First Take (album)

First Take
Studio album by Roberta Flack
Released	June 20, 1969 (1969-06-20)
Recorded	February 24–26, 1969
Studio	Atlantic Studios, New York City
Genre	Vocal jazz, soul, R&B
Length	46:08
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Joel Dorn
Roberta Flack chronology
First Take (1969) Chapter Two (1970)
Singles from First Take
"Compared to What / Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye" Released: August 14, 1969 "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face / Trade Winds" Released: January 24, 1972

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Rolling Stone	(favorable)

First Take is the debut album by the American soul singer Roberta Flack. It was released in 1969 on 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 with the song becoming a #1 hit in the United States, this album became #1 on the U.S. album chart.

Track listing

1. "Compared to What" (Gene McDaniels) - 5:16
2. "Angelitos Negros" (Andrés Eloy Blanco, Manuel Álvarez Maciste) - 6:56
3. "Our Ages or Our Hearts" (Robert Ayers, Donny Hathaway) - 6:09
4. "I Told Jesus" (Traditional; arranged by Roberta Flack) - 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" (Donny Hathaway, Leroy Hutson) - 5:08
8. "Ballad of the Sad Young Men" (Fran Landesman, Tommy Wolf) - 7:00

Personnel

• Roberta Flack - piano, vocals
• Bucky Pizzarelli - guitars
• Ron Carter - bass
• Ray Lucas - drums, percussion
• Seldon Powell, Frank Wess - saxophone
• Charles McCracken, George Ricci - cello
• Benny Powell - trombone
• Jimmy Nottingham, Joe Newman - trumpet
• Emanuel Green, Gene Orloff - violin
• Alfred Brown, Selwart Clarke, Theodore Israel - viola
• William S. Fischer - horn & string arrangements, string conducting

Technical

• William Arlt - recording engineer
• Bob Liftin - remixing engineer
• Robert Honablue - additional engineering
• Stanislaw Zagorski - design
• Ken Heinen - photography

Chart positions

Chart (1972)	Peak position
Billboard Top LPs	1
Billboard Top Soul Albums	1
Billboard Jazz Albums	3

Single

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1972	"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"	Billboard Adult Contemporary	1
1972	"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"	Billboard Pop Singles	1
1972	"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"	Billboard Soul Singles	4

See also

• List of number-one albums of 1972 (U.S.)
• List of number-one R&B albums of 1972 (U.S.)

External links

• "First Take" at discogs