Released in 1977, Blue Lights in the Basement is Roberta Flack's follow-up to 1975's Feel Like Makin' Love.
Of course during the space between the two efforts, R&B and pop had certainly changed immensely.
This album finds Flack responding to the changing times with a batch of smooth tracks and a polished and accomplished production.
Of course by this time, she seemed to be divorced from the intelligent and recondite work that typified the early part of her career.
Some of the tracks here do come close to that style; "25th of Last December" and "Love Is the Healing" throw in some nice changes to complement Flack's sweet and patient vocals.
What caused this album to be such a big seller was the Flack and Donny Hathaway duet, "The Closer I Get to You." The track easily attains the grace and gorgeous sound that a lot of the like-minded songs here just miss.
The dramatic "Where I'll Find You" appropriately closes the album and has a great echo effect on her voice during the chorus.
Flack is indeed in great voice here, but Blue Lights in the Basement is most notable for its hit single rather than the tracks that surround it.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Why Don't You Move in with MeGene McDaniels | Roberta Flack | Play | 04:53 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | Fine, Fine DayRachel Perry | Roberta Flack | Play | 04:50 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | This Time I'll Be SweeterPat Grant, Gwen Guthrie | Roberta Flack | Play | 04:26 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | 25th of Last DecemberGene McDaniels | Roberta Flack | Play | 04:33 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | After YouMichael Masser, Ron Miller, Cole Porter | Roberta Flack | Play | 03:54 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | I'd Like to Be Baby to YouMorgan Ames | Roberta Flack | Play | 04:40 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | Soul DeepWayne Carson | Roberta Flack | Play | 02:24 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | Love Is the HealingGene McDaniels | Roberta Flack | Play | 03:44 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | Where I'll Find YouDavid McHugh | Roberta Flack | Play | 03:09 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | The Closer I Get to You (Single) | Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway | Play | 04:40 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 41 mins | 94 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Morgan Ames | Composer |
| 2 | Errol Crusher Bennett | Percussion |
| 3 | Dave Carey | Percussion |
| 4 | David Carey | Percussion |
| 5 | Wayne Carson | Composer |
| 6 | Crusher | Percussion |
| 7 | Ahmet Ertegun | Producer |
| 8 | Bob Ezrin | Producer |
| 9 | Basil Fearrington | Bass, Bass (Electric) |
| 10 | Roberta Flack | Keyboards, Piano, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 11 | Ronnie Foster | Keyboards, Synthesizer, Vocals (Background) |
| 12 | Steve Gadd | Drums |
| 13 | Jim Gilstrap | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 14 | Pat Grant | Composer |
| 15 | Paul Griffin | Keyboards |
| 16 | Don Grolnick | Keyboards |
| 17 | Lani Groves | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 18 | Gwen Guthrie | Composer, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 19 | Anthony Jackson | Bass, Bass (Electric), Guitar (Bass) |
| 20 | Michael Kamen | Oboe |
| 21 | Gary King | Percussion |
| 22 | Howard King | Drums, Vocals |
| 23 | Will Lee | Bass, Bass (Electric) |
| 24 | Yvonne Lewis | Vocals |
| 25 | Reggie Lucas | Composer, Guitar |
| 26 | Jimmy Maelen | Percussion |
| 27 | Michael Masser | Composer |
| 28 | Hugh McCracken | Guitar |
| 29 | Gene McDaniels | Composer, Producer, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 30 | David McHugh | Composer |
| 31 | Ron Miller | Composer |
| 32 | Jeff Mironov | Guitar |
| 33 | Rob Mounsey | Keyboards |
| 34 | James Mtume | Composer, Percussion, Vocals (Background) |
| 35 | Idris Muhammad | Drums |
| 36 | Leon Pendarvis | Keyboards, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 37 | Rachel Perry | Composer |
| 38 | Cole Porter | Composer |
| 39 | Zachary Sanders | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 40 | Allen Schwarzberg | Drums |
| 41 | David Spinozza | Guitar |
| 42 | John Tropea | Guitar |
| 43 | Harry Whitaker | Keyboards |
| 44 | Brenda White | Vocals (Background) |
| 45 | Brenda White-King | Vocals |
| 46 | Deniece Williams | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 47 | Jimmy Wong | Drums |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |