Roberta Flack – Misplaced Takes
(Arc Data 004. Double LP. Vinyl overview by Phil Johnson)

First time on vinyl for these 9 demo tracks recorded six months earlier than Flack’s 1969 million-selling debut album on Atlantic, ‘First Takes’. What’s instantly obvious (when you overcome the DJ’s nightmare and modify the pace in your turntable to 45 rpm for the primary of two 180g discs) is how full a bundle the good singer and pianist, then 21 years previous and a current pupil of Howard College in Washington DC, already was.

It could even be clear to Atlantic – who had been tipped to her abilities by the singer and pianist Les McCann, who had seen her carry out in DC – the place her business strengths lay. The bouncy present tunes and supper membership fare (‘On the Road The place You Reside’; ‘This May very well be the Begin of One thing’), whereas displaying off her swinging vocal expertise, stay primarily generic; however when the tempo slows to a crawl, and that Nina Simone and Shirley Horn-influenced symbiosis of voice and keys begins to work its magic, it’s a direct knock-out.

Her lifeless gradual therapy of ’No one Is aware of You When You’re Down and Out’, opening solo earlier than being joined by her band of Marshall Hawkins on bass and Bernard Sweeney on drums, is actual head-turning stuff. Between that, and the lullaby ‘Hush-A-Bye’, which follows, you may see the place ’The First Time Ever I Noticed Your Face’ – the stand-out single from ‘First Take’ – is coming from.

‘Frankie and Johnny’, which opens the second of the 2 LPs, is one other knock-out, the place we get a extra clearly soulful Roberta, with a half-rapped vocal and a steadily rising sense of depth. After that it’s ice following hearth once more, with the gorgeous calm and picked up ‘The Home Track’ (co-written by Noel Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary, who additionally co-wrote ‘The Track is Love’, the album’s penultimate observe) earlier than a terrific model of ‘Ain’t No Mountain Excessive Sufficient’ turns the warmth up once more.

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In case you’d be blissful by no means to listen to one other model of ‘To Sir With Love’ (really a good tune, written by Don Black and Mark London for the movie of the identical title and a giant hit for Lulu, later lined brilliantly by Al Inexperienced), Roberta’s model is one other thoroughgoing reinvention: it’s lifeless gradual once more, the strain on the keys getting heavier by the second because it progresses to a grand finale, casting the tune as a deeply mournful lament whereas showcasing these completely gorgeous pipes. An equally thorough reinvention of King Floyd’s ‘Groove Me’ closes the present as soulfully as you can want for, maybe reinforcing the sense that regardless of her nice success Roberta Flack couldn’t assist however be over-shadowed by the unparalleled depth of Aretha Franklin, with Atlantic realising her potential because the anti-Aretha, and emphasising her cool and classical ice-queen aspect.

The model of ‘Afro Blue’ – the existence of which first attracted Arc label boss Gilles Peterson to the potential for a vinyl reissue – with Mongo Santamaria’s tune (later lined by John Coltrane) given lyrics by Oscar Brown, is barely diminished by bass and drums solos, however ‘It’s Approach Previous Suppertime’ – written by Roberta’s champion Les McCann, the excellent soul-jazz determine who has simply died, at 88 – is one other cool and classical success. General, the tracks – recorded on November 19 and 20, 1968 at RCA Studios in New York Metropolis, and produced by Joel Dorn of Atlantic, who was a key affiliate of Les McCann – sound completely nice. And Roberta Flack, now 86, and who introduced in 2022 she won’t sing once more, is revealed to have been a real star from the very get-go. Insightful sleeve notes by Concord Vacation add context to the music.

LINK: Misplaced Takes from Bandcamp