: When Someone Tears Your Heart in Two 4: Something Your Heart Has Been Telling Me 5: You Make Me Feel Brand New 6: Unforgettable 7: Summertime 8: Natural Thing 9: My Foolish Heart 10: Friend 11: Always

A decent 3 star album - a good budget bin find
Her albums tend to be a little uneven. I have always enjoyed Roberta Flack's voice. This one is enjoyable all the way through, but is a little frustrating knowing how talented she really is. The title track was a fun song to hear on the radio. It is a light pop/rock number and a duet with Maxi Priest (who actually sounds good here!). A couple of songs on the first half of the album are obvious lightrock fodder - nicely performed but not terribly exciting.

As for the remakes, she does a wonderful job on "Foolish Heart" giving it an updated Manhattan Transfer style arrangement. Her reading of "Always" is breathtaking. Please note that "Summertime" is not the old standard but a Leonard Cohen song which is also pleasant.

The only clunker is "Unforgettable. " She probably should not have included it on the album with the Natalie Cole version still fresh in our ears. I think Flack's version is a duet and who ever sings with her is awful.

The ballad "Friend" is a nice, simple Flack production which she is best known for.

To me, Ms. Flack's weaknesses are a tendency to sometimes sound overly cute on certain songs (ie "I'd Like To Be Baby to You" from "Blue Lights in The Basement"). She pretty much avoids that on this album, but there are still some undercurrents of that style on some of the songs.

I wouldn't have paid full price for this, but I found it in a Used Bin for $2 and it was worth the price. Some of the songs on this album sound better mixed in with other music.

Anyway, if you spot an inexpensive copy and are curious, check it out. It is a decent listen.
.

Great voice, disappointing arrangements
Who can argue that? That's why I was so disappointed by this colelction of songs. Robert Flack has a beautiful voice. It would have been lovely if she had recorded them with a more traditional and orchestral arrangement. The pop synthesizer sound of the songs hear just don't work. It pains me to say that.

Roberta Flack is a wonderful chanteuse. I gave this 3 stars which is generous. Her voice is the only thing that may redeem this album.

Pity Roberta's vocals are buried beneath the production
There are critics who think it's about half successful (eg, Rolling Stone) and some who think it's her worst showing to date (eg, Music Hound). "Set The Night To Music" may yet be Roberta Flack's most controversial album. Having ingested the album and struggled with my own assesment of it, I have to conclude that they're both half right. . . depending on how you're listening to it. STNTM consists of an odd mixture of classics, standards and new songs all given the heavily synthesised programmed music treatment of the 90s. . . and therein lies the problem. The material is mostly though not always fine. The title track by hack writer Diane Warren is formula music but gave her a Top 10 hit. Her version of "My Foolish Heart" is the one cover that truly works because the producers had the good sense to let Roberta's performance carry the song and shine through. "Friend", a lovely throwaway number, is another high point. These all too rare moments aside, Roberta's gorgeous vocals are given the soft focus treatment and buried beneath layers of sterile programmed music that sadly detracts from her performances. Had "Unforgettable" and "Summertime" been given room to breathe, they would have fulfilled their potential but sadly didn't. "You Make Me Feel Brand New", underarranged, undersung and underinterpreted, is a pointless cover. Listening to STNTM is a frustrating experience for me. I have developed a love/hate relationship with it. Mostly hate. It works when played as background music while you work but doesn't bear serious listening because it only makes you wish Roberta had sent the session musicians with their programmed music excess packing and hired a more sensitive live band to back her. What an album that might have been !.

Roberta is great!
I just dug it out behind all my more recent CD's and fell in love all over again with Roberta Flack's heart. I love this album. If you have a good friend, you will want to serenade them with her track entitled, "Friend". It ranks up there with JT's "You've Got A Friend". "Summertime" is so upbeat and fun it makes you think of watermelons and the beach in the midst of the bluest chill. "Set the Night to Music" is the perfect romance tune. This CD really has it all and I highly recommend it. I am ordering one right now to send to a dear friend. Order one for yourself and a friend!.

A very personal review
I must confess that the pop sound of songs such as her version of Unforgettable didn't particularly appeal to me. The first time I listened to this album, I was not very impressed. However, Roberta Flack has this gift that true artist have that makes them go straight to your heart. It may be slowly or fast, but she gets to you. It's one of those things that you cannot explain very well without moving your hands a lot. But definitely, it has to do with the way she sings. Consider the song Summertime (which, by the way, it's not the one written by Gershwin). Take Roberta out of this song and you get another regular adult-contemporary radio tune. Now put her back in the song and listen again. What you get is a song that will make you stop and listen. What is it? I don't know, just listen to the song and surely you'll know what I mean.

Although I still don't like her version of Unforgettable, I do like this CD as a whole. To me, it's like taking a walk alone on a grey day: it can be very nice if you are in the mood for it.

You can see a complete list of all Roberta Flack discography, or go back to the Roberta Flack tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.