Search - Roberta Flack :: Killing Me Softly

CD Version Of A 1973 Atlantic LP

07/14/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"When this album came out in August 1973 as Atlantic 19154 it quickly became a best-seller, containing two songs that were also hit singles, albeit slightly different from the LP versions heard here.



The first was Killing Me Softly With His Song, inspired by the effect a Don McLean performance had on singer/songwriter Lori Lieberman (although it was written by Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox), which peaked at # 1 Billboard Pop Hot 100 and # 2 on each of the R&B and Adult Contemporary (AC) charts early in 1973. The other is Jesse, written by Janis Ian, which finished at # 3 AC/# 19 R&B/# 30 Hot 100 in October 1973 b/w No Tears (In The End), which is also included here.



In 1995, at the dawning of the CD age, it was common for the big U.S. distributors such as Sony and Universal to digitally remaster many of the top vinyl albums and, as a consequence, the market was flooded with 8- to 12-track CDs, which also carried a hefty price at the time. Most have dropped considerably in that regard (including this one) as competition from distributors in the U.K. and other parts of Europe (where they have different copyright laws) entered the market. These, invariably, often have upwards of 28 tracks with vastly-improved sound reproduction techniques employed, AND copious liner notes and discographies.



This one has absolutely nothing in the way of informative notes but, if what you're looking for is merely a quality replacement for that old LP then by all means this will fill the bill, and at a reasonable cost. Otherwise, search around for more recent Roberta Flack compilations that will give you these and many more of her biggest numbers.



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