First Take

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Roberta Flack's "First Time I Ever Saw Your Face" was a ubiquitous part of my childhood.  One of those songs that played so constantly, in so many random places, that it had become part of the background, like muzak.  I had stopped hearing it, I'm not sure if I had ever listened to it.  And then I did.  It's so much better than I ever realized.  The entire album is a collection of beautiful and subtle work.  Roberta's voice is wielded like an instrument, both brass and string, woven into the fabric of the music instead of rising above it.  Ron Carter's bass work is amazing, huge and spacious.  His work on "I Told Jesus' along with the strings and horns make the traditional number timeless.

Roberta Flack
First Take
Side 1

Compared to What
Angelitos Negros
Our Ages or Our Hearts
I Told Jesus

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