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First Take

Roberta Flack - First Take Audio CD

A fair review of the Roberta Flack "First Take" 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: First Take
Rating:

Release Date: 1995-09-19
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Compared to What 2: Angelitos Negros 3: Our Ages or Our Hearts 4: I Told Jesus 5: Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye 6: First Time Ever I Saw Your Face 7: Tryin' Times 8: Ballad of the Sad Young Men

Excellent
Ask most people who know anything about her and they'll either mention "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" or "Where Is The Love. Unfortunately for many deep funk fans, Roberta Flack's reputation is as a velvet voiced balladeer. " Of course: that is what got onto AM radio.

But the fact is, Flack could rip it with the hardest of funk singers, and this Eugene McDaniels collaboration debut is ample proof. This album features jazzy funk with tough racial themes. Both accustic and electric bands are used, but what is consistent is funk as genuine as any in 1970

Flack is not quite a belter, but with a voice like her's, that is an asset. What makes her a great singer is her voice itself, not what she does with it. She maintains a natural tone and even when she climbs to the high registers, her singing is simple and clean--why do you think her ballads were never sappy. Listen to "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," and it is what Flack DOESN'T try adding that keeps it from becoming a MOR sap session

If you know the hits congradulations--now get this. If you are a deep funk fan who has dismissed Flack, you, yeah you, you get this too. .

a hard act to follow
The tempo doesn't change much throughout the album, but enough variations in song formats, to
keep the album interesting, as well as beautiful. A 1969 classic! Perhaps, Roberta's best album. Roberta actually sounds, close to, angry on a couple of tracks. "Compared To What" and "Trying Times" are social observations still relevant today. "Angelitos Negros" is sang in Spanish. A beautiful version of Leonard Cohen's ". . No Way To Say Goodbye". plus one of the most beautiful songs ever recorded, ( "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" ) make this album timeless.

Superb Stylist
That kind of gorgeous, leisurely phrasing is well represented by the hit "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," as well as her elegant take on Leonard Cohen's "Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye. If you've ever thought that Roberta Flack's famous "quiet fire" was just about the smooth stylings of most of her hit singles, this album should expand your understanding of the term. "

But if those tracks place the emphasis on the "quiet," other smokier, more smoldering numbers let you know where the "fire" comes in. The opening cut, "Compared to What" is politically charged soul that captures the spirit of hurt, hope and rage of the era perfectly. She approaches the conviction and the cold fire of Nina Simone at her sharpest.

And while she may seem "supper club elegant" a good deal of the time, she can get downright churchy on a number like "I Told Jesus. "

I'm sure there are those who would take issue with me for daring to compare her Spanish number "Angelitos Negros" to Grace Slick's half-Spanish (or half-"Pig-Spanish") "Manhole," but there is something about the timbre of their voices when singing in that language that is startlingly similar. Flack's song is,of course, purer both musically AND linguistically, than the pastiche that Slick comes up with, but both singers are indeed both "cool" and "fiery" simultaneously. And there's something about their singing en espanol that seems to emphasize that similarity. (If only Grace had put as much care into the language as she had put into the elaborate orchestration. ) My Spanish is extremely limited, but Flack's command of the language as it's SUNG seems pretty darn impressive and authoritative.

Roberta Flack's critics sometimes suggest that she sometimes confuses "languor" with "torpor. " A reasonably valid opinion, I suppose, but one that probably reveals more about the listener than the perormer. I'll admit that there are been times when I'm not as up for some of her lengthy mood pieces as I am at others. A song like "Our Ages or Our Hearts" (which seems to bemoan a--gasp!--thirteen year age difference between two adult lovers!)can try my patience. And my first reaction to "The Ballad of the Sad Young Men" was that it was a bit on the mawkish side. But that's just me. And y'know, there are times--late at night--when these songs take on a certain undeniable luster. The same can be said for the entire album.

Somewhere in a Small, Funky Club
The atmosphere is intimate, like Ms. That's the impression I get from this amazing album. Flack is performing just for me. The sound is minimalist but stately and assured. Though there are bass, drums and other instruments accompanying her, Roberta's piano and unique voice are at the forefront of the mix. "First Take" is quite simply an essential CD for any music lover to have. From the political to the personal songs, it's the real deal. The songs that literally bring tears to my eyes are the slower ones such as the incomparably beautiful and moving "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", the powerfully spiritual "I Told Jesus" and the profoundly touching "Ballad Of The Sad Young Men". Roberta gets political with tracks such as the angry "Compared To What" and the frustrated "Tryin' Times". These songs resonate strongly in the current political climate. Before she went into a more pop direction with her massive hit "Killing Me Softly", her sound was jazzy and soulful as heard here. If that sounds appealing then by all means check out "First Take".

THE BEST ALBUM EVER
THIS IS MY FAVORITE ALBUM OF ALL TIME. . EVERY SONG IS GORGEOUS, AND I GUARNATEE YOU WILL NOT BE DISSAPOINTED. I FOUND THE ORGINAL VINTAGE RECORD AT A RANDOM SALE I WENT TO AND FELL IN LOVE. ALTHOUGH I'M ONLY 27, I LOVE GOOD SOUL MUSIC. IF YOU'RE A FAN OF ANGIE STONE, JILL SCOTT OR ANY NEO-SOUL ARTIST THIS IS A MUST HAVE FOR YOUR COLLECTION.

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.