Track Listing

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

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25226 in Music
• Released on: 1995-09-19
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Customer Reviews

Amazing, incredible, powerful voice.
Like one other reviewer, Roberta Flack is my all time favorite vocalist. Her voice is nothing short of magical. It can be soft and gentle and powerful. On this album, she shows both ends of her spectrum.

I saw her in concert, now some twenty five years ago. It was like no other concert I have ever seen in life, before or since. She was magical, from the very first moment she came out onto the stage with one word: "Hello". From that moment, she had the audience in the palm of her hands.

Clint Eastwood may not have discovered her, but he sure gave her a wider audience by including her signature song "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" in his dark movie, "Play Misty For Me". It was a classic, and propetic; the first time ever I heard her voice I knew that I was hearing something unlike anything I had ever heard before.

Along with that wonderful piece, this album includes "That's No Way To Say Goodbye", and "Tryin' Times". These works sure make this album worth having. Her voice is a gem, to be treasured.

The rumor was, back in the day, that Roberta Flack could make good music when she was happy, but could only make great music when she was unhappy. I am ashamed to say it, but if this is true, an awful lot of her fans sure got a lot of pleasure as a result of her pain. For her sacrifice, we owe her a great debt, and hopes for her happiness.

"First Take" still takes first place!
Here is one of those albums so pure in its artistry that it stands as one of the finest examples of what "less is more" truly means. But it wasn't until I saw Roberta in person that I understood the power of her connection with an audience. And visa versa. It was 1972, still early in her trajectory, and she had sold out what was one of her biggest concerts to date at the H.I.C arena in Honolulu. At the last minute, she fell ill and everyone had the option of getting their money back or keeping their ticket till she rescheduled several months later. No one was surprised that everyone held on to their ticket, but no one was prepared for what happened when she finally appeared. So enraptured was the audience that the second her foot hit the stage she received a standing ovation that simply would not stop. Not when she finally gave up bowing and sat down at her piano, and not when she finally buried her face in her hands and simply wept. It was the most profoundly moving concert moment I have ever seen - and she hadn't even sung a note! Such was, and is, the power of Roberta Flack and "First Take." Everything that has been written here is accurate; but, strangely, no one mentioned the one track that, for my money, is the most powerful, "Ballad of the Sad Young Men," which has only become more poignant with the added tragedy of AIDS. If ever there was an album that defines musical excellence, it would have to be the one that got its name when it was recorded on its "First Take." But when you do it right the first time, one take is all you need, isn't it?

- Steven B. Williams, Los Angeles

Roberta Flack's First Is Her Best
"First Take" is Roberta Flack's best album. Listening to it, you can see why she created a real stir in her early days. Intelligence, artistry, a jazz AND folk sensibility, deeply held passion, and spirituality are just a few words to describe what that amazing brand new voice was bringing to the table. It must've been amazing to hear her in a small club in those days before she hit it big and got somewhat swallowed up by that great big pop maw. "Compared To What" is a fine opener to an album that keeps a very organic and sustained tone throughout, but the real payoff here is "I Told Jesus". Absolutely mind-blowing, it will take you someplace that will send shivers up and down your spine. Listen to it in a darkened room alone with your - and her - thoughts.