First Take 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 Billboard album chart and Billboard R&B album chart; furthermore, the single topped the chart for the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1972sleeper 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] 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]
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 Salter5:37
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 Arnold3:53 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 Bannard5:54 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
Technical William Arlt – recording engineer
Bob Liftin – remixing engineer
Stanislaw Zagorski – design
Ken Heinen – photography
^ 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 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 .
