Roberta Flack

Rhino brings us the best of ’70s soul icon Roberta Flack. It’s easy to forget what a smooth, sweet tune “Killing Me Softly With His Song” was—and how well Flack sang it. Her duets with the late Donny Hathaway alone are worth the price of the album. There are five of them here, as well as 1991’s fantastic duet with Maxi Priest, “Set the Night to Music.” Frankly, I could live without hearing the famous Peabo Bryson duet ever again, but rather than set the CD player to skip that track, I make up new lyrics: “Tonight, I celebrate my love for stew.” Of course, there are a couple of early collaborations with Hathaway that this collection leaves out, and, notably, Flack’s mournful rendition of “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?” is missing. But all in all, it’s a great compilation.