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Quiet Fire (Roberta Flack album)

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Quiet Fire
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 1971
Recorded1971
Studio
GenreSoul, gospel[1]
Length41:37
LabelAtlantic
ProducerJoel Dorn
Roberta Flack chronology
Chapter Two
(1970)
Quiet Fire
(1971)
Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway
(1972)
Singles from Quiet Fire
  1. "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow / Go Up Moses"
    Released: December 7, 1971

Quiet Fire is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Roberta Flack, released in November 1971 by Atlantic Records.[1] It was recorded at Atlantic Recording Studios, Regent Studios, and The Hit Factory in New York City.[2] The album peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape, and its single "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" charted at number 76 on the Hot 100.[3]

At the 15th Annual Grammy Awards, the album secured Roberta Flack a nomination for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female. However, the award went to Helen Reddy for I Am Woman.

Critical reception

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In a contemporary review for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau gave Quiet Fire a "C", writing that Flack occasionally "sounds kind, intelligent, and very likable, but she often exhibits the gratuitous gentility you'd expect of anyone who said 'between you and I.'"[4] In a retrospective review, The Rolling Stone Album Guide (1992) gave it two out of five stars and claimed it "barely sparks at all".[5] AllMusic's Stephen Cook was more enthusiastic, giving it four-and-a-half out of five stars and calling it "one of Flack's best". He believed its "varied mix all comes off sounding seamless" while writing: "Forgoing the full-throttled delivery of, say, Aretha Franklin, Flack translates the pathos of gospel expression into measured intensity and sighing, elongated phrases."[1]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Go up Moses"Flack, Jesse Jackson, Joel DornJoel Dorn5:20
2."Bridge over Troubled Water"Paul SimonJoel Dorn7:13
3."Sunday and Sister Jones"Gene McDanielsJoel Dorn4:48
4."See You Then"Jimmy WebbJoel Dorn3:40
5."Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow"Carole King, Gerry GoffinJoel Dorn3:59
6."To Love Somebody"Barry Gibb, Robin GibbJoel Dorn6:41
7."Let Them Talk"Sonny ThompsonJoel Dorn3:50
8."Sweet Bitter Love"Van McCoyJoel Dorn6:06

Personnel

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Musicians

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Production

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  • Rod Bristow – photography
  • Deodato – horn arrangements, string arrangements
  • Joel Dorn – producer
  • William Eaton – horn arrangements, string arrangements
  • Ira Friedlander – cover design
  • Lewis Hahn – engineer
  • Bruce Tergesen – engineer

Charts

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Chart (1972) Peak
position[3]
U.S. Billboard Jazz LPs 5
U.S. Billboard Soul LPs 4
U.S. Billboard Top LPs & Tape 18

References

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  1. ^ a b c Cook, Stephen. "Quiet Fire - Roberta Flack". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved November 30, 2012.
  2. ^ "Roberta Flack - Quiet Fire CD Album". CD Universe. Muze. Retrieved November 30, 2012.
  3. ^ a b "Quiet Fire - Roberta Flack : Awards". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved November 30, 2012.
  4. ^ Christgau, Robert (January 20, 1972). "Consumer Guide (23)". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved November 30, 2012.
  5. ^ Anthony DeCurtis, James Henke, Holly George-Warren (October 27, 1992). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. p. 248. ISBN 0679737294.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)