Ugh, I haven’t posted in almost two weeks now, it’s almost like I slept through the holidays. Anyway I’m back now, so let’s get right to it.
Roberta Flack, there’s an amazing singer! I’m not sure why I haven’t written
about her in my women in jazz
series, but I’m
making up for it now. I was introduced to her music by a good friend last year
and I’m still grateful.
Roberta Flack is a singer and a songwriter, born in 1939 and most notably
known for her hits in the 70’s. If you’ve never heard of her, you probably
know her by her famous “Killing Me Softly With His
Song”, which won her a Grammy in
- Another quite renowned song she recorded is “The First Time Ever I Saw
Your Face”.
I don’t care too much for either of these songs and I’m not sure why. I guess they just don’t move me. But I do love and respect Roberta and the reason for that is her first three albums - First Take, Chapter Two
and Quiet Fire
. They’re soft, sophisticated and soulful. In life in general, I appreciate things that slowly build up to their peak, may that be in music, movies, books, shows or food. I feel that if something builds up to its full intensity gradually, it’s much more powerful than it would be, if it was as forceful from the very beginning. And I’m saying this, because I think songs in these albums provide just that - a wonderful slow build-up. That, of course, doesn’t mean there’s not much happening, it means they’re really powerful and strong.
Her music on these albums is like the ocean waves hitting the shore - at first glance it seems slow, quiet and serene but in reality it has so much power and energy.
These three albums are amazing and I highly recommend them. Here are two songs to get a feeling of what kind of music to expect.
Roberta is still creating new music. Just last year she recorded an album Let
It Be Roberta: Roberta Flack Sings The Beatles
. I really like The Beatles and I used to be obsessed with them so when I saw that she made an
album full of their songs I was excited. As soon as I started listening to the
album, the excitement was replaced with disappointment. With the exception of
one song, it’s
an awful album (at least to my ears anyway). You know, how sometimes older
people try to sound young and hip but they end up just sounding awkward? Well
that’s how I feel about this album. It sounds like she did some stuff on it
just because “it’s what young people listen to these days”, instead of doing
her own thing. For the better part of the album I was shaking my head, and
asking myself “why?”. As much as I enjoy Roberta’s early music, this is one
album I probably won’t listen to again.
What do you think? Do you have a Roberta Flack favourite? As always, I really appreciate any kind of comments.