Post Description

This was intended to be Roberta's second full fledged collaboration with Donny Hathaway but as we all know, Donny committed suicide before the recording was finished, so we'd never know what the final product might have been had the album been completed. Nevertheless, what we eventually got from the sessions were 7 tracks featuring Donny's vocals on only 2 of them. On 2 tracks, the songs ran back to back for nearly 18 minutes long, so Atlantic must have been pretty desperate to drag out the half complete sessions into a full length album. How else to explain an interminable 9-minute plus take of "Back Together Again" when a 4 to 5 minute version would have done the job ? That aside, the good news is that the quality of this, Roberta's disco album, is remarkably even. Roberta's and Donny's voices blend beautifully on their hit duet, "You Are My Heaven". For those who think Roberta doesn't ever let rip, just listen to the last 15 seconds before the fade out. For a fleeting moment, I thought I was hearing Aretha ! The other stand out but curiously ignored track is Gwen Guthrie's "God Don't Like Ugly". Here, Roberta gets into an unusually funky groove with excellent phrasing and some of her most soulful singing. The two non-disco ballads on the album, "Disguises" and "Stay With Me", also hold their own. "Disguises" is particularly poignant and moving. So, "Roberta Flack featuring Donny Hathaway" isn't quite what its title professes. She flirted with disco but avoided its excesses and worst influences. This album is clearly one of Roberta's better late 70s/early 80s efforts since abandoning the persona of virtuoso performer for that of classy MOR artiste. 

Tracklist:

Only Heaven Can Wait (For Love)     4:03   
   God Don't Like Ugly     4:34   
   You Are My Heaven     4:10   
   Disguises     2:24   
   Don't Make Me Wait Too Long     7:45   
   Back Together Again     9:45   
   Stay With Me     3:47