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30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Quiet Fire, March 13, 2003
Every so often in the music industry, there is a alarming call for the need of quiet storm in the industry. I sometimes don't know why, but it is just that when a kind of format like Corporate Pop and Branded Hip Hop of people like Eminem, and 50 Cent, gets so overexposed it is sometimes nice to go back to the original flame in the industry that people have said died years ago. In the case, Roberta Flack is a safe flame. Her elegant voice is just one of the most unbelieveable ones I've recently heard, and it is just amazing.Her Greatest Hits collection, Softly With These Songs, is a true revival of one of the most dynamic eras of our lives, the 1970's. With her elegant voice, Roberta has crafted some of the most beautiful songs in the industry. Songs like, Tonight I Celebrate My Love For You, My Foolish Heart, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, and Set The Night To Music. The songs are still as vital in this industry that a lot of people have kind of ignored for several years, until Norah Jones came along with Come Away With Me. Still, Roberta's voice is just one of the most elegant as you could expect from a talented diva. Unfortuately, I gave the collection a 3, because it wasn't remastered very well. The music is great, but when they said remastered on the back of it, it seemed to be a joke at first. Hopefully, another Greatest Hits Collection should come out with Roberta Flack soon. In the meantime, enjoy the quiet fire.
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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Flack Chronicles Versatile 30-Year Career w/"These Songs", October 21, 2000
Softly, gently, but persistently, Roberta Flack has spent more than half her life (she recently turned 60) creating a versatile body of work covering singer-songwriter pop, jazz balladry, and romantic R&B duets.The most intriguing among "These Songs" are its first half-dozen, which placed Ms. Flack's atop the charts and Grammy nomination lists. "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," (featuring Ron Carter's near-perfect bass and featured in "Play Misty For Me"), Goffin-King's "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow," Lori Lieberman's "Killing Me Softly With His Song," and Flack's own "Feel Like Makin' Love" are sparsely arranged, richly sung songs of infatuation and vulnerability to lovers or even to music's seductive power. (Lieberman wrote "Killing Me Softly" after seeing Don McLean in concert). Philadelphian and jazz historian Joel Dorn's production on "Killing Me Softly," Flack's biggest hit and a Grammy-winner, is notable. Listen to Flack's voice slowly enter echo at the song introduction, or to her wordless singing before the last chorus. What strikes you most, especially amid today's overemotive divas, is Flack's restraint with the confessional lyrics. Little wonder her music sold beyond the era's R&B balladeers to fans of Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon, and other singer-songwriters. While "Softly's" first half is its most familiar, the rest of the set has more than its share of highlights. Flack was an empathetic duet partner who scored hits across three decades with reggae's Maxi Priest (Diane Warren's 1991 "Set The Night To Music") Peabo Bryson ("Tonight I Celebrate My Love," along with two 1980 live collaborations with Marcus Miller and Luther Vandross) and her classic 1970s duets with Donny Hathaway. You also get "And So It Goes" (co-written with Maya Angelou!) and the gentle Bacharach-Sager title song from the 1982 film "Making Love." Sadly, Flack and many singers she influenced (Brenda Russell, Anita Baker, Sade) have been heard from little lately; even their older songs are restricted to "smooth jazz" or "groovin' oldies" radio. But despite missing one or two chart hits ("If Ever I See You Again" most notably) "Softly With These Songs" comprehensively collects the best from this genre-bridging artist and is essential to any 70s music collection.
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28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Roberta Compilation Disc...But Where Are the Lyrics?, June 12, 2002
This is a great Roberta Flack Compilaion Disc with most of her most memorable hit songs from the 1970s to the 1990s. Since this disc clocks in a full 76 minutes and 29 seconds, it is not possible to fit in any more classic hit songs ("Jesse," "If I Ever See You Again," "You've Got a Friend," come to mind.) I am happy with all the selections presented on this disc.However, my only gripe with this package is the absence of any lyrics. No write-up of Roberta's music career. The 10-page foldout booklet only devoted 2 1/2 pages to the song listing - the other 7 1/2 pages are all black & white photos of Roberta that amount to no significance of anything. All these wasted space should be devoted to lyrics and background write-up. Given the quality of these songs and the full use of the space on the CD, it still deserves a five-star rating. Highly recommended.
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