Roberta Flack- Chapter Two

This was $5 putting it on the high end of the record buying scale for me.  But I enjoyed the last album I posted of Roberta Flack’s (which was her first) and felt this was a logical progression.

In that earlier post, I profiled Flack as best as I could, depending on how busy I was that week.  Flack is a prolific R&B singer and pianist who scored a massive hit with “Killing Me Softly” as well as “Feel Like Makin’ Love” and “The First Time I Saw Your Face”.  As the title would suggest, this was Flack’s second album.  Produced by Joe Dorn and King Curtis, and arranged by Donnie Hathaway, the album features a collection of songs from various song writers including Bob Dylan, Jim Webb, and Saskatchewan’s own Buffy St Marie.  Decent album and a great continuation of what she started on the first as well as framework for where she was heading in the future.

There were a couple of tunes I really liked, but at the end of the day, I went with one of my favorite songs, “The Impossible Dream” from Man of La Mancha.

Good album.  Satisfactory.

Ken Hamilton – The Ken Hamilton Show

This was $3.00.  Not sure why I bought it other than the Canadian angle. Still really reeling over my short vacation to Arizona this weekend.  It was a lot of fun but I did a lot in a short time, got back home at 1 am in the morning and, basically am still exhausted. So more on that once I get rested.

As far as this post is concerned, I could not find much more on the subject, Ken Hamilton, other than what I could ascertain from the back cover.  When I searched I was flooded with information on the Ken Hamilton, the artist, Ken Hamilton the miniature guy, and Kenny Hamilton, Justin Bieber’s former body guard. .After some digging, I found that he was born in Jamaica, moved to Vancouver where he performed before moving to Montreal where he hit it big.  He called his act, along with Terri Malone and the Oliver Jones Quartet, “the Ken Hamilton Show” and toured it all around the East Coast from Miami to the Maritimes.  He also played Puerto Rico and Vegas as well as an extended residence at Shepeards at Park Ave and 56th Street in New York City. I believe he is still active.  Oliver Jones on the other hand, retired from music last year.

A web page on Montreal Soul and Hamilton

Good enough album.  Hamilton sounds like he has some West Indian roots. He has a good enough voice and the material is a pretty good rendering of popular songs at the time.  Malone and the Quartet also shine as well.  For samples, I decided to showcase all three concerns.  So here is “Little Richard” by the Oliver Jones Quartet, “1-2-3” by Malone, and “Michael Row The Boat” by Hamilton.

Good album.  Satisfactory.  Kind of glad I could not find much on them as I needed a break from writing today.