Roberta Flack Completes Beatles Album, First Single Drops This Week

[jobeterob]

Roberta Flack Completes Beatles Album, First Single Drops This Week
September 26, 2011
By Gail Mitchell, Los Angeles
Legendary singer Roberta Flack is completing her first album in more than eight years. Scheduled for early February 2012, the project-a collection of Beatles classics-will be released through 429 Records/Sony ATV Music Publishing and Flack's RAS Records. Lead single "We Can Work It Out" will become available worldwide exclusively at iTunes on Sept. 27.

Last seen performing a duet with Maxwell at the 2010 Grammy Awards, Flack collaborated on her new album with producer Sherrod Barnes and contributing producers Jerry Barnes and Barry Miles. "My passion for the project comes from the magical genius of the greatest songwriters of all time," says the four-time Grammy winner in a statement. "Love, inspiration, friendship and my own life's lessons come together when I sing the songs they created."

Best known for such hits as "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and "Killing Me Softly" and her 1969 breakthrough debut album "First Take," Flack continues to tour worldwide and is also planning a new tour next year. She founded the Roberta Flack School of Music in Bronx, NY in 2006.

429 Records/Sony ATV and RAS will release Flack's yet-untitled album worldwide, while Sony Music will issue the album in Japan. 429 Records is a division of the Savoy Label Group, headed by president Steve Vining. Sony/ATV, a joint venture between Sony and trusts formed by Michael Jackson, recently acquired the Leiber Stoller and Famous catalogs.

[helga]

While I love me some Roberta Flack, why has everyone been releasing cover albums lately?

[jobeterob]

They are old and beyond their best creative years.

[uptight]

"We Can Work It Out" seems like a good choice as a single for her. I hope it is as uptempo as Stevie Wonder's or Chaka Khan's versions. I'm definitely interested.

[soulster]

Wow! This comes as a complete surprise! I will give this a listen right away...I just listened to it. It's terrible!

[uptight]

Umm. I just listened to a portion of it. Not the uptempo track I had hoped. I'll have to give it some time, and maybe it will grow on me. The music is okay. I'm not sure if they used AutoTune in her voice, but her voice on this reminds me of Akon.

[soulster]

It sounds very uninspired. Chaka Khan's version remains the best, IMO.

[alanh]

I agree - as good as Lennon and McCartney were, the idea's a bit 'old hat'. As far as 'We Can Work It Out' goes - apart from the 'modern' treatment - the arrangement sounds too close to the way Maxine Brown recorded the song in 1966. So all Roberta's version did was make me think of, and go and play Maxine!

[tsull1]

Bad idea. There are tons of tribute Beatles, classical Beatles, jazz Beatles, and even Beatles Beatles albums [[as in the originals). Amazing she would even think of doing this. It's like that due who wrote a very long Beatles book a couple years ago. Why? There are hundreds of Beatles books. The Beatles story -- all of it -- was told decades ago by many people, and it's been played by many people.

If Roberta is struggling in the creativity dept., hire some songwriters, there are some great ones out there today, and even some old war horses who can still write great tunes. Plenty of great producers out there, too.

Someone should've called her off on this, it's not very relevant ... and I love The Beatles.