Track Listing

1. First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
2. Will You Love Me Tomorrow
3. Where Is the Love?
4. Killing Me Softly With His Song
5. Feel Like Makin' Love
6. Closer I Get to You
7. More Than Everything
8. Only Heaven Can Wait (For Love)
9. Back Together Again
10. Making Love
11. Tonight I Celebrate My Love
12. Oasis
13. And So It Goes
14. You Know What It's Like
15. Set the Night to Music
16. My Foolish Heart
17. Uh-Uh Ooh-Ooh Look Out (Here It Comes) (Steve Hurley's House Mix)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30774 in Music
• Released on: 1993-06-22
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
As an interpreter of other people's material, Roberta Flack was peerless, capable of investing even sugary trifles like "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" and "Feel Like Makin' Love" with a rare warmth and sensuality. And when given something worthy of her talents--"Killing Me Softly With His Song", for example--she positively shone; her reading of Ewan MacColl's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" (the undoubted highlight here) ranks as one of pop's most unforgettable moments, a genuinely transcendent masterpiece. But times change, and nowhere is the decline in Flack's artistic fortunes more evident than in her choice of collaborator: from her work in the 1970s with the brilliant Donny Hathaway (who duets here on "Where Is The Love" and "Back Together Again"), through the 1980s, and the wretched Peabo Bryson ("Tonight, I Celebrate My Love"), right up to the obligatory "House Mix" of "Uh-Uh Ooh-Ooh Look Out (Here It Comes)", a moronic slice of euro-disco. Yet despite the paucity of the material, that voice could still melt a glacier. --Andrew McGuire

CD Description
'The Best Of Roberta Flack' contains 17 light jazz-soul tracks performed by the North Carolina born artist who found fame with the 1972 hit, 'The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face'.Three UK top ten hits are featured here - 'Killing Me Softly With His Song', 'Tonight I Celebrate My Love' and 'Back Together Again'. Each track has been digitally remastered by Joe Gastwirt at Ocean View Digital.

Customer Reviews

Many great tracks, but 70s work under-represented
This collection covers Roberta Flack's work from the late 1960s to the early 90s, with the emphasis not surprisingly being on her hit singles. Covering such a long period in one CD is however inevitably difficult and a double album or box set would do her work much better justice.

What made Roberta distinctive at the start of the 70s was her slow, jazz and classical influenced interpretations of other people's songs, but in the 80s she rather left this style behind and veered towards the territory of disco and anonymous soul-by-numbers sentimental ballads. This change may perhaps have brought her more commercial success, hence the emphasis on this period. However, in my opinion her work in the 70s was far more distinctive and memorable. Six excellent songs from the early days appear - including the full-length version of The first time ever, and the B-side of that 1972 single, a beautiful version of Will you still love me tomorrow - but numerous other great tracks, some of which were singles, are missed - You've got a friend, Don't make me wait too long, Jesse, Just like a woman, and This time I'll be sweeter to name just a few.

In comparison with the above-named, most of the tracks after 1980 are pretty forgettable, even though some were hits. However, for dedicated fans of Roberta, they are still worth hearing just for her beautiful voice.

Goosebumps......
...Thats what I felt when I first heard 'The first time ever I saw your face'. I told my friend who was scanning the tracks at the time, some years ago to leave it and I have been hooked on her ever since. She has an amazing voice.

I totally agree with 'A music fan from London'. There is very little real talent out there nowadays (JK is brill) that I just listen to the real old school now. Great album!!!

All the essentials
Roberta Flack had two monster American number one hits in 1972 with First time ever I saw your face (a cover of a song that Ewan MacColl wrote about his wife, Peggy Seeger) and Killing me softly with his song (a song inspired by a Don McLean concert). These two classics were somewhat less successful in Britain although Roberta made the UK top ten with Killing me softly.

Roberta also recorded some excellent duets with Donny Hathaway, most notably Where is the love and Back together again, but Donny committed suicide in 1979 so their musical partnership ended unexpectedly. Roberta eventually found another partner, Peabo Bryson, with whom she had a major international hit, Tonight I celebrate my love. It was actually her biggest British hit, peaking at number two.

Given the incredible success that Roberta had in 1972, it is perhaps surprising that she had only patchy success thereafter, but the best moments of her career are captured on this outstanding compilation, which contains all the Roberta Flack tracks that most people will ever want.