Roberta Flack - Quiet Fire (1972 Japanese Atlantic Vinyl LP)

Vinyl: VG+
Sleeve: VG+
Obi: None

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Roberta Flack - Quiet Fire | Vinyl LP - 1972 Japanese Atlantic (P-8199A, Warner-Pioneer Corporation)

Flack was a classically trained pianist who had been teaching music at a Washington DC high school before Les McCann heard her playing at Mr. Henry's nightclub in Georgetown and recommended her to Atlantic. Joel Dorn signed her, and Quiet Fire was the third album they made together. It sits between soul, jazz and orchestral pop, and the musicians behind Flack are the reason the album moves so fluidly between those categories. Chuck Rainey and Bernard Purdie lock together on the rhythm tracks with the feel of a band that had been doing three sessions a day across New York's studios. Hugh McCracken's guitar adds warmth without drawing attention. Richard Tee's organ on "Go Up Moses" and "To Love Somebody" sits low in the mix, filling space rather than leading. "Sunday and Sister Jones" (an Eugene McDaniels composition) brings in Joe Farrell on alto and flute alongside Romeo Penque's soprano saxophone and Seldon Powell's tenor, with Buddy Lucas on harmonica and Wally Kane on bassoon, giving the track a woodwind texture closer to a Gil Evans arrangement than a soul record. "See You Then," the Jimmy Webb piece, pairs Hubert Laws and Joe Farrell on flutes with Arif Mardin's string arrangement and Corky Hale's harp.

"Bridge Over Troubled Water" runs past seven minutes with Eumir Deodato's string and voice arrangement building behind Flack's vocal, Cissy Houston (Whitney Houston's mother) and the Newark Boys Chorus singing alongside her. "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" strips down to Flack's piano, Ron Carter's bass and William Eaton's string arrangement, one of the quietest tracks on the album. "To Love Somebody" puts Les McCann (the jazz pianist who first discovered Flack) on backing vocals alongside Eugene McDaniels, Hilda Harris and Tasha Thomas. "Go Up Moses," the album opener, carries a co-writing credit to Jesse Jackson, and its gospel energy sets a tone that runs through the album even when the material shifts to pop standards.

This is the 1972 Japanese pressing on Atlantic P-8199A, made by Warner-Pioneer Corporation.