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1969 studio album by Roberta Flack
First Take is the debut
album by the American
soul singer
Roberta Flack . It was released on June 20, 1969, by
Atlantic Records . After a track from this album, "
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face ", was included by
Clint Eastwood in his 1971 film
Play Misty for Me , and the song became a number-one hit in the United States, causing the album to reach number one on the Billboard album chart and Billboard R&B album chart; furthermore, the single topped the chart for the
Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1972 , possibly the only
sleeper hit to accomplish this. In the 2020 edition of Rolling Stone ' s
500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, the album was ranked number 451.
[5]
In 2019, Flack's website
[6] announced that First Take would be remastered and re-released as a limited deluxe edition of only 3,000 copies commemorating the album's fiftieth anniversary. The set includes one vinyl LP and two compact discs: one CD is the remastered album and the other contains "rare and unreleased recordings". The set was released on July 24, 2020.
[7]
Track listing
Bonus tracks on 2020 anniversary edition CD Title Writer(s) 9. "Compared to What" (single edit) Gene McDaniels 4:37 10. "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" (single edit) Ewan MacColl 4:20 11. "Trade Winds"
Ralph MacDonald , William Salter 5:37
2020 anniversary edition bonus disc Title Writer(s) 1. "
All the Way " (live)
Sammy Cahn ,
James Van Hausen 8:39 2. "
This Could Be the Start of Something "
Steve Allen 1:23 3. "
Groove Me "
King Floyd 4:19 4. "
Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out "
Jimmy Cox 6:24 5. "
Hush-a-Bye " Traditional; arranged by Roberta Flack 5:33 6. "
Afro Blue "
Mongo Santamaría ,
Oscar Brown 9:21 7. "It's Way Past Suppertime"
Les McCann , Vicki Arnold 3:53 8. "
Frankie and Johnny " Traditional; arranged by Roberta Flack 7:15 9. "
On the Street Where You Live "
Alan Jay Lerner ,
Frederick Lowe 2:45 10. "The House Song"
Noel Paul Stookey , Robert Bannard 5:54 11. "
Ain't No Mountain High Enough "
Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson 3:25 12. "The Song Is Love" Dave Dixon, Richard Kniss,
Mary Travers , Noel Paul Stookey,
Peter Yarrow 5:20 13. "
To Sir with Love "
Don Black ,
Mark London 8:27
Personnel
Technical
William Arlt – recording engineer
Bob Liftin – remixing engineer
Stanislaw Zagorski – design
Ken Heinen – photography
Chart positions
Certifications
See also
References
^ Breihan, Tom (February 25, 2019).
"The Number Ones: Roberta Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" " .
Stereogum . Retrieved June 18, 2023 . The album is a total stunner, a florid and lovely jazz-folk meditation...
^ Bush, John.
First Take at
AllMusic
^ Nelson, Elizabeth (26 December 2020).
"Roberta Flack: First Take" .
Pitchfork . Retrieved 27 December 2020 .
^ Lester, Julius.
"Roberta Flack: First Take : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone" .
Rolling Stone . Archived from
the original on 2008-04-02. Retrieved 3 September 2011 .
^
"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" . Rolling Stone . 2020-09-22. Retrieved 2020-10-16 .
^
"Roberta Flack - Singer, Songwriter, Musician" . www.robertaflack.com . Retrieved May 4, 2020 .
^ store.soulmusic.com
https://web.archive.org/web/20210818125821/https://store.soulmusic.com/first-take-50th-anniversary-deluxe-edition-1.html . Archived from
the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved May 4, 2020 . [
title missing ]
^
"Canadian album certifications – Roberta Flack – First Take" .
Music Canada . Retrieved September 23, 2022 .
^
"American album certifications – Roberta Flack – First Take" .
Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved September 23, 2022 .
External links
Studio albums Live albums Soundtrack albums Compilation albums Singles Filmography Related articles