Roberta Flack - Chapter Two (1970) Atlantic, Specialty Records Corporation pressing

 

I've already sung the praises of Roberta Flack when I reviewed her next album after this one, Quiet Fire. Chapter Two was her second album after the breakout success of First Take, and it follows essentially the same formula that continued on with Quiet Fire: she opens with a righteously funky track with spiritual overtones, in this case "Reverend Lee" about the sexual temptations of the flesh, before settling into quieter but delicately beautiful ballads for the rest of the album, many of them thoughtful reworkings of well-known standards. Here she tackles Dylan's "Just Like a Woman," Buffy St. Marie's "Until It's Time for You to Go," and two of the corniest standards of the 1960s--"Let It Be Me" and "The Impossible Dream." Perhaps this is why allmusic.com gave this LP just 4 stars, whereas First Take got 5 and Quiet Fire received 4½. But it's a testament to Flack's gifts as a performer and Donnie Hathaway's and Eumir Deodato's as arrangers that these two schlocky bromides are turned from ugly ducklings into swans. I wouldn't go so far as to say they are my favorite tracks on the album, but just making them not embarrassing is a monumental achievement, and they actually fit in well with the other selections here in terms of tone and style. The album closes with a somber and cynical anti-war dirge "Business Goes On as Usual" that is just as fitting today as it was 50 years ago. In short, though this record may be the lowest rated of her first four albums, it is just as essential.

Like my copy of Quiet Fire, this is another Specialty Records Corporation pressing, designated by an "SP" at the end of the label code on both the Side 1 and Side 2 labels. I thought the audio fidelity of this record was actually better than on my copy of Quiet Fire, and I did not notice any wow and flutter issues as with the other record. Generally, I have not found Atlantic releases from this era to be OK but not exceptional, though I don't own any Monarch pressings and perhaps that would change things. Still, this is a nice-sounding record I can see myself enjoying on repeated listens.

Do I Really Need This record?  Now that Rick Wakeman's Journey to the Centre of the Earth has left the 1970s vinyl record section, I have room for this one to squeeze in, and since it completes my run of Flack's first four solo LPs, clearly the high point of her career, this is an essential addition.