Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
Coming as it did on the heels of Roberta Flack's groundbreaking First Take debut, and devoid of any iconic tracks like that set's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," Chapter Two has long suffered from an undeserved lack of attention that's made it seem like something of a sophomore slump in this legendary singer's catalog. Nothing could be further from the truth. Chapter Two is one of the rawest and most effective demonstrations of Flack's incomparable voice and her equally impressive taste in material and presentation. Opening with the defiantly and intensely sensual "Reverend Lee"—in which Flack deftly threads the needle between sacred and profane—Chapter Two immediately seeks to stake a claim beyond the more genteel and cosmopolitan approach of its predecessor. If First Take was a soulful take on jazz vocals, Chapter Two sets out to explore the bluesier side of that style. Although it exists in a similarly lush milieu, with plenty of horn and string arrangements, Chapter Two is simultaneously more restrained and understated, with a sense of spacious atmospherics and liminal implications; both Flack's voice and the accompanying instrumentation seem as attuned to the sound between the notes as they are to the expertly crafted harmonies and melodies in the foreground. Perhaps this is due to the upgrade in collaborators; those arrangements were all handled by William S. Fischer on First Take, but on Chapter Two, a team of four arrangers is on hand, with Eumir Deodato handling strings and horns, while Donny Hathaway (who also contributes piano) and co-producers King Curtis and Joel Dorn oversee the whole affair. Even the most robustly constructed songs—a slow-galloping take on Jimmy Webb's "Do What You Gotta Do," an appropriately melodramatic version of "The Impossible Dream," a gut-wrenchingly climatic interpretation of the Impressions' "Gone Away"—have an almost ephemeral quality as the production manages to not so much "put you in the room with the performance" as it amplifies the ethereal collision of sophistication and soulfulness that gives these songs so much life. This warmly remastered 50th Anniversary Edition tacks on just one bonus track, but it's a doozy: an incredible version of Joni Mitchell's rejected theme for Midnight Cowboy, a song which is otherwise unreleased except for a version that Flack produced for soul singer Donal Leace's 1972 Atlantic album. © Jason Ferguson/Qobuz
More info
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From 12.49€/month
Eric Gale, Guitar - Gene Orloff, Strings - Tosha Samaroff, Strings - Max Pollikoff, Strings - Garnett Brown, Horn - LEW HAHN, RecordingEngineer, RemixingEngineer - King Curtis, Producer - Donny Hathaway, Arranger, Piano - Frank Wess, Horn - Roberta Flack, Vocals, MainArtist - Joel Dorn, Producer - Ernie Royal, Horn - Ray Lucas, Drums - Warren Smith, Percussion - Eugune McDaniels, Writer - Trevor Lawrence, Horn - George Marge, Horn - Alfred Brown, Strings - John Frosk, Horn - Emanuel Green, Strings - Selwart Clarke, Strings - Leo Kahn, Strings - Chauncey Welsh, Horn - Charles Rainey, Bass - Peter Buonconsiglio, Strings - Max Kahn, Strings - Arnold Block, Strings - John Glasell, Horn - Luis Eley, Strings - Raoul Poliakian, Strings - Seymour Myroff, Strings
Marketed by Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company., © 1970 Atlantic Recording Corporation, a Warner Music Group Company. All Rights Reserved. Manufactured for & Marketed by Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company., ℗ 1970 Atlantic Recording Corporation, a Warner Music Group Company. All Rights Reserved.
Hubert Laws, Flute - Eumir Deodato, Conductor, String Arranger - Gene Orloff, Strings - LEW HAHN, RecordingEngineer, RemixingEngineer - Jimmy Webb, Writer - Donny Hathaway, Arranger - Marshall Hawkins, Bass - Roberta Flack, Piano, Vocals, MainArtist - Joel Dorn, Producer - Corky Hale, Harp - Terry Plumeri, Bass - Kermit Moore, Strings - Harry Lookofsky, Strings - Sanford Allen, Strings - Selwart Clarke, Strings - Joe Gentle, Flute - Peter Dimitriades, Strings - Joe Malin, Strings - John Swallow, Euphonium - Noel Da Costa, Strings - Bernard Sweetney, Drums
Marketed by Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company., © 1970 Atlantic Recording Corporation, a Warner Music Group Company. All Rights Reserved. Manufactured for & Marketed by Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company., ℗ 1970 Atlantic Recording Corporation, a Warner Music Group Company. All Rights Reserved.
Hubert Laws, Flute - Eumir Deodato, Conductor, String Arranger - Gene Orloff, Strings - LEW HAHN, RecordingEngineer, RemixingEngineer - Bob Dylan, Writer - Donny Hathaway, Arranger - Marshall Hawkins, Bass - Roberta Flack, Piano, Vocals, MainArtist - Joel Dorn, Producer - Corky Hale, Harp - Terry Plumeri, Bass - Kermit Moore, Strings - Harry Lookofsky, Strings - Sanford Allen, Strings - Selwart Clarke, Strings - Joe Gentle, Flute - Peter Dimitriades, Strings - Joe Malin, Strings - John Swallow, Euphonium - Noel Da Costa, Strings - Bernard Sweetney, Drums
Marketed by Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company., © 1970 Atlantic Recording Corporation, a Warner Music Group Company. All Rights Reserved. Manufactured for & Marketed by Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company., ℗ 1970 Atlantic Recording Corporation, a Warner Music Group Company. All Rights Reserved.
Hubert Laws, Flute - Eumir Deodato, Conductor, String Arranger - Gene Orloff, Strings - LEW HAHN, RecordingEngineer, RemixingEngineer - Donny Hathaway, Arranger - Curtis, Writer - Marshall Hawkins, Bass - Roberta Flack, Piano, Vocals, MainArtist - Joel Dorn, Producer - Corky Hale, Harp - Terry Plumeri, Bass - Kermit Moore, Strings - Harry Lookofsky, Strings - Becaud, Writer - Delanoe, Writer - Sanford Allen, Strings - Selwart Clarke, Strings - Joe Gentle, Flute - Peter Dimitriades, Strings - Joe Malin, Strings - John Swallow, Euphonium - Noel Da Costa, Strings - Bernard Sweetney, Drums
Marketed by Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company., © 1970 Atlantic Recording Corporation, a Warner Music Group Company. All Rights Reserved. Manufactured for & Marketed by Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company., ℗ 1970 Atlantic Recording Corporation, a Warner Music Group Company. All Rights Reserved.
Eric Gale, Guitar - Gene Orloff, Strings - Tosha Samaroff, Strings - Max Pollikoff, Strings - Garnett Brown, Horn - LEW HAHN, RecordingEngineer, RemixingEngineer - King Curtis, Producer, Backing Vocals - Donny Hathaway, Arranger, Piano, Backing Vocals, Writer - Curtis Mayfield, Writer - Frank Wess, Horn - Leroy Hutson, Writer - Roberta Flack, Backing Vocals, Lead Vocals, MainArtist - Joel Dorn, Producer - Ernie Royal, Horn - Ray Lucas, Drums - Warren Smith, Percussion - Gene McDaniels, Backing Vocals - Trevor Lawrence, Horn - George Marge, Horn - Alfred Brown, Strings - John Frosk, Horn - Emanuel Green, Strings - Selwart Clarke, Strings - Leo Kahn, Strings - Chauncey Welsh, Horn - Charles Rainey, Bass - Peter Buonconsiglio, Strings - Max Kahn, Strings - Arnold Block, Strings - John Glasell, Horn - Luis Eley, Strings - Raoul Poliakian, Strings - Seymour Myroff, Strings
Marketed by Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company., © 1970 Atlantic Recording Corporation, a Warner Music Group Company. All Rights Reserved. Manufactured for & Marketed by Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company., ℗ 1970 Atlantic Recording Corporation, a Warner Music Group Company. All Rights Reserved.
Hubert Laws, Flute - Eumir Deodato, Conductor, String Arranger - Gene Orloff, Strings - LEW HAHN, RecordingEngineer, RemixingEngineer - Donny Hathaway, Arranger - Marshall Hawkins, Bass - Roberta Flack, Piano, Vocals, MainArtist - Joel Dorn, Producer - Corky Hale, Harp - Terry Plumeri, Bass - Kermit Moore, Strings - Harry Lookofsky, Strings - Buffy Sainte-Marie, Writer - Sanford Allen, Strings - Selwart Clarke, Strings - Joe Gentle, Flute - Peter Dimitriades, Strings - Joe Malin, Strings - John Swallow, Euphonium - Noel Da Costa, Strings - Bernard Sweetney, Drums
Marketed by Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company., © 1970 Atlantic Recording Corporation, a Warner Music Group Company. All Rights Reserved. Manufactured for & Marketed by Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company., ℗ 1970 Atlantic Recording Corporation, a Warner Music Group Company. All Rights Reserved.
Hubert Laws, Flute - Eumir Deodato, Conductor, String Arranger - Gene Orloff, Strings - LEW HAHN, RecordingEngineer, RemixingEngineer - Donny Hathaway, Arranger - Marshall Hawkins, Bass - Roberta Flack, Piano, Vocals, MainArtist - Joel Dorn, Producer - JOE DARION, Writer - Mitch Leigh, Writer - Corky Hale, Harp - Terry Plumeri, Bass - Kermit Moore, Strings - Harry Lookofsky, Strings - Sanford Allen, Strings - Selwart Clarke, Strings - Joe Gentle, Flute - Peter Dimitriades, Strings - Joe Malin, Strings - John Swallow, Euphonium - Noel Da Costa, Strings - Bernard Sweetney, Drums
Marketed by Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company., © 1970 Atlantic Recording Corporation, a Warner Music Group Company. All Rights Reserved. Manufactured for & Marketed by Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company., ℗ 1970 Atlantic Recording Corporation, a Warner Music Group Company. All Rights Reserved.
Hubert Laws, Flute - Eumir Deodato, Conductor, String Arranger - Fred Hellerman, Writer - Gene Orloff, Strings - LEW HAHN, RecordingEngineer, RemixingEngineer - Donny Hathaway, Arranger - Marshall Hawkins, Bass - Roberta Flack, Piano, Vocals, MainArtist - Joel Dorn, Producer - Corky Hale, Harp - Terry Plumeri, Bass - Kermit Moore, Strings - Harry Lookofsky, Strings - Sanford Allen, Strings - Selwart Clarke, Strings - Joe Gentle, Flute - Peter Dimitriades, Strings - Joe Malin, Strings - Fran Minkoff, Writer - John Swallow, Euphonium - Noel Da Costa, Strings - Bernard Sweetney, Drums
Marketed by Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company., © 1970 Atlantic Recording Corporation, a Warner Music Group Company. All Rights Reserved. Manufactured for & Marketed by Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company., ℗ 1970 Atlantic Recording Corporation, a Warner Music Group Company. All Rights Reserved.
Eric Gale, Guitar - Hubert Laws, Flute - Eumir Deodato, Conductor - Chuck Rainey, Bass - King Curtis, Producer - Donny Hathaway, Piano - Marshall Hawkins, Bass - Roberta Flack, Piano, Vocals, MainArtist - Joel Dorn, Producer - Corky Hale, Harp - Terry Plumeri, Bass - Ray Lucas, Drums - Warren Smith, Percussion - Joe Gentle, Flute - Lewis Hahn, Engineer, RemixingEngineer - John Swallow, Euphonium - Bernard Sweetney, Drums
Marketed by Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company., © 1970 Atlantic Recording Corporation, a Warner Music Group Company. All Rights Reserved. Manufactured for & Marketed by Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company., ℗ 1970 Atlantic Recording Corporation, a Warner Music Group Company. All Rights Reserved.
Album review
Coming as it did on the heels of Roberta Flack's groundbreaking First Take debut, and devoid of any iconic tracks like that set's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," Chapter Two has long suffered from an undeserved lack of attention that's made it seem like something of a sophomore slump in this legendary singer's catalog. Nothing could be further from the truth. Chapter Two is one of the rawest and most effective demonstrations of Flack's incomparable voice and her equally impressive taste in material and presentation. Opening with the defiantly and intensely sensual "Reverend Lee"—in which Flack deftly threads the needle between sacred and profane—Chapter Two immediately seeks to stake a claim beyond the more genteel and cosmopolitan approach of its predecessor. If First Take was a soulful take on jazz vocals, Chapter Two sets out to explore the bluesier side of that style. Although it exists in a similarly lush milieu, with plenty of horn and string arrangements, Chapter Two is simultaneously more restrained and understated, with a sense of spacious atmospherics and liminal implications; both Flack's voice and the accompanying instrumentation seem as attuned to the sound between the notes as they are to the expertly crafted harmonies and melodies in the foreground. Perhaps this is due to the upgrade in collaborators; those arrangements were all handled by William S. Fischer on First Take, but on Chapter Two, a team of four arrangers is on hand, with Eumir Deodato handling strings and horns, while Donny Hathaway (who also contributes piano) and co-producers King Curtis and Joel Dorn oversee the whole affair. Even the most robustly constructed songs—a slow-galloping take on Jimmy Webb's "Do What You Gotta Do," an appropriately melodramatic version of "The Impossible Dream," a gut-wrenchingly climatic interpretation of the Impressions' "Gone Away"—have an almost ephemeral quality as the production manages to not so much "put you in the room with the performance" as it amplifies the ethereal collision of sophistication and soulfulness that gives these songs so much life. This warmly remastered 50th Anniversary Edition tacks on just one bonus track, but it's a doozy: an incredible version of Joni Mitchell's rejected theme for Midnight Cowboy, a song which is otherwise unreleased except for a version that Flack produced for soul singer Donal Leace's 1972 Atlantic album. © Jason Ferguson/Qobuz
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 9 track(s)
- Total length: 00:42:10
- Main artists: Roberta Flack
- Label: Rhino Atlantic
- Genre: Soul/Funk/R&B Soul
Marketed by Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company., © 1970 Atlantic Recording Corporation, a Warner Music Group Company. All Rights Reserved. Marketed by Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company., ℗ 1970 Atlantic Recording Corporation, a Warner Music Group Company. All Rights Reserved.
Improve album information
Why buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.
