| First Take | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 20, 1969 | |||
| Recorded | February 24–26, 1969 | |||
| Studio | Atlantic, New York City | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 46:08 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Producer | Joel Dorn | |||
| Roberta Flack chronology | ||||
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| Singles from First Take | ||||
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First Take is the debut studio album by the American singer Roberta Flack. It was released on June 20, 1969, by Atlantic Records. In the 2020 edition of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, the album was ranked 451st.
After a track from First Take, "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 albums 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.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [2] |
| Pitchfork | 9.5/10 [3] |
First Take was released universal acclaim. In the 2020 edition of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, the album was ranked number 451. [4] AllMusic editor John Bush rated the album five out of five stars. He felt that First Take "introduced a singer who'd assimilated the powerful interpretive talents of Nina Simone and Sarah Vaughan, the earthy power of Aretha Franklin, and the crystal purity and emotional resonance of folksingers like Judy Collins. Indeed, the album often sounded more like vocal jazz or folk than soul [...] No soul artist had ever recorded an album like this, making First Take one of the most fascinating soul debuts of the era." [2]
Julius Lester, writing for Rolling Stone , found that First Take was "one of those rare albums that has the power to enlighten the emotional content of one's life. You feel the world differently after listening to it." [5] Pitchfork 's Elizabeth Nelson wrote: "Recorded over a period of just 10 hours, the future star’s breakthrough 1969 debut captured her idiosyncratic mix of soul, jazz, and folk and her singular vision as a bandleader [...] Recorded in the violent blinding flash of a moment when absolutely nothing seemed certain. "And it would last 'til the end of time," she sang. So it has." [3]
In 2019, Flack's website 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. [6] 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]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Compared to What" | Gene McDaniels | 5:16 |
| 2. | "Angelitos Negros" |
| 6:56 |
| 3. | "Our Ages or Our Hearts" |
| 6:09 |
| 4. | "I Told Jesus" | Traditional | 6:09 |
| 5. | "Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye" | Leonard Cohen | 4:08 |
| 6. | "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" | Ewan MacColl | 5:22 |
| 7. | "Tryin' Times" |
| 5:08 |
| 8. | "Ballad of the Sad Young Men" | 7:00 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9. | "Compared to What" (single edit) | McDaniels | 4:37 |
| 10. | "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" (single edit) | MacColl | 4:20 |
| 11. | "Trade Winds" |
| 5:37 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "All the Way" (live) | 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 | 5:33 |
| 6. | "Afro Blue" | 9:21 | |
| 7. | "It's Way Past Suppertime" |
| 3:53 |
| 8. | "Frankie and Johnny" | Traditional | 7:15 |
| 9. | "On the Street Where You Live" | 2:45 | |
| 10. | "The House Song" |
| 5:54 |
| 11. | "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" | Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson | 3:25 |
| 12. | "The Song Is Love" |
| 5:20 |
| 13. | "To Sir with Love" | 8:27 |
Performers and musicians
Technical
| Chart (1969) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [8] | 17 |
| UK Albums (OCC) [9] | 47 |
| US Billboard 200 [10] | 1 |
| US Top Jazz Albums (Billboard) [11] | 3 |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [12] | 1 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada) [13] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| United States (RIAA) [14] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
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The album is a total stunner, a florid and lovely jazz-folk meditation...
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